1 GK Iker Casillas (c) - Real Madrid 2 DF Raúl Albiol - Madrid 3 DF Gerard Piqué - Barcelona 4 MF Javi Martínez - Athletic Bilbao 5 DF Juanfran Torres - Atlético Madrid 6 MF Andrés Iniesta - Barcelona 7 FW Pedro Rodríguez - Barcelona 8 MF Xavi Hernández - Barcelona 9 FW Fernando Torres - Chelsea 10 MF Cesc Fàbregas - Barcelona 11 FW Álvaro Negredo - Sevilla 12 GK Víctor Valdés - Barcelona 13 MF Juan Mata - Chelsea 14 MF Xabi Alonso - Real Madrid 15 DF Sergio Ramos - Real Madrid 16 MF Sergio Busquets - Barcelona 17 DF Álvaro Arbeloa - Real Madrid 18 DF Jordi Alba - Valencia 19 FW Fernando Llorente - Athletic Bilbao 20 MF Santi Cazorla - Málaga 21 MF David Silva - Manchester City 22 MF Jesús Navas - Sevilla 23 GK Pepe Reina - Liverpool
Coach: Vicente del Bosque Vicente del Bosque named a squad to play in a set of warm-up matches on 15 May 2012, but it did not include any Barcelona, Athletic Bilbao, or Chelsea players as the two Spanish sides were preparing for the Copa del Rey final on 25 May, while Chelsea were to take on Bayern Munich in the Champions League final on 19 May. On 21 May 2012, del Bosque called-up Chelsea players Fernando Torres and Juan Mata for the friendly matches. On 27 May, del Bosque gave the final squad list, complete with Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao players.
1 GK Eduardo - Benfica 2 DF Bruno Alves - Zenit Saint Petersburg 3 DF Pepe - Real Madrid 4 MF Miguel Veloso - Genoa 5 DF Fábio Coentrão - Real Madrid 6 MF Custódio - Braga 7 FW Cristiano Ronaldo (c) - Real Madrid 8 MF João Moutinho - Porto 9 FW Hugo Almeida - Beşiktaş 10 FW Ricardo Quaresma - Beşiktaş 11 FW Nélson Oliveira - Benfica 12 GK Rui Patrício - Sporting CP 13 DF Ricardo Costa - Valencia 14 DF Rolando - Porto 15 MF Rúben Micael - Atlético Madrid 16 MF Raul Meireles - Chelsea 17 FW Nani - Manchester United 18 FW Silvestre Varela - Porto 19 DF Miguel Lopes - Braga 20 MF Hugo Viana - Braga 21 DF João Pereira - Sporting CP 22 GK Beto - CFR Cluj 23 FW Hélder Postiga - Real Zaragoza
Coach: Paulo Bento Paulo Bento named his final 23-man squad on 14 May 2012. On 23 May, Hugo Viana replaced Carlos Martins after Martins suffered a calf injury.
I don't understand why Paulo Bento will start with Hugo Almeida... It's like playing with a bowling pin upfront... It does not make sense... It would be much better to play with varela or nelson oliveira getting a dynamic trio on the front.
Id personally play Nelson, due to fact he would run round for 90minutes no problem being his age and fitness level. I think he could be good to help out as extra defender.
Paulo Bento wants to keep the experience factor in, nelson is really new and kinda untested. Although i think Hugo Almeida is slow as hell, his not-normal plays, and tactical placement will prove useful..
On June 27 2012 07:00 Aeroplaneoverthesea wrote: Spain 1-0 Portugal.
Anyone with common sense is putting money on this scoreline.
Any Spain game versus a quality team should expect a 1-0 scoreline. I also think it will be a dull 1-0 victory for Spain versus Portugal tomorrow, followed by a dull 1-0 victory versus either Germany or Italy in the finals.
On June 27 2012 08:51 askTeivospy wrote: spain is the better team, even though they have terrible defense (not keeper, just defense)
portugal is just w/e
but its 1 game in a competition so good luck RNG, hope you fall on spain
Terrible defense? They've only conceded one goal this entire tournament. Arbeloa-Ramos-Pique-Alba are probably not the greatest backline in international football, but it is competitive with the other top sides.
Plus, Spain's defensive strategy and offensive strategy are tied together - their constant pressure on the ball is designed to keep possession, and if they can keep possession they nullify all possible threats to themselves.
Spain has too much quality in every position to be beaten straight up, and all the Barcelona players will be used to locking down Ronaldo. Seeing as Portugal has basically nothing else, it should be a routine 2-0 victory for Spain.
I'll go with 2-0 Spain wins too. Ronaldo finally looks less like a zombie in this international tournament, but against a team like Spain? I feel like there may be some diving and whining in the works.
On June 27 2012 08:28 Ryps wrote: I wonder what are Portugal's chances without Ronaldo. Spain should win this probably.
Ronaldo was shut down against Germany and Portugal still came close to tying the game. Pepe had an awesome tournament so far, Nani and Coentrao played very well, and yet they are ignored because of Ronaldo.
On June 27 2012 05:16 bObaZ wrote: I don't understand why Paulo Bento will start with Hugo Almeida... It's like playing with a bowling pin upfront... It does not make sense... It would be much better to play with varela or nelson oliveira getting a dynamic trio on the front.
All of the strikers drop off in quality compared to the rest of the team anyway. Almeida isn't particularly good, but he can win a header here and there and distract the defense due to his considerable physical presence, which might at least add something to Portugal's offensive game.
On June 27 2012 08:51 askTeivospy wrote: spain is the better team, even though they have terrible defense (not keeper, just defense)
portugal is just w/e
but its 1 game in a competition so good luck RNG, hope you fall on spain
Terrible defense? They've only conceded one goal this entire tournament. Arbeloa-Ramos-Pique-Alba are probably not the greatest backline in international football, but it is competitive with the other top sides.
Plus, Spain's defensive strategy and offensive strategy are tied together - their constant pressure on the ball is designed to keep possession, and if they can keep possession they nullify all possible threats to themselves.
They have the worst defense of the 4 in the semi-final (imo by far but that's not the point). Piqué has no physical presence for a center back and is barely apt with his stamina, Arbeloa has been numerous time noticed as the weak link of the team. Ramos is more a lateral than a center back though I can't deny he impressed me in this role and Jordi Alba, while excellent offensively speaking, has not been tested in his defensive work. I also think Casillas is a great keeper, but he has very little work so...
What they have instead, is a incredible line of pressing and collective defense starting as soon as they lose the ball. Every time they lose the ball, you'll see a immediate collective replacement. This is quite amazing in fact : you feel like there are 6 or 7 spanish player in the opponent's part when they are attacking, but at the very moment that they lose the control of the ball, there are also 6-7 players defending at the midfield line. The first times I watched Spain I was like "shit, are they 16 on the fukken field ?"
Their defense is not really their defense line, it's the whole teamwork that make them that efficient in the defensice aspect. Also, when you spend 70 min on 90 running after the ball, you are often too tired to make good choices and to be quick in the counter-attack. This has been stated for example by Clichy who had the same feeling against Barcelone this year "you run after the ball for so long, then suddenly you have it but you feel quite tired and it's difficult to make what you want with it".
Well, strictly speaking you were right, they have just conceded one goal so their defense is great ; but I felt obligated to say it was not really because their defensive line is excellent.
Oh and for a prediction : Ronaldo will play like a moron because it's Spain so he'll touch 2 balls in 75 min and thus Portugal will look like "Chelsea". 1-0 for Spain after another boring match.
On June 27 2012 17:22 keioh wrote: Oh and for a prediction : Ronaldo will play like a moron because it's Spain so he'll touch 2 balls in 75 min and thus Portugal will look like "Chelsea". 1-0 for Spain after another boring match.
PLEASE MAKE ME WRONG PORTUGAL
All Ronaldo will need is 2 touches if he gets one on one with Arbeloa dude xD I mean, that is the miss match of the century! And we know the wingers for Spain will be no where to be seen tracking back, so an isolated Arbeloa vs Ronaldo is going to be a joy to watch for Portugal fans and the neutrals lol.
On June 27 2012 17:22 keioh wrote: Oh and for a prediction : Ronaldo will play like a moron because it's Spain so he'll touch 2 balls in 75 min and thus Portugal will look like "Chelsea". 1-0 for Spain after another boring match.
PLEASE MAKE ME WRONG PORTUGAL
All Ronaldo will need is 2 touches if he gets one on one with Arbeloa dude xD I mean, that is the miss match of the century! And we know the wingers for Spain will be no where to be seen tracking back, so an isolated Arbeloa vs Ronaldo is going to be a joy to watch for Portugal fans and the neutrals lol.
Why the hell would you think a team as defensive as Spain is ever going to let Ronaldo be 1 vs 1 with anybody?
Ronaldo rarely goes past players anymore anyway, he just scores goals and lots of them. He's gone from the next Garrincha from his Sporting/early United days to the next Van Basten. Ronaldo also tends to be a huge big game bottler especially with Portugal so I expect him to do little.
On June 27 2012 17:22 keioh wrote: Oh and for a prediction : Ronaldo will play like a moron because it's Spain so he'll touch 2 balls in 75 min and thus Portugal will look like "Chelsea". 1-0 for Spain after another boring match.
PLEASE MAKE ME WRONG PORTUGAL
All Ronaldo will need is 2 touches if he gets one on one with Arbeloa dude xD I mean, that is the miss match of the century! And we know the wingers for Spain will be no where to be seen tracking back, so an isolated Arbeloa vs Ronaldo is going to be a joy to watch for Portugal fans and the neutrals lol.
Why the hell would you think a team as defensive as Spain is ever going to let Ronaldo be 1 vs 1 with anybody?
Ronaldo rarely goes past players anymore anyway, he just scores goals and lots of them. He's gone from the next Garrincha from his Sporting/early United days to the next Van Basten. Ronaldo also tends to be a huge big game bottler especially with Portugal so I expect him to do little.
Hmm? Did you not see him vs Barcelona this season? Was awesome in that game. And did you also not hear Alonso in press conference? He said they are not even making any special plans for Ronaldo, they will study his play but not do anything special marking wise. So to me that says, they are just going to make sure Portugal don't get the football. But they will, and Ronaldo will be 1 on 1 with Arbeloa quite easily. Only reason Barca do well vs him is because Alves' pace matches Ronaldo's
On June 27 2012 17:22 keioh wrote: Oh and for a prediction : Ronaldo will play like a moron because it's Spain so he'll touch 2 balls in 75 min and thus Portugal will look like "Chelsea". 1-0 for Spain after another boring match.
PLEASE MAKE ME WRONG PORTUGAL
All Ronaldo will need is 2 touches if he gets one on one with Arbeloa dude xD I mean, that is the miss match of the century! And we know the wingers for Spain will be no where to be seen tracking back, so an isolated Arbeloa vs Ronaldo is going to be a joy to watch for Portugal fans and the neutrals lol.
Why the hell would you think a team as defensive as Spain is ever going to let Ronaldo be 1 vs 1 with anybody?
Ronaldo rarely goes past players anymore anyway, he just scores goals and lots of them. He's gone from the next Garrincha from his Sporting/early United days to the next Van Basten. Ronaldo also tends to be a huge big game bottler especially with Portugal so I expect him to do little.
Hmm? Did you not see him vs Barcelona this season? Was awesome in that game. And did you also not hear Alonso in press conference? He said they are not even making any special plans for Ronaldo, they will study his play but not do anything special marking wise. So to me that says, they are just going to make sure Portugal don't get the football. But they will, and Ronaldo will be 1 on 1 with Arbeloa quite easily. Only reason Barca do well vs him is because Alves' pace matches Ronaldo's
I cannot for the life of me understand why on earth you would equate a very offensive team like Barcelona with the way this Spanish team play, have you actually watched Spain and Barcelona play? Not to mention that even by this mindless logic Ronaldo has about a 10% rate of playing well vs Barcelona, he is usually awful vs Barcelona.
You are also taking the words of managers pre match on face value. I really do wonder if this is the first tournament you've ever watched football.
I pretty much can't remember a single occasion this entire tournament or in the World Cup 2010 where any player for any team got themselves in a 1 vs 1 situation with a Spanish defender, and you honestly believe that the one guy they will give that space to is Cristiano Ronaldo? Absolute madness.
Can you drop it with this tone aeroplane? It's not everyones' first tournament when they are disagreeing with you is it?
Cristiano is a great player and can do much and more in his day and certainly vs this spanish side. And I'm the biggest messi fanboy ever and I also think that spain has the edge.
On June 27 2012 17:22 keioh wrote: Oh and for a prediction : Ronaldo will play like a moron because it's Spain so he'll touch 2 balls in 75 min and thus Portugal will look like "Chelsea". 1-0 for Spain after another boring match.
PLEASE MAKE ME WRONG PORTUGAL
All Ronaldo will need is 2 touches if he gets one on one with Arbeloa dude xD I mean, that is the miss match of the century! And we know the wingers for Spain will be no where to be seen tracking back, so an isolated Arbeloa vs Ronaldo is going to be a joy to watch for Portugal fans and the neutrals lol.
Why the hell would you think a team as defensive as Spain is ever going to let Ronaldo be 1 vs 1 with anybody?
Ronaldo rarely goes past players anymore anyway, he just scores goals and lots of them. He's gone from the next Garrincha from his Sporting/early United days to the next Van Basten. Ronaldo also tends to be a huge big game bottler especially with Portugal so I expect him to do little.
Hmm? Did you not see him vs Barcelona this season? Was awesome in that game. And did you also not hear Alonso in press conference? He said they are not even making any special plans for Ronaldo, they will study his play but not do anything special marking wise. So to me that says, they are just going to make sure Portugal don't get the football. But they will, and Ronaldo will be 1 on 1 with Arbeloa quite easily. Only reason Barca do well vs him is because Alves' pace matches Ronaldo's
I cannot for the life of me understand why on earth you would equate a very offensive team like Barcelona with the way this Spanish team play, have you actually watched Spain and Barcelona play? Not to mention that even by this mindless logic Ronaldo has about a 10% rate of playing well vs Barcelona, he is usually awful vs Barcelona.
You are also taking the words of managers pre match on face value. I really do wonder if this is the first tournament you've ever watched football.
I pretty much can't remember a single occasion this entire tournament or in the World Cup 2010 where any player for any team got themselves in a 1 vs 1 situation with a Spanish defender, and you honestly believe that the one guy they will give that space to is Cristiano Ronaldo? Absolute madness.
Balotelli 1v1 Ramos, skinned him alive....missed a 1on1 from it, probably miss of tournament....theres one. I have watched to much football, i have watched every international tournament since 98 world cup, when i was 8. You just have your vision of what is what and don't allow for anyone elses' opinion that is fine, i understand where your logic is coming from but you clearly didnt watch a galatico this season if you think Ronaldo "didn't do anything" in those matches. he won the copa del rey final vs them in 2010 and in 2011-12 season when they finally beat them in the league for the first time in like 2/3 seasons it was Ronaldo who rounded valdes with a stunning finish. Barcelona are Spain minus Spain doesn't have the Messi, if they had a Messi they would walk every competition they play, but they don't hense the teams like Switzerland Portugal England have all beaten them in the past 2 years. Lets just see what happens before you respond and criticise everything i have just wrote please! After the game, if it goes the way your expecting it too and Ronaldo does nothing feel free to quote me as much as you like
People(and teams) put to much focus on Ronaldo, works as a double edge sword... or Ronaldo stays in 1on1 or there will be plenty of gaps in the rest of the field. IMO both Ronaldo and Nani have pretty easy wings if they are unsupported, but its spain and all it matters is the team game....
Spain beat you when it actually mattered, like they always beat you when it matters. Portugal have a terrible record vs Spain.
This will be the 10th time that portugal will play with spain since 1982 (last 30 years). In the 9 games that were played since then there are 5 draws 2 wins and 2 losses. So i don't see the terrible record there...
There is a Terrible record because between 1920 and 1950 portugal played with spain 20 times and lost 14... But what is statistics in todays football?
Spain is the better team, but Portugal is no push-over. I expect a great game.
On June 27 2012 17:22 keioh wrote: Oh and for a prediction : Ronaldo will play like a moron because it's Spain so he'll touch 2 balls in 75 min and thus Portugal will look like "Chelsea". 1-0 for Spain after another boring match.
PLEASE MAKE ME WRONG PORTUGAL
All Ronaldo will need is 2 touches if he gets one on one with Arbeloa dude xD I mean, that is the miss match of the century! And we know the wingers for Spain will be no where to be seen tracking back, so an isolated Arbeloa vs Ronaldo is going to be a joy to watch for Portugal fans and the neutrals lol.
Why the hell would you think a team as defensive as Spain is ever going to let Ronaldo be 1 vs 1 with anybody?
Ronaldo rarely goes past players anymore anyway, he just scores goals and lots of them. He's gone from the next Garrincha from his Sporting/early United days to the next Van Basten. Ronaldo also tends to be a huge big game bottler especially with Portugal so I expect him to do little.
OMG...finally someone calls it like it is. No matter how many goals he can score, to me he was a better player in the second (or third?) year in Mutd than when he won the best player award or now with RM. (although the rest of your posting is, as usual ever since I saw you appear in SC2 threads, full of "I know better than everyone else!!!!" attitude)
I made a freaking huge post regarding all the fails from Ronaldo and the blindness that seems to surround him but that is not the point of this thread so it was deleted. To the point, Im not happy about it but I see Spain taking this unless they begin the game overconfident.
They will have the ball, we will counter with speed from Ronaldo and Nani, hopefully Hugo Almeida will remember how to shoot from long range and will be calm enough to finish in close range when opportunity arises. I expect a 1-0 or 2-1 for Spain but if I let the bias free, I can see our defense holding and a fast counter hitting an overconfident Spain for a 1-0 victory for Portugal.
Either way, for non Portuguese or Spanish fans, this will probably be a boring game (unless you like watching Spain pass around, I do but I know some people dont actually enjoy it). For us it will probably be as exciting as against the Czechs even with reversed roles this time.
If both teams perform similar to their last games, I think Portugal actually has a shot at winning. Nani has to perform better though. And the referee is a very strict one, so players have to watch out.
Shows a few complimations of Ronaldo, some of his Man Utd days i admit, but also there is shots of him of RM, taking players on with his pace and skills. I don't get how you can possibly say Ronaldo doesn't take players on 0.O is running past players with pace no taking people on? I think it is.
On June 27 2012 20:39 Derrida wrote: If both teams perform similar to their last games, I think Portugal actually has a shot at winning. Nani has to perform better though. And the referee is a very strict one, so players have to watch out.
Czech Republic is nowhere near Spain's level. Spain will have twice the shots that Portugal will have this game.
FRIENDLY MATCH!!!!! XDDDDDDDDDDDD with our 2nd lineup.......mmmmmmmm ok good job!~ Gratz! Keep winning the friendly matchs, we will win the trophies xDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
FRIENDLY MATCH!!!!! XDDDDDDDDDDDD with our 2nd lineup.......mmmmmmmm ok good job!~ Gratz! Keep winning the friendly matchs, we will win the trophies xDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
Spain beat you when it actually mattered, like they always beat you when it matters. Portugal have a terrible record vs Spain.
Portugal beat Spain in 04 knocking them out of group stages, its not as terrible as you might think. Portugal has allot worse record against France for example...
Thats gonna be one hell of a boring game.. Spain will pass the ball 80% of the time between Xavi, Iniesta and the defenders, and when Portugal will have the ball (about 5 times whole game long) Ronaldo will play alone against the entire Spanish defense.
Ronaldo movement off the ball is very good right now. If Spain double team, it is up to him to find an open teammate. I think Nani is key here. When Ronaldo sucks all the defenders toward him, Nani should be able to run.
Not long enough. Only 10 games (according to this) (since you're German: Kobiashvili from Hertha has a suspension until Dec 2012 - so the complete half of the season - for his antics in the DD / Hertha relegation)
On June 27 2012 22:48 kanu_knl wrote: Ronaldo movement off the ball is very good right now. If Spain double team, it is up to him to find an open teammate. I think Nani is key here. When Ronaldo sucks all the defenders toward him, Nani should be able to run.
That's the problem. They didnt score 4 goals in the friendlies with Nani & Ronaldo alone. Meireles and Moutinho are going to be the important factors. I'm really interested about the starting formation from Spain. Torres / Fabregas and I'd also like to see Navas instead of Silva (Silva tends to drift into the middle, but Ronaldo doesnt like defensive work, so Navas on the right side might be an option).
On June 27 2012 19:17 gasmeter wrote: If they can tie Ronaldo down, Spain will dominate this game.
Have you even watched Portugal's games this Euro?
Yes, I have watched every game in the Euros. Portugal have played very well to get this far, but if Ronaldo is tied down and unable to drive down the right wing as freely as he wants, as was the case against Holland and for large parts of the game against the Czech Republic, then Spain will be able to play the dominant possession-based football in the midfield.
HYPE HYPE !! Cant wait for start :D Go Spain , like i write already 3:2 for Spain and Ronaldo will miss panality , I come from future , you will see :D
Indeed i really think they dont get along or maybe he just doesnt like his playstyle, being big strong and maybe more suited to all leaegues but Spain xD
Oh well, this be funny. GO RONALDO :3
Want to pass on my condolences to him as well! Miki Roque R.I.P
Hope its a good match but im thinking it will go like this: pass,pass,pass,pass,pass,pass,pass,pass,pass, the crowd fall asleep, the Portugal team fall asleep, Spain win 1-0
The problem is Nani dived after getting free. If he had just pulled up after the first contact with Ramos, he could've got the decision. That's what you get for hurling yourself to the floor.
Wow, I haven't seen Spain under this much pressure in quite a while - impressive pressing from the Portuguese. Negredo needs to get more involved for the Spanish.
i thought he was going to score, that was amazing passing to find the open attacker, most players would get greedy and just start smacking the ball towards the goal
On June 28 2012 04:16 Telcontar wrote: Was the first whistle from the ref? Looked like it came from the crowd.
From ref. He blew very quickly, it's why the Spanish players let Nani go in the first place
I thought the rule is that you can't blow the whistle until you've made sure that the other team got the advantage (Usually means taking possession of the ball)
On June 28 2012 04:28 Pika Chu wrote: This crowd is fabulous, they show their discontent every time one of the teams forgets which is the direction of their opponent's net.
Yeah, their ignorance and obnoxiousness is very much "fabulous".
On June 28 2012 04:28 Pika Chu wrote: This crowd is fabulous, they show their discontent every time one of the teams forgets which is the direction of their opponent's net.
On June 28 2012 04:28 Pika Chu wrote: This crowd is fabulous, they show their discontent every time one of the teams forgets which is the direction of their opponent's net.
Yeah, their ignorance and obnoxiousness is very much "fabulous".
Are you serious? What the fuck is football played backwords?! That's what supporters should always do, push teams to play football!
On June 28 2012 04:28 Pika Chu wrote: This crowd is fabulous, they show their discontent every time one of the teams forgets which is the direction of their opponent's net.
Yeah, their ignorance and obnoxiousness is very much "fabulous".
Are you serious? What the fuck is football played backwords?! That's what supporters should always do, push teams to play football!
Only idiots think only pushing forward is good football.
Portugal definitely the better team this far, imo. Shame they don't have a high class striker, or they would have been a big favourite for the whole thing.
On June 28 2012 04:28 Pika Chu wrote: This crowd is fabulous, they show their discontent every time one of the teams forgets which is the direction of their opponent's net.
Yeah, their ignorance and obnoxiousness is very much "fabulous".
Are you serious? What the fuck is football played backwords?! That's what supporters should always do, push teams to play football!
Not every pass has to be forwards - backwards passes are designed to reorganize shape or to pull certain players out of their positions.
On June 28 2012 04:32 AgentChaos wrote: pretty good first half spain could use mata i think
Unfortunately, mata is pretty low in the pecking order for Spain - behind Navas and Cazorla (not to mention Fabregas who will be a definite sub coming on later in the game).
I liked the 20-30 min of the first half... but then the football stopped and all the BS commenced (Im not siding with any team, not too sure the judge has this under any control either......)
Anyways I hope for a good second half and I think that any team could win... Spain was in some deep shit there for a while. Will probably look completely different now in second
..Also yeah, the Ref This game will probably be somewhat ruined because of it ... bah. If both teams want to play tough - let them play tough! Let football be football
On June 28 2012 04:28 Pika Chu wrote: This crowd is fabulous, they show their discontent every time one of the teams forgets which is the direction of their opponent's net.
Yeah, their ignorance and obnoxiousness is very much "fabulous".
Are you serious? What the fuck is football played backwords?! That's what supporters should always do, push teams to play football!
Not every pass has to be forwards - backwards passes are designed to reorganize shape or to pull certain players out of their positions.
Not when you're doing it like Spain.
Give me a break, that's shitty football, efficient but shitty to just pass and wait for the opponents to come for you. It's the worse thing for neutral fans like me.
Just because people don't like watching possession based passing football doesn't make them idiots. If you don't find it boring, I envy you. Portugal has been much better to watch. In 3 passes they make it as far into the spanish half as spain into theirs through 15.
O and please bring up the 'know nothing about football' argument so I can laugh Seems that as soon as someone disagrees the YOU KNOW NOTHING comes out.
On June 28 2012 04:33 howLiN wrote: Someone can explain Coentrão's yellow card other than because it's getting too difficult for Spain to score?
how can yellow card help in scoreing?
Did you see the 2 situations where Nani basically was through and Ramos only was able to stop him with a (tactical) foul? The 2nd one was the reason why Ramos was booked. So if they're in the same situation again: He cannot stop Nani without taking the risk of being sent off.
Same is now true for Coentrao - he cannot challenge Spanish players like he wants to - he cannot do the one tactical foul which will prevent a 90% chance. So yellow cards help in scoring
On June 28 2012 04:28 Pika Chu wrote: This crowd is fabulous, they show their discontent every time one of the teams forgets which is the direction of their opponent's net.
Yeah, their ignorance and obnoxiousness is very much "fabulous".
Are you serious? What the fuck is football played backwords?! That's what supporters should always do, push teams to play football!
Not every pass has to be forwards - backwards passes are designed to reorganize shape or to pull certain players out of their positions.
Not when you're doing it like Spain.
Give me a break, that's shitty football, efficient but shitty to just pass and wait for the opponents to come for you. It's the worse thing for neutral fans like me.
Sure, that's a styllistic preference then - no need to call it shitty football - let them do their own thing.
Is Ronaldo actually good at freekicks for Real? Not really seen him play much since he moved there but he always struck me as a takes a lot and scores some kind of guy more than someone who scored them regularly?
On June 28 2012 05:29 Pandemona wrote: Why is DelBosque so strange rofl, i dare question the god but
WTF
Subs: Cesc Navas(doing well) Pedro Off: Silva Xavi Negredo
Torres Llorente waiting staring at floor >.<
I've wondered why Llorente hasn't been put on in any of the games yet since he provides aerial prowess that can help break down really defensive teams. I suppose Del Bosque has his reasons.
What a disappointing game. Both are playing the "lets kick the ball around forever, and then hope that someone does a wild dash forward and owns four defenders while shooting a SICKK goal" style.
I looked forward to this game thinking Spain has it easily and hoping for a good game from Spain. Now i find myself cheering for Portugal, very good game by them and the second half has entertaining football.
On June 28 2012 05:36 zanga wrote: Garbage second half if you ask me......
Dunno, i liked it. Even if spain's boring as fuck, there was a lot of action done by Portugal, true they didn't manage to do much, but there was good dynamic in the middle that kept me awake.
what a boring shitty game. me my mom and dad has been sitting with our smartphone the last 20-30min because nothing is happening. it's rare i do that but this match is jsut uugh
On June 28 2012 05:37 Steveling wrote: When greece's games look more entertaining than your country's you should be worried about your team.
Greece game never looked entertaining. Greece should disband their nationalteam and give the saved money back to us. Greece basically is owned and kicked out of the €URO by us. :D
In my opinion, Germany has this won if they keep playing like they are and being as clinical in front of goal. Both these two looked pretty average today, but Portugal set out tactically better, Ronaldo just forgot his shooting boots.
Here we go for the extended time... gl hf gg everybody. Lets hope for a better game now, I fear it will not be however since somehow "even more is on the line" now
On June 28 2012 05:37 Steveling wrote: When greece's games look more entertaining than your country's you should be worried about your team.
Greece game never looked entertaining. Greece should disband their nationalteam and give the saved money back to us. Greece basically is owned and kicked out of the €URO by us. :D
You already have 2 banned accounts. That's your 3rd one. Try more in the next, rofl.
First time I decide to watch a game of football in a long time and it's a complete shitfest without any goals. Well, guess I don't have the best of luck in that regard :/
Lol this game carazy. I think, its been a very long hard season for players and they all tired as fuck and not playing so well now. Hope Germans had some rest xD
On June 28 2012 05:50 Uni1987 wrote: What a terrible game so far.. A bunch of pussies, and the whistle blows more then the attempts on the goal from both parties combined.
On June 28 2012 05:55 Burns wrote: where did this dominance from spain come from and that shot what a save my the Portuguese keeper
Portugal played an amazingly energy heavy style in the 90. Teams like England usually fluff that in 20 odd mins. It had to catch up with them eventually.
It ruffled Spain all game, now its not as tight and theyre finding spaces that werent there before.
Im depressed that almost no player (both teams) has the honour of not trying to win an Oscar because the referee is such an uncertain one.............. can you believe one of these teams won last euro and world cup etc? x_x
these players are just tired as fuck many collisions have been so clumsy and unnecessary, but they are like boxers in the last round who've lost coordination
On June 28 2012 06:11 CeriseCherries wrote: fucking spain... doesnt play great for 90, doesnt do so good for the next 15. OH SHIT GAMES ALMOST OVER = gets shit together finally...
fuck all of this bullshit... they have been playing great the whole damn game. The portueguese have been getting more tired and for that matter so have the Spaniards. The game just loosened up because of that...
I really hope Spain wins it. They were the better team for sure. It would make me happy to see them win, just like I was happy to see the better team, Italy, beat the worse team, England, last time.
On June 28 2012 06:29 zul wrote: Lucky spainards. Hopefully we will meet them in the grand final.
I feel sorry for the portugese - they did fight like lions.
How was Spain lucky?
Because until extra time, they were utterly outplayed and looked toothless.
You clearly were not watching the same game. Portugal stifled Spain, yes, but they did not fashion any good chances. They just canceled Spain out. You need your eyes checked out mate.
On June 28 2012 06:29 zul wrote: Lucky spainards. Hopefully we will meet them in the grand final.
I feel sorry for the portugese - they did fight like lions.
How was Spain lucky?
Because until extra time, they were utterly outplayed and looked toothless.
You clearly were not watching the same game. Portugal stifled Spain, yes, but they did not fashion any good chances. They just canceled Spain out. You need your eyes checked out mate.
[QUOTE]On June 28 2012 06:31 IntoTheWow wrote: [QUOTE]On June 28 2012 06:29 zul wrote: Lucky spainards. Hopefully we will meet them in the grand final.
I feel sorry for the portugese - they did fight like How was Spain lucky?[/QUOTE] Alvas shot was close (no goal) - fabregas shot was close (goal)
This could have been the other way around very easy.
On June 28 2012 06:29 zul wrote: Lucky spainards. Hopefully we will meet them in the grand final.
I feel sorry for the portugese - they did fight like lions.
How was Spain lucky?
Because until extra time, they were utterly outplayed and looked toothless.
You clearly were not watching the same game. Portugal stifled Spain, yes, but they did not fashion any good chances. They just canceled Spain out. You need your eyes checked out mate.
Bah. Spain makes for snoozefest games. Man I despise this team. It's different from Greece, but just as boring and withotu the cute underdog story they had when they won.
Here's to hoping germany or Italy will demolish them.
i'm feeling kinda sorry for portugal now, damn i have never seen ronaldo being so dissapointed, did you see his face. congrats spain, but spain your play hasn't been anything special imo, could've been portugal that went through.
On June 28 2012 06:29 zul wrote: Lucky spainards. Hopefully we will meet them in the grand final.
I feel sorry for the portugese - they did fight like lions.
How was Spain lucky?
Because until extra time, they were utterly outplayed and looked toothless.
You clearly were not watching the same game. Portugal stifled Spain, yes, but they did not fashion any good chances. They just canceled Spain out. You need your eyes checked out mate.
No good chances? Not sure if serious...
Spain definitely had best chances in this game.
I find people have a tendency to think cutesy passes into the box are good chances by default. They're not. Spain's offense is weak and has looked it against every team with a capable defence. They had two really good chances, one of which was in extra time, and the other which was a defensive error allowing Fabregas to slip through.
False 9s will not win this team games against Germany.
hahaha i love how every single german is criying about "Portugal dont deserve this lose..bla bla bla" xDDDD! They are already scared.....the funny thing is that they will fail vs Italy......xD!
SPAIN >>>>>>>>>> SPAIN U23 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> WORLD !
On June 28 2012 06:47 -IeZaeL- wrote: hahaha i love how every single german is criying about "Portugal dont deserve this lose..bla bla bla" xDDDD! They are already scared.....the funny thing is that they will fail vs Italy......xD!
SPAIN >>>>>>>>>> SPAIN U23 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> WORLD !
Gongrats to 100th post. Too bad Germany or Italy will destroy you in the finals Muahahahhaha!
On June 28 2012 06:47 -IeZaeL- wrote: hahaha i love how every single german is criying about "Portugal dont deserve this lose..bla bla bla" xDDDD! They are already scared.....the funny thing is that they will fail vs Italy......xD!
SPAIN >>>>>>>>>> SPAIN U23 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> WORLD !
germany really shouldn't be scared of a spain team in this shape.
Missed the game but just saw the rewind of the pentalties.
Portugal looked like they had no idea what they were doing. Sending up the wrong guy? How embarrassing. Has that ever happened at this lvl? Also, lulz at Ronaldo. He wanted to be hero and instead he is the chump.
On June 28 2012 06:47 -IeZaeL- wrote: hahaha i love how every single german is criying about "Portugal dont deserve this lose..bla bla bla" xDDDD! They are already scared.....the funny thing is that they will fail vs Italy......xD!
SPAIN >>>>>>>>>> SPAIN U23 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> WORLD !
Gongrats to 100th post. Too bad Germany or Italy will destroy you in the finals Muahahahhaha!
hehehehe,thanks im glad about my 100th
Anyway im sorry, but there's no team who can "destroy" Spain to be honest :/.... Spain need a horribleeeeeeee day to lose 0-1 ;D!~
On June 28 2012 06:47 -IeZaeL- wrote: hahaha i love how every single german is criying about "Portugal dont deserve this lose..bla bla bla" xDDDD! They are already scared.....the funny thing is that they will fail vs Italy......xD!
SPAIN >>>>>>>>>> SPAIN U23 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> WORLD !
Gongrats to 100th post. Too bad Germany or Italy will destroy you in the finals Muahahahhaha!
hehehehe,thanks im glad about my 100th
Anyway im sorry, but there's no team who can "destroy" Spain to be honest :/.... Spain need a horribleeeeeeee day to lose 0-1 ;D!~
Germany would have 3-0d Spain if they played like they did today. Italy probably would have rolled them too. That was a really, really poor performance.
That's it, I'll be cheering for Italy in the finals if Germany doesn't make it. Spain showed hardly any attacking intent over 90 minutes, only in extra time they finally tried to attack. They even looked scared for a while.
Yes, Spain defends well as a team, but I really hope that's not enough to win the title this time.
The Portuguese played a great game and shut up all the haters who call them a one-man-team, this was a fantastic team effort.
pirlo one is better ofc, but this one is funnier if we see Ramos's record...
Notice how he doesn't even look at the goalie or even the goal before he hits the ball. *Crossing my fingers that he goalie throws himself to the side... otherwise i will look stupid as hell.*
On June 28 2012 06:47 -IeZaeL- wrote: hahaha i love how every single german is criying about "Portugal dont deserve this lose..bla bla bla" xDDDD! They are already scared.....the funny thing is that they will fail vs Italy......xD!
SPAIN >>>>>>>>>> SPAIN U23 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> WORLD !
Gongrats to 100th post. Too bad Germany or Italy will destroy you in the finals Muahahahhaha!
hehehehe,thanks im glad about my 100th
Anyway im sorry, but there's no team who can "destroy" Spain to be honest :/.... Spain need a horribleeeeeeee day to lose 0-1 ;D!~
Germany would have 3-0d Spain if they played like they did today. Italy probably would have rolled them too. That was a really, really poor performance.
I didnt see the whole game, but I did get a chance to watch the 30mins of OT, and I thot spain was good, they made alot of chances for themselves, but man o man that penatly shoot out. I feel bad for Ronaldo looked so sad!
It's never as bad as Portugal, even Italy plays cleaner these days.
Have you actually watched the game?
This one, most of the others in this tournament, and many more. I assume you watched that too since you asked, so you must have been too biased to notice Nani's at least 2 and Cristiano's one clear dive. Among other things, obviously.
It's never as bad as Portugal, even Italy plays cleaner these days.
Have you actually watched the game?
This one, most of the others in this tournament, and many more. I assume you watched that too since you asked, so you must have been too biased to notice Nani's at least 2 and Cristiano's one clear dive. Among other things, obviously.
Good thing that you missed all the crap from spain And no, im not biased, game was amazingly disgusting, i hope ger vs ita winners will take the tourney, the reason why i responded is because your post made me quite sad.
It's never as bad as Portugal, even Italy plays cleaner these days.
Have you actually watched the game?
This one, most of the others in this tournament, and many more. I assume you watched that too since you asked, so you must have been too biased to notice Nani's at least 2 and Cristiano's one clear dive. Among other things, obviously.
Good thing that you missed all the crap from spain And no, im not biased, game was amazingly disgusting, i hope ger vs ita winners will take the tourney, the reason why i responded is because your post made me quite sad.
why would it make you sad? Portugal plays on the ground more than they play on their feet, they are literally one of the biggest scumbag teams for many years. Spain is bad but not as bad as portugal. (I'd say italy is worse though, the country is shaped like someone's foot taking a dive after all and you got the diving tower of pisa too ^>^)
you can't look at just one game to make this call.
It's never as bad as Portugal, even Italy plays cleaner these days.
Have you actually watched the game?
This one, most of the others in this tournament, and many more. I assume you watched that too since you asked, so you must have been too biased to notice Nani's at least 2 and Cristiano's one clear dive. Among other things, obviously.
Good thing that you missed all the crap from spain And no, im not biased, game was amazingly disgusting, i hope ger vs ita winners will take the tourney, the reason why i responded is because your post made me quite sad.
why would it make you sad? Portugal plays on the ground more than they play on their feet, they are literally one of the biggest scumbag teams for many years. Spain is bad but not as bad as portugal. (I'd say italy is worse though, the country is shaped like someone's foot taking a dive after all and you got the diving tower of pisa too ^>^)
Why? Because you post shitty biased video and after that you deny that spain is as good at acting as portugal? Oh wait, got a plan:
On June 28 2012 07:08 lethal111 wrote: I didnt see the whole game, but I did get a chance to watch the 30mins of OT, and I thot spain was good, they made alot of chances for themselves, but man o man that penatly shoot out. I feel bad for Ronaldo looked so sad!
The FT was quite different, Portugal pressed Spain hard and basically disabled Spains midfield, which you very seldom see. Spain looked even angry and clueless what to do at some times ( They even tried several high balls in the box, whaaat).. but formidable as they were Portugal could hardly create any chances as Spain control of space seemed as invincible in defense as it always does. In overtime Portugal were just to exhausted to press anymore, thats why spain got the space/chances they got then. Has nothing to do with "Spain turning on the heat" or such BS.
It's never as bad as Portugal, even Italy plays cleaner these days.
Have you actually watched the game?
This one, most of the others in this tournament, and many more. I assume you watched that too since you asked, so you must have been too biased to notice Nani's at least 2 and Cristiano's one clear dive. Among other things, obviously.
Good thing that you missed all the crap from spain And no, im not biased, game was amazingly disgusting, i hope ger vs ita winners will take the tourney, the reason why i responded is because your post made me quite sad.
why would it make you sad? Portugal plays on the ground more than they play on their feet, they are literally one of the biggest scumbag teams for many years. Spain is bad but not as bad as portugal. (I'd say italy is worse though, the country is shaped like someone's foot taking a dive after all and you got the diving tower of pisa too ^>^)
Why? Because you post shitty biased video and after that you deny that spain is as good at acting as portugal? Oh wait, got a plan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrTIlWa5wvM
first dive from iniesta: right second dive from iniesta: was foul (his reaction was bad anyways) dive from capdevilla: right dive from torres: was foul
Villa slapped him because the player step on his ankle, but he did a bad move anyways
spanish players dive sometimes (negredo did that twice today) and that isnt something we are happy about, same happens when R.Madrid plays or Barça
however, Ronaldo is the biggest diver ever existed
It's never as bad as Portugal, even Italy plays cleaner these days.
Have you actually watched the game?
This one, most of the others in this tournament, and many more. I assume you watched that too since you asked, so you must have been too biased to notice Nani's at least 2 and Cristiano's one clear dive. Among other things, obviously.
Good thing that you missed all the crap from spain And no, im not biased, game was amazingly disgusting, i hope ger vs ita winners will take the tourney, the reason why i responded is because your post made me quite sad.
I never said Spain plays 100% fair, just that Portugal's worse.
On June 28 2012 07:08 lethal111 wrote: I didnt see the whole game, but I did get a chance to watch the 30mins of OT, and I thot spain was good, they made alot of chances for themselves, but man o man that penatly shoot out. I feel bad for Ronaldo looked so sad!
The FT was quite different, Portugal pressed Spain hard and basically disabled Spains midfield, which you very seldom see. Spain looked even angry and clueless what to do at some times ( They even tried several high balls in the box, whaaat).. but formidable as they were Portugal could hardly create any chances as Spain control of space seemed as invincible in defense as it always does. In overtime Portugal were just to exhausted to press anymore, thats why spain got the space/chances they got then. Has nothing to do with "Spain turning on the heat" or such BS.
making the other team tired with many passing or a strong defense is part of the strat
It's never as bad as Portugal, even Italy plays cleaner these days.
Have you actually watched the game?
This one, most of the others in this tournament, and many more. I assume you watched that too since you asked, so you must have been too biased to notice Nani's at least 2 and Cristiano's one clear dive. Among other things, obviously.
Good thing that you missed all the crap from spain And no, im not biased, game was amazingly disgusting, i hope ger vs ita winners will take the tourney, the reason why i responded is because your post made me quite sad.
why would it make you sad? Portugal plays on the ground more than they play on their feet, they are literally one of the biggest scumbag teams for many years. Spain is bad but not as bad as portugal. (I'd say italy is worse though, the country is shaped like someone's foot taking a dive after all and you got the diving tower of pisa too ^>^)
Why? Because you post shitty biased video and after that you deny that spain is as good at acting as portugal? Oh wait, got a plan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrTIlWa5wvM
first dive from iniesta: right second dive from iniesta: was foul (his reaction was bad anyways) dive from capdevilla: right dive from torres: was foul
Villa slapped him because the player step on his ankle, but he did a bad move anyways
spanish players dive sometimes (negredo did that twice today) and that isnt something we are happy about, same happens when R.Madrid plays or Barça
however, Ronaldo is the biggest diver ever existed
the discussion is useless so we can stop now
i've never discussed with you and i just wanted to paste biased crap to look cool, learning from other people.
It's never as bad as Portugal, even Italy plays cleaner these days.
Have you actually watched the game?
This one, most of the others in this tournament, and many more. I assume you watched that too since you asked, so you must have been too biased to notice Nani's at least 2 and Cristiano's one clear dive. Among other things, obviously.
Good thing that you missed all the crap from spain And no, im not biased, game was amazingly disgusting, i hope ger vs ita winners will take the tourney, the reason why i responded is because your post made me quite sad.
I never said Spain plays 100% fair, just that Portugal's worse.
Portugal is same as spain, just i hate them more for having pepe than for ronaldo.
It's never as bad as Portugal, even Italy plays cleaner these days.
Have you actually watched the game?
This one, most of the others in this tournament, and many more. I assume you watched that too since you asked, so you must have been too biased to notice Nani's at least 2 and Cristiano's one clear dive. Among other things, obviously.
Good thing that you missed all the crap from spain And no, im not biased, game was amazingly disgusting, i hope ger vs ita winners will take the tourney, the reason why i responded is because your post made me quite sad.
why would it make you sad? Portugal plays on the ground more than they play on their feet, they are literally one of the biggest scumbag teams for many years. Spain is bad but not as bad as portugal. (I'd say italy is worse though, the country is shaped like someone's foot taking a dive after all and you got the diving tower of pisa too ^>^)
Why? Because you post shitty biased video and after that you deny that spain is as good at acting as portugal? Oh wait, got a plan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrTIlWa5wvM
This stuff makes me a sad panda,too... I am of course biased but I want the winner of Italy vs Germany to nick it, too. Italy may have a bad reputation about the diving shit, but in the game versus England you hardly saw anyone bitching,whining and complaining at every opportunity.
Today I saw one ugly foul against Fabregas in the second half. Offender did not get a card for it, BUT the players make it very hard for the ref to distinguish between real ugly fouls and normal fighting for the ball with all their moaning, bitching and complaining. Just have a look at the second half today, the playacting and the complaining at the ref were simply disgraceful.
To be fair I get really annoyed with Özil, too as he developed into a diver and if the calls don't go his way he raises his arms and starts to complain, wtf is this shit?
It's never as bad as Portugal, even Italy plays cleaner these days.
Have you actually watched the game?
This one, most of the others in this tournament, and many more. I assume you watched that too since you asked, so you must have been too biased to notice Nani's at least 2 and Cristiano's one clear dive. Among other things, obviously.
Good thing that you missed all the crap from spain And no, im not biased, game was amazingly disgusting, i hope ger vs ita winners will take the tourney, the reason why i responded is because your post made me quite sad.
why would it make you sad? Portugal plays on the ground more than they play on their feet, they are literally one of the biggest scumbag teams for many years. Spain is bad but not as bad as portugal. (I'd say italy is worse though, the country is shaped like someone's foot taking a dive after all and you got the diving tower of pisa too ^>^)
Why? Because you post shitty biased video and after that you deny that spain is as good at acting as portugal? Oh wait, got a plan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrTIlWa5wvM
however, Ronaldo is the biggest diver ever existed
I know all the cool kids are hating on Ronaldo, but you can't actually be serious.
It's never as bad as Portugal, even Italy plays cleaner these days.
Have you actually watched the game?
This one, most of the others in this tournament, and many more. I assume you watched that too since you asked, so you must have been too biased to notice Nani's at least 2 and Cristiano's one clear dive. Among other things, obviously.
Good thing that you missed all the crap from spain And no, im not biased, game was amazingly disgusting, i hope ger vs ita winners will take the tourney, the reason why i responded is because your post made me quite sad.
why would it make you sad? Portugal plays on the ground more than they play on their feet, they are literally one of the biggest scumbag teams for many years. Spain is bad but not as bad as portugal. (I'd say italy is worse though, the country is shaped like someone's foot taking a dive after all and you got the diving tower of pisa too ^>^)
Why? Because you post shitty biased video and after that you deny that spain is as good at acting as portugal? Oh wait, got a plan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrTIlWa5wvM
however, Ronaldo is the biggest diver ever existed
I know all the cool kids are hating on Ronaldo, but you can't actually be serious.
im serious and almost everyone will agree with me
u can say Busquets is a stupid diver and we will accept that, so what? just accept the truth
It's never as bad as Portugal, even Italy plays cleaner these days.
Have you actually watched the game?
This one, most of the others in this tournament, and many more. I assume you watched that too since you asked, so you must have been too biased to notice Nani's at least 2 and Cristiano's one clear dive. Among other things, obviously.
Good thing that you missed all the crap from spain And no, im not biased, game was amazingly disgusting, i hope ger vs ita winners will take the tourney, the reason why i responded is because your post made me quite sad.
why would it make you sad? Portugal plays on the ground more than they play on their feet, they are literally one of the biggest scumbag teams for many years. Spain is bad but not as bad as portugal. (I'd say italy is worse though, the country is shaped like someone's foot taking a dive after all and you got the diving tower of pisa too ^>^)
Why? Because you post shitty biased video and after that you deny that spain is as good at acting as portugal? Oh wait, got a plan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrTIlWa5wvM
This stuff makes me a sad panda,too... I am of course biased but I want the winner of Italy vs Germany to nick it, too. Italy may have a bad reputation about the diving shit, but in the game versus England you hardly saw anyone bitching,whining and complaining at every opportunity.
Today I saw one ugly foul against Fabregas in the second half. Offender did not get a card for it, BUT the players make it very hard for the ref to distinguish between real ugly fouls and normal fighting for the ball with all their moaning, bitching and complaining. Just have a look at the second half today, the playacting and the complaining at the ref were simply disgraceful.
To be fair I get really annoyed with Özil, too as he developed into a diver and if the calls don't go his way he raises his arms and starts to complain, wtf is this shit?
Ye, the game was really annoying from both sides, i was just trying to say that both spain and portugal played on the same dirty level. I was kind of amazed how well refs did in this match, because both teams pressured him a lot And about ozil, it feels like that is what football is becoming and to be fair, he's still way below some southern stars ^_^
On June 28 2012 07:08 lethal111 wrote: I didnt see the whole game, but I did get a chance to watch the 30mins of OT, and I thot spain was good, they made alot of chances for themselves, but man o man that penatly shoot out. I feel bad for Ronaldo looked so sad!
The FT was quite different, Portugal pressed Spain hard and basically disabled Spains midfield, which you very seldom see. Spain looked even angry and clueless what to do at some times ( They even tried several high balls in the box, whaaat).. but formidable as they were Portugal could hardly create any chances as Spain control of space seemed as invincible in defense as it always does. In overtime Portugal were just to exhausted to press anymore, thats why spain got the space/chances they got then. Has nothing to do with "Spain turning on the heat" or such BS.
making the other team tired with many passing or a strong defense is part of the strat
blame the portuguese coach
I understand that and i salute Spains strength, but it's not very heroic while fighting as hard as Portugal did kinda is. No question that Spain is the superior team, but to play like that doesn't make them likeable ( allthough i personally like their players mostly).
On June 28 2012 06:47 Artok wrote: [quote] good thing that spain always plays fair
It's never as bad as Portugal, even Italy plays cleaner these days.
Have you actually watched the game?
This one, most of the others in this tournament, and many more. I assume you watched that too since you asked, so you must have been too biased to notice Nani's at least 2 and Cristiano's one clear dive. Among other things, obviously.
Good thing that you missed all the crap from spain And no, im not biased, game was amazingly disgusting, i hope ger vs ita winners will take the tourney, the reason why i responded is because your post made me quite sad.
why would it make you sad? Portugal plays on the ground more than they play on their feet, they are literally one of the biggest scumbag teams for many years. Spain is bad but not as bad as portugal. (I'd say italy is worse though, the country is shaped like someone's foot taking a dive after all and you got the diving tower of pisa too ^>^)
Why? Because you post shitty biased video and after that you deny that spain is as good at acting as portugal? Oh wait, got a plan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrTIlWa5wvM
however, Ronaldo is the biggest diver ever existed
I know all the cool kids are hating on Ronaldo, but you can't actually be serious.
im serious and almost everyone will agree with me
u can say Busquets is a stupid diver and we will accept that, so what? just accept the truth
It's rare to see Ronaldo fall when it's not a foul, most times he was fouled or he just couldn't keep his balance (meaning it wasn't a foul but he fell regardless). And almost everyone will agree with you because almost everyone isn't able to watch Ronaldo without throwing baseless remarks like that. Busquets for example is five times the diver Ronaldo is and no one seems to care. I can understand, Busquets is five times less the player Ronaldo is, but that doesn't mean Ronaldo is the biggest diver because he's the player that attracts the most attention.
On June 28 2012 06:47 Artok wrote: [quote] good thing that spain always plays fair
It's never as bad as Portugal, even Italy plays cleaner these days.
Have you actually watched the game?
This one, most of the others in this tournament, and many more. I assume you watched that too since you asked, so you must have been too biased to notice Nani's at least 2 and Cristiano's one clear dive. Among other things, obviously.
Good thing that you missed all the crap from spain And no, im not biased, game was amazingly disgusting, i hope ger vs ita winners will take the tourney, the reason why i responded is because your post made me quite sad.
why would it make you sad? Portugal plays on the ground more than they play on their feet, they are literally one of the biggest scumbag teams for many years. Spain is bad but not as bad as portugal. (I'd say italy is worse though, the country is shaped like someone's foot taking a dive after all and you got the diving tower of pisa too ^>^)
Why? Because you post shitty biased video and after that you deny that spain is as good at acting as portugal? Oh wait, got a plan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrTIlWa5wvM
however, Ronaldo is the biggest diver ever existed
I know all the cool kids are hating on Ronaldo, but you can't actually be serious.
im serious and almost everyone will agree with me
u can say Busquets is a stupid diver and we will accept that, so what? just accept the truth
Only Ronaldo haters (and there is many) will blindly agree with that. Busquets, Pedro (and people from unrelated nations in this discussion - like Robben) are FAR worse divers than Ronaldo.
I can't believe some of the comments I've been reading. Obviously, it wasn't Spain's best match, and Portugal did an awesome job pressuring us. The first half was mainly theirs, but even so, Portugal didn't shoot on goal a single time! Since the second half Spain had this match much more dominated, and the OT was just wonderful play by Spain (due to all that initial nice pressure Portugal applied). Anyway, Spain deserved more the win, even if just by a little!
On June 28 2012 07:08 lethal111 wrote: I didnt see the whole game, but I did get a chance to watch the 30mins of OT, and I thot spain was good, they made alot of chances for themselves, but man o man that penatly shoot out. I feel bad for Ronaldo looked so sad!
The FT was quite different, Portugal pressed Spain hard and basically disabled Spains midfield, which you very seldom see. Spain looked even angry and clueless what to do at some times ( They even tried several high balls in the box, whaaat).. but formidable as they were Portugal could hardly create any chances as Spain control of space seemed as invincible in defense as it always does. In overtime Portugal were just to exhausted to press anymore, thats why spain got the space/chances they got then. Has nothing to do with "Spain turning on the heat" or such BS.
This is very accurate. I was amazed how well the Portuguese kept up the pressing for 90 minutes. Most teams barely last a half. And Spain were definately out of ideas. Usually its like 20 mins where they look a bit foxed and then teams tire out and get jaded and Spain seems to become invincible again. Not the case today. Still the better team by a margin and Portugal did what they had to do. And quoting Shearer.
"If you'd given Portugal a shootout before the game they'd have taken it." I dont know about that but by the end they were certainly up for it.
It still boggles me that people dont realise it takes 2 teams to play a match.
I always have wanted to see the keeper call a penalty taker's bluff on those chips and just stand still in middle and casually catch it. Would be pretty funny.
On June 28 2012 06:52 ZBiR wrote: [quote] It's never as bad as Portugal, even Italy plays cleaner these days.
Have you actually watched the game?
This one, most of the others in this tournament, and many more. I assume you watched that too since you asked, so you must have been too biased to notice Nani's at least 2 and Cristiano's one clear dive. Among other things, obviously.
Good thing that you missed all the crap from spain And no, im not biased, game was amazingly disgusting, i hope ger vs ita winners will take the tourney, the reason why i responded is because your post made me quite sad.
why would it make you sad? Portugal plays on the ground more than they play on their feet, they are literally one of the biggest scumbag teams for many years. Spain is bad but not as bad as portugal. (I'd say italy is worse though, the country is shaped like someone's foot taking a dive after all and you got the diving tower of pisa too ^>^)
Why? Because you post shitty biased video and after that you deny that spain is as good at acting as portugal? Oh wait, got a plan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrTIlWa5wvM
however, Ronaldo is the biggest diver ever existed
I know all the cool kids are hating on Ronaldo, but you can't actually be serious.
im serious and almost everyone will agree with me
u can say Busquets is a stupid diver and we will accept that, so what? just accept the truth
Only Ronaldo haters (and there is many) will blindly agree with that. Busquets, Pedro (and people from unrelated nations in this discussion - like Robben) are FAR worse divers than Ronaldo.
bring them all to a pool and set them free. they are all pretty egregious offenders
On June 28 2012 10:13 RowdierBob wrote: I always have wanted to see the keeper call a penalty taker's bluff on those chips and just stand still in middle and casually catch it. Would be pretty funny.
On June 28 2012 10:13 RowdierBob wrote: I always have wanted to see the keeper call a penalty taker's bluff on those chips and just stand still in middle and casually catch it. Would be pretty funny.
On June 28 2012 10:13 RowdierBob wrote: I always have wanted to see the keeper call a penalty taker's bluff on those chips and just stand still in middle and casually catch it. Would be pretty funny.
Like that?
It actually would have gotten the portugal keeper 2 saves instead of only 1. (If he didn't predict at all and only reacted)
okaayyy, bad moment. but hes looked pretty good at the Euro Cup... scored 2 goals vs Ireland (yes i know its Ireland)
Spain looked balanced with Torres, they look completely flat without any fucking strikers. Its boring and eventually they're gonna lose b.c. they wont score GOALS
On June 28 2012 12:28 ShowTheLights wrote: okaayyy, bad moment. but hes looked pretty good at the Euro Cup... scored 2 goals vs Ireland (yes i know its Ireland)
Spain looked balanced with Torres, they look completely flat without any fucking strikers. Its boring and eventually they're gonna lose b.c. they wont score GOALS
On June 28 2012 10:52 don_kyuhote wrote: Wow, Spain's clean sheet streak in knockout stage of major tournament is now up to 9. Beast!
EURO 2008 vs ITA 0-0 EURO 2008 vs RUS 3-0 EURO 2008 vs GER 1-0
WC 2010 vs POR 1-0 WC 2010 vs PAR 1-0 WC 2010 vs GER 1-0 WC 2010 vs NED 1-0
EURO 2012 vs FRA 2-0 EURO 2012 vs POR 0-0
Doesnt seem like the score too many with strikers either. But yes they do miss a striker. His name is Soldado. Torress unfortunately hasnt proved to be the answer.
The Ireland game was setup for him to hit some form and he scored some goals but obviously his play didnt invoke enough confidence to get a start.
Damn. So do you think he'll get the start for the final? Fabregas didn't play too well today other than kicking the last penalty. And the Neg-something guy (Sry forgot name) didnt play well either.
Spain is really missing David Villa. Was a good striker.
On June 28 2012 12:28 ShowTheLights wrote: okaayyy, bad moment. but hes looked pretty good at the Euro Cup... scored 2 goals vs Ireland (yes i know its Ireland)
Spain looked balanced with Torres, they look completely flat without any fucking strikers. Its boring and eventually they're gonna lose b.c. they wont score GOALS
On June 28 2012 10:52 don_kyuhote wrote: Wow, Spain's clean sheet streak in knockout stage of major tournament is now up to 9. Beast!
EURO 2008 vs ITA 0-0 EURO 2008 vs RUS 3-0 EURO 2008 vs GER 1-0
WC 2010 vs POR 1-0 WC 2010 vs PAR 1-0 WC 2010 vs GER 1-0 WC 2010 vs NED 1-0
EURO 2012 vs FRA 2-0 EURO 2012 vs POR 0-0
Doesnt seem like the score too many with strikers either. But yes they do miss a striker. His name is Soldado. Torress unfortunately hasnt proved to be the answer.
The Ireland game was setup for him to hit some form and he scored some goals but obviously his play didnt invoke enough confidence to get a start.
Even as a Chelsea fan I can't disagree. Soldado or Llorente seem obvious choices for Spain. You can't rely on Fabregas, Nevas or Alba to be able to deal with one-on-ones and shoulder the pressure. Del Bosque really hopes that he has new Iniestas and Xavis coming through but really I doubt it, I think Spain will fall in the rankings once they are gone.
It doesn't matter which striker would have played in Negredo's stead, he most likely wouldn't have scored. Negredo received the ball on only 16 occasions, most of the times in unfavorable positions, which was the fault of his teammates and the Spanish tactics.
On June 28 2012 16:49 Maenander wrote: It doesn't matter which striker would have played in Negredo's stead, he most likely wouldn't have scored. Negredo received the ball on only 16 occasions, most of the times in unfavorable positions, which was the fault of his teammates and the Spanish tactics.
Exactly I don't think most people understand how dependant forwards are of the balls they receive. Just look at that huge opportunity ronaldo blew it was more because meireles played the ball behind him which kills the speed and the options you have considerably.
Gz to Spain 3 finals in a row is really impressive!
On June 28 2012 16:48 Salteador Neo wrote: Wow so much hate for Spain in this thread. Being the back to back champions makes that I guess. If you knew how the politics work here lol xD
Maybe its because their fans say things like 'Back to back champions" when the final hasn't even been played yet?
On June 28 2012 16:48 Salteador Neo wrote: Wow so much hate for Spain in this thread. Being the back to back champions makes that I guess. If you knew how the politics work here lol xD
Maybe its because their fans say things like 'Back to back champions" when the final hasn't even been played yet?
I meant champions in the last two championships. Like in a row. Maybe it's not the right way to say it Oh well.
Oh man, this game made me so sad. Woke up at 3 am to watch, only to watch Portugal finally suffer a loss by penalties T__T sigh.... man I just personally don't like Spain's playstyle. I understand that it requires a great deal of skill and that it's extremely advanced, but the way they just hold onto the ball for so long and pass it around waiting for openings and whatnot just pisses me off lol. Congrats Spain, hope the winner of Italy v Germany can take them out in the final keke~
On June 28 2012 18:16 [X]Ken_D wrote: One of the most disappointing Eurocup games
Even fewer scoring opportunities than many of the previous games.
Spain's strategy against Portugal: Foul Ronaldo when he has the ball, then foul Ronaldo when he doesn't have the ball lol.
Anyways, congratulation to Spain for getting to the finals.
Really? Perhaps we were watching a different game. For the most part it looked like they didn't care much for Ronaldo becaue they knew he's pretty much impotent as a striker in this tournament. He wastes so many good opportunities it's unbelievable. His dribbling and passing is top notch (still not close to Zinedine Zidane, but he's getting there), I'll give him that, but I would never put him in advanced forward position because he seems to have 0 finesse when striking. All he seems to be doing is shoot at the goal as strong as he can and pray for the best.
One of the most overrated players in my opinion, at least as a striker. He should play in the midfield, where his skills could be put to more use. Sure, he would get less chances to score but I believe that overall team performance would improve.
If you need examples just look at Roberto Carlos, who scored more goals than many strikers (in a striker-heavy teams no less) and he was playing on the defence. You don't really need a very good dribbler as your advanced forward, who you need there is a guy who knows the right place to be at the right time and can put the ball in the goal regardless of position, facing, number of defenders etc. (vide: Henrik Larsson).
Long story short: Dribbling and passing are skills best used in the midfield. Advanced forward usually only needs to touch the ball once, he just needs to make sure this one touch counts (and CR seems incapable of doing that). Conclusion: CR is playing on wrong position and is a showman with delusions of grandeur which doesn't even match his performance.
Why the spain coach doesnt give a chance to Llorente ? In my eyes he is the best infrom Spain striker right now but hey im not a coach or football expert so my opinion doesnt matter.
On June 28 2012 18:16 [X]Ken_D wrote: One of the most disappointing Eurocup games
Even fewer scoring opportunities than many of the previous games.
Spain's strategy against Portugal: Foul Ronaldo when he has the ball, then foul Ronaldo when he doesn't have the ball lol.
Anyways, congratulation to Spain for getting to the finals.
Really? Perhaps we were watching a different game. For the most part it looked like they didn't care much for Ronaldo becaue they knew he's pretty much impotent as a striker in this tournament. He wastes so many good opportunities it's unbelievable. His dribbling and passing is top notch (still not close to Zinedine Zidane, but he's getting there), I'll give him that, but I would never put him in advanced forward position because he seems to have 0 finesse when striking. All he seems to be doing is shoot at the goal as strong as he can and pray for the best.
One of the most overrated players in my opinion, at least as a striker. He should play in the midfield, where his skills could be put to more use. Sure, he would get less chances to score but I believe that overall team performance would improve.
If you need examples just look at Roberto Carlos, who scored more goals than many strikers (in a striker-heavy teams no less) and he was playing on the defence. You don't really need a very good dribbler as your advanced forward, who you need there is a guy who knows the right place to be at the right time and can put the ball in the goal regardless of position, facing, number of defenders etc. (vide: Henrik Larsson).
Long story short: Dribbling and passing are skills best used in the midfield. Advanced forward usually only needs to touch the ball once, he just needs to make sure this one touch counts (and CR seems incapable of doing that). Conclusion: CR is playing on wrong position and is a showman with delusions of grandeur which doesn't even match his performance.
You are correct but keep in mind that he is a winger not a striker, there's not much one can do when you have a rock with eyes up front, aka Almeida
When Ronaldo went to Madrid at some point he thought he could do anything and that he should be the playmaker. That was very bad. He isn't a Pirlo or a Ozil. He is a winger. He isn't a true striker only. Didn't see where he wasted oppertunities today, except for putting himself last in the penalty shootout.
Sounds indeed that when some people see an attack that should be seuccesful they can't see if the problem is Meireles passing the ball wrong or Ronaldo having the wrong first touch. Pretty funny stuff that happens during WC and Euros when everyone suddenly cares about this game lol.
I'll give him that, but I would never put him in advanced forward position because he seems to have 0 finesse when striking. All he seems to be doing is shoot at the goal as strong as he can and pray for the best.
A guy who scored over 60 goals this season doesn't have finishing touch? Shooting at goal and praying for the best is what accounts for 146 goals in 144 matches at Real Madrid?
I believe Ronaldo is more effective as a winger because at that position he has more freedom to create his own chances and move around the field, whereas it's easier to lock down strikers who are much more dependent on how the ball is delivered to them.
I'll give him that, but I would never put him in advanced forward position because he seems to have 0 finesse when striking. All he seems to be doing is shoot at the goal as strong as he can and pray for the best.
A guy who scored over 60 goals this season doesn't have finishing touch? Shooting at goal and praying for the best is what accounts for 146 goals in 144 matches at Real Madrid?
I believe Ronaldo is more effective as a winger because at that position he has more freedom to create his own chances and move around the field, whereas it's easier to lock down strikers who are much more dependent on how the ball is delivered to them.
I admit, even though he has quality, his teammates in Real fed him many good passes, unlike today's portugal.
I'll give him that, but I would never put him in advanced forward position because he seems to have 0 finesse when striking. All he seems to be doing is shoot at the goal as strong as he can and pray for the best.
A guy who scored over 60 goals this season doesn't have finishing touch? Shooting at goal and praying for the best is what accounts for 146 goals in 144 matches at Real Madrid?
I believe Ronaldo is more effective as a winger because at that position he has more freedom to create his own chances and move around the field, whereas it's easier to lock down strikers who are much more dependent on how the ball is delivered to them.
Excatly, 2 good centre backs would shut Ronaldo down all game long. The way Ronaldo is effective is with his pace on counters picking the ball up deep or on the wing and running at players. He can't really do that as an out and out striker.
On June 28 2012 18:16 [X]Ken_D wrote: One of the most disappointing Eurocup games
Even fewer scoring opportunities than many of the previous games.
Spain's strategy against Portugal: Foul Ronaldo when he has the ball, then foul Ronaldo when he doesn't have the ball lol.
Anyways, congratulation to Spain for getting to the finals.
Really? Perhaps we were watching a different game. For the most part it looked like they didn't care much for Ronaldo becaue they knew he's pretty much impotent as a striker in this tournament. He wastes so many good opportunities it's unbelievable. His dribbling and passing is top notch (still not close to Zinedine Zidane, but he's getting there), I'll give him that, but I would never put him in advanced forward position because he seems to have 0 finesse when striking. All he seems to be doing is shoot at the goal as strong as he can and pray for the best. Incidentally Benzema was clearly experiencing the same problem as Ronaldo in France, there was no one he could play dinky balls with or intricate passes, so he tried to go it alone and was forced to play one dimensionally. When you watch Ozil, Benzema and Ronaldo link up in RM then you will realise what Ronaldo is missing in Portugal!!!
One of the most overrated players in my opinion, at least as a striker. He should play in the midfield, where his skills could be put to more use. Sure, he would get less chances to score but I believe that overall team performance would improve.
If you need examples just look at Roberto Carlos, who scored more goals than many strikers (in a striker-heavy teams no less) and he was playing on the defence. You don't really need a very good dribbler as your advanced forward, who you need there is a guy who knows the right place to be at the right time and can put the ball in the goal regardless of position, facing, number of defenders etc. (vide: Henrik Larsson).
Long story short: Dribbling and passing are skills best used in the midfield. Advanced forward usually only needs to touch the ball once, he just needs to make sure this one touch counts (and CR seems incapable of doing that). Conclusion: CR is playing on wrong position and is a showman with delusions of grandeur which doesn't even match his performance.
Manitou as much as I love you for your amazing posts on the random pics thread, this is bang wrong and shows you haven't watched him at club level. Messi also 'underperforms' in national level but no sane person would say that makes him bad. Ronaldo is in a team of average attacking players. He is miles and above everyone else in his squad. You have to remember that what makes him so dangerous in RM is the fact that he can offload to world class players, and hit crosses to Benzema, so his opponents don't know if he will pass or dribble. In Portugal, his only viable option is just to dribble and shoot because he can't rely on his teammates. It forces him to be one-dimensional and also players tremendous pressure on him. I am only too familiar with our wonderful English players cracking under the pressure and being way worse in International play than domestic.
Incidentally Benzema was clearly experiencing the same problem as Ronaldo in France, there was no one he could play dinky balls with or intricate passes, so he tried to go it alone and was forced to play one dimensionally. When you watch Ozil, Benzema and Ronaldo link up in RM then you will realise what Ronaldo is missing in Portugal!!!
Ronaldo easily equals Zidane in his usefulness to RM, and they are on the same level in terms of what they can offer to their team at national level, it's just that in the France teams Zidane played with, the level was INSANELY higher than Portugal.
Dribbling and passing skills being only good for midfield is a crazy assertion. Firstly, Messi has wonderful skills in that area and he is a forward (and there are loads of players like him in that position). Secondly, there are masses of great wingers who all exhibit wonderful footwork, a turn of pace and exquisite passing/ crossing, which CR7 exhibits day in day out for RM. He also played extremely well for Portugal even though he got unlucky a few times with his finishing.
Also I don't know why you are going on about position, CR7 is a winger in RM the only reason he was coming inside was because of how incredibad everyone else is at attacking in Portugal and how much he needed to carry the team. Also, Nani's performances were SO shocking this tournament. He was probably the worst performer. Meireles actually performed above his level in Chelsea imo, probably because he was passing to Ronaldo and taking less ridiculous long range 1% success rate shots.
On June 27 2012 17:22 keioh wrote: Oh and for a prediction : Ronaldo will play like a moron because it's Spain so he'll touch 2 balls in 75 min and thus Portugal will look like "Chelsea". 1-0 for Spain after another boring match.
PLEASE MAKE ME WRONG PORTUGAL
All Ronaldo will need is 2 touches if he gets one on one with Arbeloa dude xD I mean, that is the miss match of the century! And we know the wingers for Spain will be no where to be seen tracking back, so an isolated Arbeloa vs Ronaldo is going to be a joy to watch for Portugal fans and the neutrals lol.
On June 27 2012 17:22 keioh wrote: Oh and for a prediction : Ronaldo will play like a moron because it's Spain so he'll touch 2 balls in 75 min and thus Portugal will look like "Chelsea". 1-0 for Spain after another boring match.
PLEASE MAKE ME WRONG PORTUGAL
All Ronaldo will need is 2 touches if he gets one on one with Arbeloa dude xD I mean, that is the miss match of the century! And we know the wingers for Spain will be no where to be seen tracking back, so an isolated Arbeloa vs Ronaldo is going to be a joy to watch for Portugal fans and the neutrals lol.
Why the hell would you think a team as defensive as Spain is ever going to let Ronaldo be 1 vs 1 with anybody?
Ronaldo rarely goes past players anymore anyway, he just scores goals and lots of them. He's gone from the next Garrincha from his Sporting/early United days to the next Van Basten. Ronaldo also tends to be a huge big game bottler especially with Portugal so I expect him to do little.
Hmm? Did you not see him vs Barcelona this season? Was awesome in that game. And did you also not hear Alonso in press conference? He said they are not even making any special plans for Ronaldo, they will study his play but not do anything special marking wise. So to me that says, they are just going to make sure Portugal don't get the football. But they will, and Ronaldo will be 1 on 1 with Arbeloa quite easily. Only reason Barca do well vs him is because Alves' pace matches Ronaldo's
On June 27 2012 17:22 keioh wrote: Oh and for a prediction : Ronaldo will play like a moron because it's Spain so he'll touch 2 balls in 75 min and thus Portugal will look like "Chelsea". 1-0 for Spain after another boring match.
PLEASE MAKE ME WRONG PORTUGAL
All Ronaldo will need is 2 touches if he gets one on one with Arbeloa dude xD I mean, that is the miss match of the century! And we know the wingers for Spain will be no where to be seen tracking back, so an isolated Arbeloa vs Ronaldo is going to be a joy to watch for Portugal fans and the neutrals lol.
Why the hell would you think a team as defensive as Spain is ever going to let Ronaldo be 1 vs 1 with anybody?
Ronaldo rarely goes past players anymore anyway, he just scores goals and lots of them. He's gone from the next Garrincha from his Sporting/early United days to the next Van Basten. Ronaldo also tends to be a huge big game bottler especially with Portugal so I expect him to do little.
Hmm? Did you not see him vs Barcelona this season? Was awesome in that game. And did you also not hear Alonso in press conference? He said they are not even making any special plans for Ronaldo, they will study his play but not do anything special marking wise. So to me that says, they are just going to make sure Portugal don't get the football. But they will, and Ronaldo will be 1 on 1 with Arbeloa quite easily. Only reason Barca do well vs him is because Alves' pace matches Ronaldo's
I cannot for the life of me understand why on earth you would equate a very offensive team like Barcelona with the way this Spanish team play, have you actually watched Spain and Barcelona play? Not to mention that even by this mindless logic Ronaldo has about a 10% rate of playing well vs Barcelona, he is usually awful vs Barcelona.
You are also taking the words of managers pre match on face value. I really do wonder if this is the first tournament you've ever watched football.
I pretty much can't remember a single occasion this entire tournament or in the World Cup 2010 where any player for any team got themselves in a 1 vs 1 situation with a Spanish defender, and you honestly believe that the one guy they will give that space to is Cristiano Ronaldo? Absolute madness.
Balotelli 1v1 Ramos, skinned him alive....missed a 1on1 from it, probably miss of tournament....theres one. I have watched to much football, i have watched every international tournament since 98 world cup, when i was 8. You just have your vision of what is what and don't allow for anyone elses' opinion that is fine, i understand where your logic is coming from but you clearly didnt watch a galatico this season if you think Ronaldo "didn't do anything" in those matches. he won the copa del rey final vs them in 2010 and in 2011-12 season when they finally beat them in the league for the first time in like 2/3 seasons it was Ronaldo who rounded valdes with a stunning finish. Barcelona are Spain minus Spain doesn't have the Messi, if they had a Messi they would walk every competition they play, but they don't hense the teams like Switzerland Portugal England have all beaten them in the past 2 years. Lets just see what happens before you respond and criticise everything i have just wrote please! After the game, if it goes the way your expecting it too and Ronaldo does nothing feel free to quote me as much as you like
Oh Pandemona parhaps now you'll learn that football isn't played by reading names from a computer screen. Just like I predicted Portugal were completely toothless and didn't even manage a shot on target all game.
Another great defensive display for Spain, Del Bosque should have gone with Llorente instead of Negredo who was awful.
On June 27 2012 17:22 keioh wrote: Oh and for a prediction : Ronaldo will play like a moron because it's Spain so he'll touch 2 balls in 75 min and thus Portugal will look like "Chelsea". 1-0 for Spain after another boring match.
PLEASE MAKE ME WRONG PORTUGAL
All Ronaldo will need is 2 touches if he gets one on one with Arbeloa dude xD I mean, that is the miss match of the century! And we know the wingers for Spain will be no where to be seen tracking back, so an isolated Arbeloa vs Ronaldo is going to be a joy to watch for Portugal fans and the neutrals lol.
On June 27 2012 17:22 keioh wrote: Oh and for a prediction : Ronaldo will play like a moron because it's Spain so he'll touch 2 balls in 75 min and thus Portugal will look like "Chelsea". 1-0 for Spain after another boring match.
PLEASE MAKE ME WRONG PORTUGAL
All Ronaldo will need is 2 touches if he gets one on one with Arbeloa dude xD I mean, that is the miss match of the century! And we know the wingers for Spain will be no where to be seen tracking back, so an isolated Arbeloa vs Ronaldo is going to be a joy to watch for Portugal fans and the neutrals lol.
Why the hell would you think a team as defensive as Spain is ever going to let Ronaldo be 1 vs 1 with anybody?
Ronaldo rarely goes past players anymore anyway, he just scores goals and lots of them. He's gone from the next Garrincha from his Sporting/early United days to the next Van Basten. Ronaldo also tends to be a huge big game bottler especially with Portugal so I expect him to do little.
Hmm? Did you not see him vs Barcelona this season? Was awesome in that game. And did you also not hear Alonso in press conference? He said they are not even making any special plans for Ronaldo, they will study his play but not do anything special marking wise. So to me that says, they are just going to make sure Portugal don't get the football. But they will, and Ronaldo will be 1 on 1 with Arbeloa quite easily. Only reason Barca do well vs him is because Alves' pace matches Ronaldo's
On June 27 2012 17:22 keioh wrote: Oh and for a prediction : Ronaldo will play like a moron because it's Spain so he'll touch 2 balls in 75 min and thus Portugal will look like "Chelsea". 1-0 for Spain after another boring match.
PLEASE MAKE ME WRONG PORTUGAL
All Ronaldo will need is 2 touches if he gets one on one with Arbeloa dude xD I mean, that is the miss match of the century! And we know the wingers for Spain will be no where to be seen tracking back, so an isolated Arbeloa vs Ronaldo is going to be a joy to watch for Portugal fans and the neutrals lol.
Why the hell would you think a team as defensive as Spain is ever going to let Ronaldo be 1 vs 1 with anybody?
Ronaldo rarely goes past players anymore anyway, he just scores goals and lots of them. He's gone from the next Garrincha from his Sporting/early United days to the next Van Basten. Ronaldo also tends to be a huge big game bottler especially with Portugal so I expect him to do little.
Hmm? Did you not see him vs Barcelona this season? Was awesome in that game. And did you also not hear Alonso in press conference? He said they are not even making any special plans for Ronaldo, they will study his play but not do anything special marking wise. So to me that says, they are just going to make sure Portugal don't get the football. But they will, and Ronaldo will be 1 on 1 with Arbeloa quite easily. Only reason Barca do well vs him is because Alves' pace matches Ronaldo's
I cannot for the life of me understand why on earth you would equate a very offensive team like Barcelona with the way this Spanish team play, have you actually watched Spain and Barcelona play? Not to mention that even by this mindless logic Ronaldo has about a 10% rate of playing well vs Barcelona, he is usually awful vs Barcelona.
You are also taking the words of managers pre match on face value. I really do wonder if this is the first tournament you've ever watched football.
I pretty much can't remember a single occasion this entire tournament or in the World Cup 2010 where any player for any team got themselves in a 1 vs 1 situation with a Spanish defender, and you honestly believe that the one guy they will give that space to is Cristiano Ronaldo? Absolute madness.
Balotelli 1v1 Ramos, skinned him alive....missed a 1on1 from it, probably miss of tournament....theres one. I have watched to much football, i have watched every international tournament since 98 world cup, when i was 8. You just have your vision of what is what and don't allow for anyone elses' opinion that is fine, i understand where your logic is coming from but you clearly didnt watch a galatico this season if you think Ronaldo "didn't do anything" in those matches. he won the copa del rey final vs them in 2010 and in 2011-12 season when they finally beat them in the league for the first time in like 2/3 seasons it was Ronaldo who rounded valdes with a stunning finish. Barcelona are Spain minus Spain doesn't have the Messi, if they had a Messi they would walk every competition they play, but they don't hense the teams like Switzerland Portugal England have all beaten them in the past 2 years. Lets just see what happens before you respond and criticise everything i have just wrote please! After the game, if it goes the way your expecting it too and Ronaldo does nothing feel free to quote me as much as you like
Oh Pandemona parhaps now you'll learn that football isn't played by reading names from a computer screen. Just like I predicted Portugal were completely toothless and didn't even manage a shot on target all game.
Another great defensive display for Spain, Del Bosque should have gone with Llorente instead of Negredo who was awful.
What game did you watch? 0.O 1st half, Portugal > Spain, everywhere on the pitch. 2nd half was shittest game of football. Extra Time, Spain woke up and played the way we know, it was not until the last 30minutes (extra time) Spain played well? How can you say Spain were excellent in defense just because they didnt concede? Were Chelsea excellent vs Barcelona at stamford bridge because they didnt concede? I think not (coming from a Chelsea fan too) Ronaldo didn't play well, yet was still the best attacking threat, and was eating Arbeloa up, Arbeloa fouled him like 5 times.
On June 27 2012 17:22 keioh wrote: Oh and for a prediction : Ronaldo will play like a moron because it's Spain so he'll touch 2 balls in 75 min and thus Portugal will look like "Chelsea". 1-0 for Spain after another boring match.
PLEASE MAKE ME WRONG PORTUGAL
All Ronaldo will need is 2 touches if he gets one on one with Arbeloa dude xD I mean, that is the miss match of the century! And we know the wingers for Spain will be no where to be seen tracking back, so an isolated Arbeloa vs Ronaldo is going to be a joy to watch for Portugal fans and the neutrals lol.
On June 27 2012 18:43 Pandemona wrote:
On June 27 2012 17:55 Aeroplaneoverthesea wrote:
On June 27 2012 17:51 Pandemona wrote:
On June 27 2012 17:22 keioh wrote: Oh and for a prediction : Ronaldo will play like a moron because it's Spain so he'll touch 2 balls in 75 min and thus Portugal will look like "Chelsea". 1-0 for Spain after another boring match.
PLEASE MAKE ME WRONG PORTUGAL
All Ronaldo will need is 2 touches if he gets one on one with Arbeloa dude xD I mean, that is the miss match of the century! And we know the wingers for Spain will be no where to be seen tracking back, so an isolated Arbeloa vs Ronaldo is going to be a joy to watch for Portugal fans and the neutrals lol.
Why the hell would you think a team as defensive as Spain is ever going to let Ronaldo be 1 vs 1 with anybody?
Ronaldo rarely goes past players anymore anyway, he just scores goals and lots of them. He's gone from the next Garrincha from his Sporting/early United days to the next Van Basten. Ronaldo also tends to be a huge big game bottler especially with Portugal so I expect him to do little.
Hmm? Did you not see him vs Barcelona this season? Was awesome in that game. And did you also not hear Alonso in press conference? He said they are not even making any special plans for Ronaldo, they will study his play but not do anything special marking wise. So to me that says, they are just going to make sure Portugal don't get the football. But they will, and Ronaldo will be 1 on 1 with Arbeloa quite easily. Only reason Barca do well vs him is because Alves' pace matches Ronaldo's
On June 27 2012 19:40 Pandemona wrote:
On June 27 2012 18:54 Aeroplaneoverthesea wrote:
On June 27 2012 18:43 Pandemona wrote:
On June 27 2012 17:55 Aeroplaneoverthesea wrote:
On June 27 2012 17:51 Pandemona wrote:
On June 27 2012 17:22 keioh wrote: Oh and for a prediction : Ronaldo will play like a moron because it's Spain so he'll touch 2 balls in 75 min and thus Portugal will look like "Chelsea". 1-0 for Spain after another boring match.
PLEASE MAKE ME WRONG PORTUGAL
All Ronaldo will need is 2 touches if he gets one on one with Arbeloa dude xD I mean, that is the miss match of the century! And we know the wingers for Spain will be no where to be seen tracking back, so an isolated Arbeloa vs Ronaldo is going to be a joy to watch for Portugal fans and the neutrals lol.
Why the hell would you think a team as defensive as Spain is ever going to let Ronaldo be 1 vs 1 with anybody?
Ronaldo rarely goes past players anymore anyway, he just scores goals and lots of them. He's gone from the next Garrincha from his Sporting/early United days to the next Van Basten. Ronaldo also tends to be a huge big game bottler especially with Portugal so I expect him to do little.
Hmm? Did you not see him vs Barcelona this season? Was awesome in that game. And did you also not hear Alonso in press conference? He said they are not even making any special plans for Ronaldo, they will study his play but not do anything special marking wise. So to me that says, they are just going to make sure Portugal don't get the football. But they will, and Ronaldo will be 1 on 1 with Arbeloa quite easily. Only reason Barca do well vs him is because Alves' pace matches Ronaldo's
I cannot for the life of me understand why on earth you would equate a very offensive team like Barcelona with the way this Spanish team play, have you actually watched Spain and Barcelona play? Not to mention that even by this mindless logic Ronaldo has about a 10% rate of playing well vs Barcelona, he is usually awful vs Barcelona.
You are also taking the words of managers pre match on face value. I really do wonder if this is the first tournament you've ever watched football.
I pretty much can't remember a single occasion this entire tournament or in the World Cup 2010 where any player for any team got themselves in a 1 vs 1 situation with a Spanish defender, and you honestly believe that the one guy they will give that space to is Cristiano Ronaldo? Absolute madness.
Balotelli 1v1 Ramos, skinned him alive....missed a 1on1 from it, probably miss of tournament....theres one. I have watched to much football, i have watched every international tournament since 98 world cup, when i was 8. You just have your vision of what is what and don't allow for anyone elses' opinion that is fine, i understand where your logic is coming from but you clearly didnt watch a galatico this season if you think Ronaldo "didn't do anything" in those matches. he won the copa del rey final vs them in 2010 and in 2011-12 season when they finally beat them in the league for the first time in like 2/3 seasons it was Ronaldo who rounded valdes with a stunning finish. Barcelona are Spain minus Spain doesn't have the Messi, if they had a Messi they would walk every competition they play, but they don't hense the teams like Switzerland Portugal England have all beaten them in the past 2 years. Lets just see what happens before you respond and criticise everything i have just wrote please! After the game, if it goes the way your expecting it too and Ronaldo does nothing feel free to quote me as much as you like
Oh Pandemona parhaps now you'll learn that football isn't played by reading names from a computer screen. Just like I predicted Portugal were completely toothless and didn't even manage a shot on target all game.
Another great defensive display for Spain, Del Bosque should have gone with Llorente instead of Negredo who was awful.
What game did you watch? 0.O 1st half, Portugal > Spain, everywhere on the pitch. 2nd half was shittest game of football. Extra Time, Spain woke up and played the way we know, it was not until the last 30minutes (extra time) Spain played well? How can you say Spain were excellent in defense just because they didnt concede? Were Chelsea excellent vs Barcelona at stamford bridge because they didnt concede? I think not (coming from a Chelsea fan too) Ronaldo didn't play well, yet was still the best attacking threat, and was eating Arbeloa up, Arbeloa fouled him like 5 times.
Despite this being the worst competitive game Spain have played since 2007 against Northern Ireland their opponents had 0 shots on target.
Fouling is part of defending tbh, Italians have been doing it for decades.
I told you Portugal wouldn't score and they didn't.
Jesus Christ, all I do on this forum is correct factual errors.
Aeroplaneoverthesea, the completely toothless team you're mentioning was one of the rare teams in the past 4 years that managed to play above or at the same level of Spain, didn't let them control the game or play their shitty taka consistently. The worst competitive game Spain played was due to the high pressure and excellent defending of Portugal.
On June 27 2012 17:22 keioh wrote: Oh and for a prediction : Ronaldo will play like a moron because it's Spain so he'll touch 2 balls in 75 min and thus Portugal will look like "Chelsea". 1-0 for Spain after another boring match.
PLEASE MAKE ME WRONG PORTUGAL
All Ronaldo will need is 2 touches if he gets one on one with Arbeloa dude xD I mean, that is the miss match of the century! And we know the wingers for Spain will be no where to be seen tracking back, so an isolated Arbeloa vs Ronaldo is going to be a joy to watch for Portugal fans and the neutrals lol.
On June 27 2012 18:43 Pandemona wrote:
On June 27 2012 17:55 Aeroplaneoverthesea wrote:
On June 27 2012 17:51 Pandemona wrote:
On June 27 2012 17:22 keioh wrote: Oh and for a prediction : Ronaldo will play like a moron because it's Spain so he'll touch 2 balls in 75 min and thus Portugal will look like "Chelsea". 1-0 for Spain after another boring match.
PLEASE MAKE ME WRONG PORTUGAL
All Ronaldo will need is 2 touches if he gets one on one with Arbeloa dude xD I mean, that is the miss match of the century! And we know the wingers for Spain will be no where to be seen tracking back, so an isolated Arbeloa vs Ronaldo is going to be a joy to watch for Portugal fans and the neutrals lol.
Why the hell would you think a team as defensive as Spain is ever going to let Ronaldo be 1 vs 1 with anybody?
Ronaldo rarely goes past players anymore anyway, he just scores goals and lots of them. He's gone from the next Garrincha from his Sporting/early United days to the next Van Basten. Ronaldo also tends to be a huge big game bottler especially with Portugal so I expect him to do little.
Hmm? Did you not see him vs Barcelona this season? Was awesome in that game. And did you also not hear Alonso in press conference? He said they are not even making any special plans for Ronaldo, they will study his play but not do anything special marking wise. So to me that says, they are just going to make sure Portugal don't get the football. But they will, and Ronaldo will be 1 on 1 with Arbeloa quite easily. Only reason Barca do well vs him is because Alves' pace matches Ronaldo's
On June 27 2012 19:40 Pandemona wrote:
On June 27 2012 18:54 Aeroplaneoverthesea wrote:
On June 27 2012 18:43 Pandemona wrote:
On June 27 2012 17:55 Aeroplaneoverthesea wrote:
On June 27 2012 17:51 Pandemona wrote:
On June 27 2012 17:22 keioh wrote: Oh and for a prediction : Ronaldo will play like a moron because it's Spain so he'll touch 2 balls in 75 min and thus Portugal will look like "Chelsea". 1-0 for Spain after another boring match.
PLEASE MAKE ME WRONG PORTUGAL
All Ronaldo will need is 2 touches if he gets one on one with Arbeloa dude xD I mean, that is the miss match of the century! And we know the wingers for Spain will be no where to be seen tracking back, so an isolated Arbeloa vs Ronaldo is going to be a joy to watch for Portugal fans and the neutrals lol.
Why the hell would you think a team as defensive as Spain is ever going to let Ronaldo be 1 vs 1 with anybody?
Ronaldo rarely goes past players anymore anyway, he just scores goals and lots of them. He's gone from the next Garrincha from his Sporting/early United days to the next Van Basten. Ronaldo also tends to be a huge big game bottler especially with Portugal so I expect him to do little.
Hmm? Did you not see him vs Barcelona this season? Was awesome in that game. And did you also not hear Alonso in press conference? He said they are not even making any special plans for Ronaldo, they will study his play but not do anything special marking wise. So to me that says, they are just going to make sure Portugal don't get the football. But they will, and Ronaldo will be 1 on 1 with Arbeloa quite easily. Only reason Barca do well vs him is because Alves' pace matches Ronaldo's
I cannot for the life of me understand why on earth you would equate a very offensive team like Barcelona with the way this Spanish team play, have you actually watched Spain and Barcelona play? Not to mention that even by this mindless logic Ronaldo has about a 10% rate of playing well vs Barcelona, he is usually awful vs Barcelona.
You are also taking the words of managers pre match on face value. I really do wonder if this is the first tournament you've ever watched football.
I pretty much can't remember a single occasion this entire tournament or in the World Cup 2010 where any player for any team got themselves in a 1 vs 1 situation with a Spanish defender, and you honestly believe that the one guy they will give that space to is Cristiano Ronaldo? Absolute madness.
Balotelli 1v1 Ramos, skinned him alive....missed a 1on1 from it, probably miss of tournament....theres one. I have watched to much football, i have watched every international tournament since 98 world cup, when i was 8. You just have your vision of what is what and don't allow for anyone elses' opinion that is fine, i understand where your logic is coming from but you clearly didnt watch a galatico this season if you think Ronaldo "didn't do anything" in those matches. he won the copa del rey final vs them in 2010 and in 2011-12 season when they finally beat them in the league for the first time in like 2/3 seasons it was Ronaldo who rounded valdes with a stunning finish. Barcelona are Spain minus Spain doesn't have the Messi, if they had a Messi they would walk every competition they play, but they don't hense the teams like Switzerland Portugal England have all beaten them in the past 2 years. Lets just see what happens before you respond and criticise everything i have just wrote please! After the game, if it goes the way your expecting it too and Ronaldo does nothing feel free to quote me as much as you like
Oh Pandemona parhaps now you'll learn that football isn't played by reading names from a computer screen. Just like I predicted Portugal were completely toothless and didn't even manage a shot on target all game.
Another great defensive display for Spain, Del Bosque should have gone with Llorente instead of Negredo who was awful.
What game did you watch? 0.O 1st half, Portugal > Spain, everywhere on the pitch. 2nd half was shittest game of football. Extra Time, Spain woke up and played the way we know, it was not until the last 30minutes (extra time) Spain played well? How can you say Spain were excellent in defense just because they didnt concede? Were Chelsea excellent vs Barcelona at stamford bridge because they didnt concede? I think not (coming from a Chelsea fan too) Ronaldo didn't play well, yet was still the best attacking threat, and was eating Arbeloa up, Arbeloa fouled him like 5 times.
Despite this being the worst competitive game Spain have played since 2007 against Northern Ireland their opponents had 0 shots on target.
Fouling is part of defending tbh, Italians have been doing it for decades.
I told you Portugal wouldn't score and they didn't.
Well technically they did :O But yes your point about the result i guess was right, but you cannot say it was one sided, apart from in the extra time 30minutes when Portugal were tired and Spain were finally playing like the best team in the world xD 1st half was a tactical masterclass by Portugal Fouling is part of defending yes, but try telling that to the rest of Europe xD We watch the toughest league week in week out for physicallness and UEFA/FIFA constantly cut down the physical side of the game.
But anyway, yes you were right Portugal wouldnt win nor score a goal (in 120minutes) but Ronaldo did influence the game like i said he would =P
On June 27 2012 17:22 keioh wrote: Oh and for a prediction : Ronaldo will play like a moron because it's Spain so he'll touch 2 balls in 75 min and thus Portugal will look like "Chelsea". 1-0 for Spain after another boring match.
PLEASE MAKE ME WRONG PORTUGAL
All Ronaldo will need is 2 touches if he gets one on one with Arbeloa dude xD I mean, that is the miss match of the century! And we know the wingers for Spain will be no where to be seen tracking back, so an isolated Arbeloa vs Ronaldo is going to be a joy to watch for Portugal fans and the neutrals lol.
On June 27 2012 17:22 keioh wrote: Oh and for a prediction : Ronaldo will play like a moron because it's Spain so he'll touch 2 balls in 75 min and thus Portugal will look like "Chelsea". 1-0 for Spain after another boring match.
PLEASE MAKE ME WRONG PORTUGAL
All Ronaldo will need is 2 touches if he gets one on one with Arbeloa dude xD I mean, that is the miss match of the century! And we know the wingers for Spain will be no where to be seen tracking back, so an isolated Arbeloa vs Ronaldo is going to be a joy to watch for Portugal fans and the neutrals lol.
Why the hell would you think a team as defensive as Spain is ever going to let Ronaldo be 1 vs 1 with anybody?
Ronaldo rarely goes past players anymore anyway, he just scores goals and lots of them. He's gone from the next Garrincha from his Sporting/early United days to the next Van Basten. Ronaldo also tends to be a huge big game bottler especially with Portugal so I expect him to do little.
Hmm? Did you not see him vs Barcelona this season? Was awesome in that game. And did you also not hear Alonso in press conference? He said they are not even making any special plans for Ronaldo, they will study his play but not do anything special marking wise. So to me that says, they are just going to make sure Portugal don't get the football. But they will, and Ronaldo will be 1 on 1 with Arbeloa quite easily. Only reason Barca do well vs him is because Alves' pace matches Ronaldo's
On June 27 2012 17:22 keioh wrote: Oh and for a prediction : Ronaldo will play like a moron because it's Spain so he'll touch 2 balls in 75 min and thus Portugal will look like "Chelsea". 1-0 for Spain after another boring match.
PLEASE MAKE ME WRONG PORTUGAL
All Ronaldo will need is 2 touches if he gets one on one with Arbeloa dude xD I mean, that is the miss match of the century! And we know the wingers for Spain will be no where to be seen tracking back, so an isolated Arbeloa vs Ronaldo is going to be a joy to watch for Portugal fans and the neutrals lol.
Why the hell would you think a team as defensive as Spain is ever going to let Ronaldo be 1 vs 1 with anybody?
Ronaldo rarely goes past players anymore anyway, he just scores goals and lots of them. He's gone from the next Garrincha from his Sporting/early United days to the next Van Basten. Ronaldo also tends to be a huge big game bottler especially with Portugal so I expect him to do little.
Hmm? Did you not see him vs Barcelona this season? Was awesome in that game. And did you also not hear Alonso in press conference? He said they are not even making any special plans for Ronaldo, they will study his play but not do anything special marking wise. So to me that says, they are just going to make sure Portugal don't get the football. But they will, and Ronaldo will be 1 on 1 with Arbeloa quite easily. Only reason Barca do well vs him is because Alves' pace matches Ronaldo's
I cannot for the life of me understand why on earth you would equate a very offensive team like Barcelona with the way this Spanish team play, have you actually watched Spain and Barcelona play? Not to mention that even by this mindless logic Ronaldo has about a 10% rate of playing well vs Barcelona, he is usually awful vs Barcelona.
You are also taking the words of managers pre match on face value. I really do wonder if this is the first tournament you've ever watched football.
I pretty much can't remember a single occasion this entire tournament or in the World Cup 2010 where any player for any team got themselves in a 1 vs 1 situation with a Spanish defender, and you honestly believe that the one guy they will give that space to is Cristiano Ronaldo? Absolute madness.
Balotelli 1v1 Ramos, skinned him alive....missed a 1on1 from it, probably miss of tournament....theres one. I have watched to much football, i have watched every international tournament since 98 world cup, when i was 8. You just have your vision of what is what and don't allow for anyone elses' opinion that is fine, i understand where your logic is coming from but you clearly didnt watch a galatico this season if you think Ronaldo "didn't do anything" in those matches. he won the copa del rey final vs them in 2010 and in 2011-12 season when they finally beat them in the league for the first time in like 2/3 seasons it was Ronaldo who rounded valdes with a stunning finish. Barcelona are Spain minus Spain doesn't have the Messi, if they had a Messi they would walk every competition they play, but they don't hense the teams like Switzerland Portugal England have all beaten them in the past 2 years. Lets just see what happens before you respond and criticise everything i have just wrote please! After the game, if it goes the way your expecting it too and Ronaldo does nothing feel free to quote me as much as you like
Oh Pandemona parhaps now you'll learn that football isn't played by reading names from a computer screen. Just like I predicted Portugal were completely toothless and didn't even manage a shot on target all game.
Another great defensive display for Spain, Del Bosque should have gone with Llorente instead of Negredo who was awful.
He was absolutely right and Ronaldo bossed that game just as much as any of the quality Spanish players. CR7 was just unfortunate in the finish. Xavi was finding little success and Iniesta was thwarted just as much as CR7 was. The Spanish attacks in the end were substantial but Portugal deserved to be 1-0 before extra time.
On June 27 2012 17:22 keioh wrote: Oh and for a prediction : Ronaldo will play like a moron because it's Spain so he'll touch 2 balls in 75 min and thus Portugal will look like "Chelsea". 1-0 for Spain after another boring match.
PLEASE MAKE ME WRONG PORTUGAL
All Ronaldo will need is 2 touches if he gets one on one with Arbeloa dude xD I mean, that is the miss match of the century! And we know the wingers for Spain will be no where to be seen tracking back, so an isolated Arbeloa vs Ronaldo is going to be a joy to watch for Portugal fans and the neutrals lol.
On June 27 2012 18:43 Pandemona wrote:
On June 27 2012 17:55 Aeroplaneoverthesea wrote:
On June 27 2012 17:51 Pandemona wrote:
On June 27 2012 17:22 keioh wrote: Oh and for a prediction : Ronaldo will play like a moron because it's Spain so he'll touch 2 balls in 75 min and thus Portugal will look like "Chelsea". 1-0 for Spain after another boring match.
PLEASE MAKE ME WRONG PORTUGAL
All Ronaldo will need is 2 touches if he gets one on one with Arbeloa dude xD I mean, that is the miss match of the century! And we know the wingers for Spain will be no where to be seen tracking back, so an isolated Arbeloa vs Ronaldo is going to be a joy to watch for Portugal fans and the neutrals lol.
Why the hell would you think a team as defensive as Spain is ever going to let Ronaldo be 1 vs 1 with anybody?
Ronaldo rarely goes past players anymore anyway, he just scores goals and lots of them. He's gone from the next Garrincha from his Sporting/early United days to the next Van Basten. Ronaldo also tends to be a huge big game bottler especially with Portugal so I expect him to do little.
Hmm? Did you not see him vs Barcelona this season? Was awesome in that game. And did you also not hear Alonso in press conference? He said they are not even making any special plans for Ronaldo, they will study his play but not do anything special marking wise. So to me that says, they are just going to make sure Portugal don't get the football. But they will, and Ronaldo will be 1 on 1 with Arbeloa quite easily. Only reason Barca do well vs him is because Alves' pace matches Ronaldo's
On June 27 2012 19:40 Pandemona wrote:
On June 27 2012 18:54 Aeroplaneoverthesea wrote:
On June 27 2012 18:43 Pandemona wrote:
On June 27 2012 17:55 Aeroplaneoverthesea wrote:
On June 27 2012 17:51 Pandemona wrote:
On June 27 2012 17:22 keioh wrote: Oh and for a prediction : Ronaldo will play like a moron because it's Spain so he'll touch 2 balls in 75 min and thus Portugal will look like "Chelsea". 1-0 for Spain after another boring match.
PLEASE MAKE ME WRONG PORTUGAL
All Ronaldo will need is 2 touches if he gets one on one with Arbeloa dude xD I mean, that is the miss match of the century! And we know the wingers for Spain will be no where to be seen tracking back, so an isolated Arbeloa vs Ronaldo is going to be a joy to watch for Portugal fans and the neutrals lol.
Why the hell would you think a team as defensive as Spain is ever going to let Ronaldo be 1 vs 1 with anybody?
Ronaldo rarely goes past players anymore anyway, he just scores goals and lots of them. He's gone from the next Garrincha from his Sporting/early United days to the next Van Basten. Ronaldo also tends to be a huge big game bottler especially with Portugal so I expect him to do little.
Hmm? Did you not see him vs Barcelona this season? Was awesome in that game. And did you also not hear Alonso in press conference? He said they are not even making any special plans for Ronaldo, they will study his play but not do anything special marking wise. So to me that says, they are just going to make sure Portugal don't get the football. But they will, and Ronaldo will be 1 on 1 with Arbeloa quite easily. Only reason Barca do well vs him is because Alves' pace matches Ronaldo's
I cannot for the life of me understand why on earth you would equate a very offensive team like Barcelona with the way this Spanish team play, have you actually watched Spain and Barcelona play? Not to mention that even by this mindless logic Ronaldo has about a 10% rate of playing well vs Barcelona, he is usually awful vs Barcelona.
You are also taking the words of managers pre match on face value. I really do wonder if this is the first tournament you've ever watched football.
I pretty much can't remember a single occasion this entire tournament or in the World Cup 2010 where any player for any team got themselves in a 1 vs 1 situation with a Spanish defender, and you honestly believe that the one guy they will give that space to is Cristiano Ronaldo? Absolute madness.
Balotelli 1v1 Ramos, skinned him alive....missed a 1on1 from it, probably miss of tournament....theres one. I have watched to much football, i have watched every international tournament since 98 world cup, when i was 8. You just have your vision of what is what and don't allow for anyone elses' opinion that is fine, i understand where your logic is coming from but you clearly didnt watch a galatico this season if you think Ronaldo "didn't do anything" in those matches. he won the copa del rey final vs them in 2010 and in 2011-12 season when they finally beat them in the league for the first time in like 2/3 seasons it was Ronaldo who rounded valdes with a stunning finish. Barcelona are Spain minus Spain doesn't have the Messi, if they had a Messi they would walk every competition they play, but they don't hense the teams like Switzerland Portugal England have all beaten them in the past 2 years. Lets just see what happens before you respond and criticise everything i have just wrote please! After the game, if it goes the way your expecting it too and Ronaldo does nothing feel free to quote me as much as you like
Oh Pandemona parhaps now you'll learn that football isn't played by reading names from a computer screen. Just like I predicted Portugal were completely toothless and didn't even manage a shot on target all game.
Another great defensive display for Spain, Del Bosque should have gone with Llorente instead of Negredo who was awful.
He was absolutely right and Ronaldo bossed that game just as much as any of the quality Spanish players. CR7 was just unfortunate in the finish. Xavi was finding little success and Iniesta was thwarted just as much as CR7 was. The Spanish attacks in the end were substantial but Portugal deserved to be 1-0 before extra time.
I didn't make a single prediction about Spain being amazing going forward and creating countless chances.
I purely said Portugal would not be able to score past this Spain team which they weren't.
On June 27 2012 17:22 keioh wrote: Oh and for a prediction : Ronaldo will play like a moron because it's Spain so he'll touch 2 balls in 75 min and thus Portugal will look like "Chelsea". 1-0 for Spain after another boring match.
PLEASE MAKE ME WRONG PORTUGAL
All Ronaldo will need is 2 touches if he gets one on one with Arbeloa dude xD I mean, that is the miss match of the century! And we know the wingers for Spain will be no where to be seen tracking back, so an isolated Arbeloa vs Ronaldo is going to be a joy to watch for Portugal fans and the neutrals lol.
On June 27 2012 18:43 Pandemona wrote:
On June 27 2012 17:55 Aeroplaneoverthesea wrote:
On June 27 2012 17:51 Pandemona wrote:
On June 27 2012 17:22 keioh wrote: Oh and for a prediction : Ronaldo will play like a moron because it's Spain so he'll touch 2 balls in 75 min and thus Portugal will look like "Chelsea". 1-0 for Spain after another boring match.
PLEASE MAKE ME WRONG PORTUGAL
All Ronaldo will need is 2 touches if he gets one on one with Arbeloa dude xD I mean, that is the miss match of the century! And we know the wingers for Spain will be no where to be seen tracking back, so an isolated Arbeloa vs Ronaldo is going to be a joy to watch for Portugal fans and the neutrals lol.
Why the hell would you think a team as defensive as Spain is ever going to let Ronaldo be 1 vs 1 with anybody?
Ronaldo rarely goes past players anymore anyway, he just scores goals and lots of them. He's gone from the next Garrincha from his Sporting/early United days to the next Van Basten. Ronaldo also tends to be a huge big game bottler especially with Portugal so I expect him to do little.
Hmm? Did you not see him vs Barcelona this season? Was awesome in that game. And did you also not hear Alonso in press conference? He said they are not even making any special plans for Ronaldo, they will study his play but not do anything special marking wise. So to me that says, they are just going to make sure Portugal don't get the football. But they will, and Ronaldo will be 1 on 1 with Arbeloa quite easily. Only reason Barca do well vs him is because Alves' pace matches Ronaldo's
On June 27 2012 19:40 Pandemona wrote:
On June 27 2012 18:54 Aeroplaneoverthesea wrote:
On June 27 2012 18:43 Pandemona wrote:
On June 27 2012 17:55 Aeroplaneoverthesea wrote:
On June 27 2012 17:51 Pandemona wrote:
On June 27 2012 17:22 keioh wrote: Oh and for a prediction : Ronaldo will play like a moron because it's Spain so he'll touch 2 balls in 75 min and thus Portugal will look like "Chelsea". 1-0 for Spain after another boring match.
PLEASE MAKE ME WRONG PORTUGAL
All Ronaldo will need is 2 touches if he gets one on one with Arbeloa dude xD I mean, that is the miss match of the century! And we know the wingers for Spain will be no where to be seen tracking back, so an isolated Arbeloa vs Ronaldo is going to be a joy to watch for Portugal fans and the neutrals lol.
Why the hell would you think a team as defensive as Spain is ever going to let Ronaldo be 1 vs 1 with anybody?
Ronaldo rarely goes past players anymore anyway, he just scores goals and lots of them. He's gone from the next Garrincha from his Sporting/early United days to the next Van Basten. Ronaldo also tends to be a huge big game bottler especially with Portugal so I expect him to do little.
Hmm? Did you not see him vs Barcelona this season? Was awesome in that game. And did you also not hear Alonso in press conference? He said they are not even making any special plans for Ronaldo, they will study his play but not do anything special marking wise. So to me that says, they are just going to make sure Portugal don't get the football. But they will, and Ronaldo will be 1 on 1 with Arbeloa quite easily. Only reason Barca do well vs him is because Alves' pace matches Ronaldo's
I cannot for the life of me understand why on earth you would equate a very offensive team like Barcelona with the way this Spanish team play, have you actually watched Spain and Barcelona play? Not to mention that even by this mindless logic Ronaldo has about a 10% rate of playing well vs Barcelona, he is usually awful vs Barcelona.
You are also taking the words of managers pre match on face value. I really do wonder if this is the first tournament you've ever watched football.
I pretty much can't remember a single occasion this entire tournament or in the World Cup 2010 where any player for any team got themselves in a 1 vs 1 situation with a Spanish defender, and you honestly believe that the one guy they will give that space to is Cristiano Ronaldo? Absolute madness.
Balotelli 1v1 Ramos, skinned him alive....missed a 1on1 from it, probably miss of tournament....theres one. I have watched to much football, i have watched every international tournament since 98 world cup, when i was 8. You just have your vision of what is what and don't allow for anyone elses' opinion that is fine, i understand where your logic is coming from but you clearly didnt watch a galatico this season if you think Ronaldo "didn't do anything" in those matches. he won the copa del rey final vs them in 2010 and in 2011-12 season when they finally beat them in the league for the first time in like 2/3 seasons it was Ronaldo who rounded valdes with a stunning finish. Barcelona are Spain minus Spain doesn't have the Messi, if they had a Messi they would walk every competition they play, but they don't hense the teams like Switzerland Portugal England have all beaten them in the past 2 years. Lets just see what happens before you respond and criticise everything i have just wrote please! After the game, if it goes the way your expecting it too and Ronaldo does nothing feel free to quote me as much as you like
Oh Pandemona parhaps now you'll learn that football isn't played by reading names from a computer screen. Just like I predicted Portugal were completely toothless and didn't even manage a shot on target all game.
Another great defensive display for Spain, Del Bosque should have gone with Llorente instead of Negredo who was awful.
He was absolutely right and Ronaldo bossed that game just as much as any of the quality Spanish players. CR7 was just unfortunate in the finish. Xavi was finding little success and Iniesta was thwarted just as much as CR7 was. The Spanish attacks in the end were substantial but Portugal deserved to be 1-0 before extra time.
I didn't make a single prediction about Spain being amazing going forward and creating countless chances.
I purely said Portugal would not be able to score past this Spain team which they weren't.
Except you are giving credit to Spain where they dont deserve it, infact it was more demerit from some Portugal players than merit from Spain defensively. Even telling you more, Spain is looking horrible if compared to any point in time for the last four years.
On June 28 2012 18:16 [X]Ken_D wrote: One of the most disappointing Eurocup games
Even fewer scoring opportunities than many of the previous games.
Spain's strategy against Portugal: Foul Ronaldo when he has the ball, then foul Ronaldo when he doesn't have the ball lol.
Anyways, congratulation to Spain for getting to the finals.
Really? Perhaps we were watching a different game. For the most part it looked like they didn't care much for Ronaldo becaue they knew he's pretty much impotent as a striker in this tournament. He wastes so many good opportunities it's unbelievable. His dribbling and passing is top notch (still not close to Zinedine Zidane, but he's getting there), I'll give him that, but I would never put him in advanced forward position because he seems to have 0 finesse when striking. All he seems to be doing is shoot at the goal as strong as he can and pray for the best. Incidentally Benzema was clearly experiencing the same problem as Ronaldo in France, there was no one he could play dinky balls with or intricate passes, so he tried to go it alone and was forced to play one dimensionally. When you watch Ozil, Benzema and Ronaldo link up in RM then you will realise what Ronaldo is missing in Portugal!!!
One of the most overrated players in my opinion, at least as a striker. He should play in the midfield, where his skills could be put to more use. Sure, he would get less chances to score but I believe that overall team performance would improve.
If you need examples just look at Roberto Carlos, who scored more goals than many strikers (in a striker-heavy teams no less) and he was playing on the defence. You don't really need a very good dribbler as your advanced forward, who you need there is a guy who knows the right place to be at the right time and can put the ball in the goal regardless of position, facing, number of defenders etc. (vide: Henrik Larsson).
Long story short: Dribbling and passing are skills best used in the midfield. Advanced forward usually only needs to touch the ball once, he just needs to make sure this one touch counts (and CR seems incapable of doing that). Conclusion: CR is playing on wrong position and is a showman with delusions of grandeur which doesn't even match his performance.
Ronaldo easily equals Zidane in his usefulness to RM, and they are on the same level in terms of what they can offer to their team at national level, it's just that in the France teams Zidane played with, the level was INSANELY higher than Portugal.
Theres no point in arguing with people over soccer, let alone on the internet, because no one changes their minds about it.
That said the one single paragraph made me laugh the hardest. Zidane and ronaldo have nothing in common, Zidane is dominant species to ronaldo and a ton of other mediocre overhyped soccer players. There is no comparison between the two as Zidane carried teams and did EVERYTHING you would want a playmaker to do and more, cronaldo can't support his own weight over half the time and falls over. he needs a playmaker to work for him in order to get goal O_O
The fact zidane smokes makes it even more impressive in a black kind of way
Lol at people bashing Portugal, we played a great game and everyone that says this game wasn't a good game clearly doesn't understand football!
This was a great game of two great teams..
Spain tried to do the "tiki-taka" bunch of small passes until they find a opening and they found space one or two times in 120 minutes.. It isn't spain playing bad.. it's Portugal playing perfect on defense.
We took them to penaltys and could have won the game but they had luck on their side and won on penaltys, good for them but don't forget last time they won with a goal off-side! So yeah we might not be as good as spain but we give them good games and if they underperform they will lose because we are that good!
Hate all you want but our small country is always top4 in europe and will continue to kick your ass everytime!
The only teams in europe better then us right now are Italy, Spain and Germany..
Oh and BTW Ronaldo might be worse then Messi but who here wouldn't want him in his club and nacional team? The guy had 70 goals this season and his team cleaned "La Liga" so yeah he is pretty decent and besides Messi no one is even close..
For instance Zidane is a great player, one of my favourites but he didn't rule football like Messi and Ronaldo and he for sure didn't score 70 goals! PS ronaldo is a winger not a striker
On June 28 2012 18:16 [X]Ken_D wrote: One of the most disappointing Eurocup games
Even fewer scoring opportunities than many of the previous games.
Spain's strategy against Portugal: Foul Ronaldo when he has the ball, then foul Ronaldo when he doesn't have the ball lol.
Anyways, congratulation to Spain for getting to the finals.
Really? Perhaps we were watching a different game. For the most part it looked like they didn't care much for Ronaldo becaue they knew he's pretty much impotent as a striker in this tournament. He wastes so many good opportunities it's unbelievable. His dribbling and passing is top notch (still not close to Zinedine Zidane, but he's getting there), I'll give him that, but I would never put him in advanced forward position because he seems to have 0 finesse when striking. All he seems to be doing is shoot at the goal as strong as he can and pray for the best. Incidentally Benzema was clearly experiencing the same problem as Ronaldo in France, there was no one he could play dinky balls with or intricate passes, so he tried to go it alone and was forced to play one dimensionally. When you watch Ozil, Benzema and Ronaldo link up in RM then you will realise what Ronaldo is missing in Portugal!!!
One of the most overrated players in my opinion, at least as a striker. He should play in the midfield, where his skills could be put to more use. Sure, he would get less chances to score but I believe that overall team performance would improve.
If you need examples just look at Roberto Carlos, who scored more goals than many strikers (in a striker-heavy teams no less) and he was playing on the defence. You don't really need a very good dribbler as your advanced forward, who you need there is a guy who knows the right place to be at the right time and can put the ball in the goal regardless of position, facing, number of defenders etc. (vide: Henrik Larsson).
Long story short: Dribbling and passing are skills best used in the midfield. Advanced forward usually only needs to touch the ball once, he just needs to make sure this one touch counts (and CR seems incapable of doing that). Conclusion: CR is playing on wrong position and is a showman with delusions of grandeur which doesn't even match his performance.
Ronaldo easily equals Zidane in his usefulness to RM, and they are on the same level in terms of what they can offer to their team at national level, it's just that in the France teams Zidane played with, the level was INSANELY higher than Portugal.
Theres no point in arguing with people over soccer, let alone on the internet, because no one changes their minds about it.
That said the one single paragraph made me laugh the hardest. Zidane and ronaldo have nothing in common, Zidane is dominant species to ronaldo and a ton of other mediocre overhyped soccer players. There is no comparison between the two as Zidane carried teams and did EVERYTHING you would want a playmaker to do and more, cronaldo can't support his own weight over half the time and falls over. he needs a playmaker to work for him in order to get goal O_O
The fact zidane smokes makes it even more impressive in a black kind of way
LOL he doesn't carry teams with 70 goals? He alone with is goals won more then 20 points for RM.. Zidane passed and created but if no one score on those chances you would lose or tie everytime..
On June 28 2012 06:47 -IeZaeL- wrote: hahaha i love how every single german is criying about "Portugal dont deserve this lose..bla bla bla" xDDDD! They are already scared.....the funny thing is that they will fail vs Italy......xD!
SPAIN >>>>>>>>>> SPAIN U23 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> WORLD !
On June 28 2012 06:47 -IeZaeL- wrote: hahaha i love how every single german is criying about "Portugal dont deserve this lose..bla bla bla" xDDDD! They are already scared.....the funny thing is that they will fail vs Italy......xD!
SPAIN >>>>>>>>>> SPAIN U23 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> WORLD !
germany really shouldn't be scared of a spain team in this shape.
On June 28 2012 18:16 [X]Ken_D wrote: One of the most disappointing Eurocup games
Even fewer scoring opportunities than many of the previous games.
Spain's strategy against Portugal: Foul Ronaldo when he has the ball, then foul Ronaldo when he doesn't have the ball lol.
Anyways, congratulation to Spain for getting to the finals.
Really? Perhaps we were watching a different game. For the most part it looked like they didn't care much for Ronaldo becaue they knew he's pretty much impotent as a striker in this tournament. He wastes so many good opportunities it's unbelievable. His dribbling and passing is top notch (still not close to Zinedine Zidane, but he's getting there), I'll give him that, but I would never put him in advanced forward position because he seems to have 0 finesse when striking. All he seems to be doing is shoot at the goal as strong as he can and pray for the best. Incidentally Benzema was clearly experiencing the same problem as Ronaldo in France, there was no one he could play dinky balls with or intricate passes, so he tried to go it alone and was forced to play one dimensionally. When you watch Ozil, Benzema and Ronaldo link up in RM then you will realise what Ronaldo is missing in Portugal!!!
One of the most overrated players in my opinion, at least as a striker. He should play in the midfield, where his skills could be put to more use. Sure, he would get less chances to score but I believe that overall team performance would improve.
If you need examples just look at Roberto Carlos, who scored more goals than many strikers (in a striker-heavy teams no less) and he was playing on the defence. You don't really need a very good dribbler as your advanced forward, who you need there is a guy who knows the right place to be at the right time and can put the ball in the goal regardless of position, facing, number of defenders etc. (vide: Henrik Larsson).
Long story short: Dribbling and passing are skills best used in the midfield. Advanced forward usually only needs to touch the ball once, he just needs to make sure this one touch counts (and CR seems incapable of doing that). Conclusion: CR is playing on wrong position and is a showman with delusions of grandeur which doesn't even match his performance.
Ronaldo easily equals Zidane in his usefulness to RM, and they are on the same level in terms of what they can offer to their team at national level, it's just that in the France teams Zidane played with, the level was INSANELY higher than Portugal.
Theres no point in arguing with people over soccer, let alone on the internet, because no one changes their minds about it.
That said the one single paragraph made me laugh the hardest. Zidane and ronaldo have nothing in common, Zidane is dominant species to ronaldo and a ton of other mediocre overhyped soccer players. There is no comparison between the two as Zidane carried teams and did EVERYTHING you would want a playmaker to do and more, cronaldo can't support his own weight over half the time and falls over. he needs a playmaker to work for him in order to get goal O_O
The fact zidane smokes makes it even more impressive in a black kind of way
Are you French or something? CR7 is not the same position player as Zidane, but they are extremely similar in terms of how useful they are/were. The effect they can/could have on games is pretty much the same, when they are/were in good form. I think Zidane was the best in the world in his day but I'd happily compare Ronaldo or Messi to him. Ronaldo is basically a perfect winger - fast, ball skills, great touch, amazing crossing, both-footed, unbelievable distance shooter, calm finisher, great acceleration, great football brain, amazing free kicks, amazing penalties, strength, great headers and jumping, insane stamina. He can be accused of not tracking back enough but that's not imo too bad from an attacking winger.
Zidane was the perfect playmaking attacking midfielder - great skills, great touch, perfect passing, great finishing, etc, but if you think the overall quality of the Portugal team during CR7's era was even remotely equal to the French team in 1998 etc, you are just plain wrong.
On June 27 2012 17:22 keioh wrote: Oh and for a prediction : Ronaldo will play like a moron because it's Spain so he'll touch 2 balls in 75 min and thus Portugal will look like "Chelsea". 1-0 for Spain after another boring match.
PLEASE MAKE ME WRONG PORTUGAL
All Ronaldo will need is 2 touches if he gets one on one with Arbeloa dude xD I mean, that is the miss match of the century! And we know the wingers for Spain will be no where to be seen tracking back, so an isolated Arbeloa vs Ronaldo is going to be a joy to watch for Portugal fans and the neutrals lol.
On June 27 2012 18:43 Pandemona wrote:
On June 27 2012 17:55 Aeroplaneoverthesea wrote:
On June 27 2012 17:51 Pandemona wrote:
On June 27 2012 17:22 keioh wrote: Oh and for a prediction : Ronaldo will play like a moron because it's Spain so he'll touch 2 balls in 75 min and thus Portugal will look like "Chelsea". 1-0 for Spain after another boring match.
PLEASE MAKE ME WRONG PORTUGAL
All Ronaldo will need is 2 touches if he gets one on one with Arbeloa dude xD I mean, that is the miss match of the century! And we know the wingers for Spain will be no where to be seen tracking back, so an isolated Arbeloa vs Ronaldo is going to be a joy to watch for Portugal fans and the neutrals lol.
Why the hell would you think a team as defensive as Spain is ever going to let Ronaldo be 1 vs 1 with anybody?
Ronaldo rarely goes past players anymore anyway, he just scores goals and lots of them. He's gone from the next Garrincha from his Sporting/early United days to the next Van Basten. Ronaldo also tends to be a huge big game bottler especially with Portugal so I expect him to do little.
Hmm? Did you not see him vs Barcelona this season? Was awesome in that game. And did you also not hear Alonso in press conference? He said they are not even making any special plans for Ronaldo, they will study his play but not do anything special marking wise. So to me that says, they are just going to make sure Portugal don't get the football. But they will, and Ronaldo will be 1 on 1 with Arbeloa quite easily. Only reason Barca do well vs him is because Alves' pace matches Ronaldo's
On June 27 2012 19:40 Pandemona wrote:
On June 27 2012 18:54 Aeroplaneoverthesea wrote:
On June 27 2012 18:43 Pandemona wrote:
On June 27 2012 17:55 Aeroplaneoverthesea wrote:
On June 27 2012 17:51 Pandemona wrote:
On June 27 2012 17:22 keioh wrote: Oh and for a prediction : Ronaldo will play like a moron because it's Spain so he'll touch 2 balls in 75 min and thus Portugal will look like "Chelsea". 1-0 for Spain after another boring match.
PLEASE MAKE ME WRONG PORTUGAL
All Ronaldo will need is 2 touches if he gets one on one with Arbeloa dude xD I mean, that is the miss match of the century! And we know the wingers for Spain will be no where to be seen tracking back, so an isolated Arbeloa vs Ronaldo is going to be a joy to watch for Portugal fans and the neutrals lol.
Why the hell would you think a team as defensive as Spain is ever going to let Ronaldo be 1 vs 1 with anybody?
Ronaldo rarely goes past players anymore anyway, he just scores goals and lots of them. He's gone from the next Garrincha from his Sporting/early United days to the next Van Basten. Ronaldo also tends to be a huge big game bottler especially with Portugal so I expect him to do little.
Hmm? Did you not see him vs Barcelona this season? Was awesome in that game. And did you also not hear Alonso in press conference? He said they are not even making any special plans for Ronaldo, they will study his play but not do anything special marking wise. So to me that says, they are just going to make sure Portugal don't get the football. But they will, and Ronaldo will be 1 on 1 with Arbeloa quite easily. Only reason Barca do well vs him is because Alves' pace matches Ronaldo's
I cannot for the life of me understand why on earth you would equate a very offensive team like Barcelona with the way this Spanish team play, have you actually watched Spain and Barcelona play? Not to mention that even by this mindless logic Ronaldo has about a 10% rate of playing well vs Barcelona, he is usually awful vs Barcelona.
You are also taking the words of managers pre match on face value. I really do wonder if this is the first tournament you've ever watched football.
I pretty much can't remember a single occasion this entire tournament or in the World Cup 2010 where any player for any team got themselves in a 1 vs 1 situation with a Spanish defender, and you honestly believe that the one guy they will give that space to is Cristiano Ronaldo? Absolute madness.
Balotelli 1v1 Ramos, skinned him alive....missed a 1on1 from it, probably miss of tournament....theres one. I have watched to much football, i have watched every international tournament since 98 world cup, when i was 8. You just have your vision of what is what and don't allow for anyone elses' opinion that is fine, i understand where your logic is coming from but you clearly didnt watch a galatico this season if you think Ronaldo "didn't do anything" in those matches. he won the copa del rey final vs them in 2010 and in 2011-12 season when they finally beat them in the league for the first time in like 2/3 seasons it was Ronaldo who rounded valdes with a stunning finish. Barcelona are Spain minus Spain doesn't have the Messi, if they had a Messi they would walk every competition they play, but they don't hense the teams like Switzerland Portugal England have all beaten them in the past 2 years. Lets just see what happens before you respond and criticise everything i have just wrote please! After the game, if it goes the way your expecting it too and Ronaldo does nothing feel free to quote me as much as you like
Oh Pandemona parhaps now you'll learn that football isn't played by reading names from a computer screen. Just like I predicted Portugal were completely toothless and didn't even manage a shot on target all game.
Another great defensive display for Spain, Del Bosque should have gone with Llorente instead of Negredo who was awful.
He was absolutely right and Ronaldo bossed that game just as much as any of the quality Spanish players. CR7 was just unfortunate in the finish. Xavi was finding little success and Iniesta was thwarted just as much as CR7 was. The Spanish attacks in the end were substantial but Portugal deserved to be 1-0 before extra time.
I didn't make a single prediction about Spain being amazing going forward and creating countless chances.
I purely said Portugal would not be able to score past this Spain team which they weren't.
Yeah but the only reason Spain didn't concede was pure luck, pure luck that Ronaldo wasn't having a good day. They deserved to concede and they were beaten a few times.
On June 28 2012 18:16 [X]Ken_D wrote: One of the most disappointing Eurocup games
Even fewer scoring opportunities than many of the previous games.
Spain's strategy against Portugal: Foul Ronaldo when he has the ball, then foul Ronaldo when he doesn't have the ball lol.
Anyways, congratulation to Spain for getting to the finals.
Really? Perhaps we were watching a different game. For the most part it looked like they didn't care much for Ronaldo becaue they knew he's pretty much impotent as a striker in this tournament. He wastes so many good opportunities it's unbelievable. His dribbling and passing is top notch (still not close to Zinedine Zidane, but he's getting there), I'll give him that, but I would never put him in advanced forward position because he seems to have 0 finesse when striking. All he seems to be doing is shoot at the goal as strong as he can and pray for the best. Incidentally Benzema was clearly experiencing the same problem as Ronaldo in France, there was no one he could play dinky balls with or intricate passes, so he tried to go it alone and was forced to play one dimensionally. When you watch Ozil, Benzema and Ronaldo link up in RM then you will realise what Ronaldo is missing in Portugal!!!
One of the most overrated players in my opinion, at least as a striker. He should play in the midfield, where his skills could be put to more use. Sure, he would get less chances to score but I believe that overall team performance would improve.
If you need examples just look at Roberto Carlos, who scored more goals than many strikers (in a striker-heavy teams no less) and he was playing on the defence. You don't really need a very good dribbler as your advanced forward, who you need there is a guy who knows the right place to be at the right time and can put the ball in the goal regardless of position, facing, number of defenders etc. (vide: Henrik Larsson).
Long story short: Dribbling and passing are skills best used in the midfield. Advanced forward usually only needs to touch the ball once, he just needs to make sure this one touch counts (and CR seems incapable of doing that). Conclusion: CR is playing on wrong position and is a showman with delusions of grandeur which doesn't even match his performance.
Ronaldo easily equals Zidane in his usefulness to RM, and they are on the same level in terms of what they can offer to their team at national level, it's just that in the France teams Zidane played with, the level was INSANELY higher than Portugal.
Theres no point in arguing with people over soccer, let alone on the internet, because no one changes their minds about it.
That said the one single paragraph made me laugh the hardest. Zidane and ronaldo have nothing in common, Zidane is dominant species to ronaldo and a ton of other mediocre overhyped soccer players. There is no comparison between the two as Zidane carried teams and did EVERYTHING you would want a playmaker to do and more, cronaldo can't support his own weight over half the time and falls over. he needs a playmaker to work for him in order to get goal O_O
The fact zidane smokes makes it even more impressive in a black kind of way
Are you French or something? CR7 is not the same position player as Zidane, but they are extremely similar in terms of how useful they are/were. The effect they can/could have on games is pretty much the same, when they are/were in good form. I think Zidane was the best in the world in his day but I'd happily compare Ronaldo or Messi to him. Ronaldo is basically a perfect winger - fast, ball skills, great touch, amazing crossing, both-footed, unbelievable distance shooter, calm finisher, great acceleration, great football brain, amazing free kicks, amazing penalties, strength, great headers and jumping, insane stamina. He can be accused of not tracking back enough but that's not imo too bad from an attacking winger.
Zidane was the perfect playmaking attacking midfielder - great skills, great touch, perfect passing, great finishing, etc, but if you think the overall quality of the Portugal team during CR7's era was even remotely equal to the French team in 1998 etc, you are just plain wrong.
On June 27 2012 17:22 keioh wrote: Oh and for a prediction : Ronaldo will play like a moron because it's Spain so he'll touch 2 balls in 75 min and thus Portugal will look like "Chelsea". 1-0 for Spain after another boring match.
PLEASE MAKE ME WRONG PORTUGAL
All Ronaldo will need is 2 touches if he gets one on one with Arbeloa dude xD I mean, that is the miss match of the century! And we know the wingers for Spain will be no where to be seen tracking back, so an isolated Arbeloa vs Ronaldo is going to be a joy to watch for Portugal fans and the neutrals lol.
On June 27 2012 18:43 Pandemona wrote:
On June 27 2012 17:55 Aeroplaneoverthesea wrote:
On June 27 2012 17:51 Pandemona wrote:
On June 27 2012 17:22 keioh wrote: Oh and for a prediction : Ronaldo will play like a moron because it's Spain so he'll touch 2 balls in 75 min and thus Portugal will look like "Chelsea". 1-0 for Spain after another boring match.
PLEASE MAKE ME WRONG PORTUGAL
All Ronaldo will need is 2 touches if he gets one on one with Arbeloa dude xD I mean, that is the miss match of the century! And we know the wingers for Spain will be no where to be seen tracking back, so an isolated Arbeloa vs Ronaldo is going to be a joy to watch for Portugal fans and the neutrals lol.
Why the hell would you think a team as defensive as Spain is ever going to let Ronaldo be 1 vs 1 with anybody?
Ronaldo rarely goes past players anymore anyway, he just scores goals and lots of them. He's gone from the next Garrincha from his Sporting/early United days to the next Van Basten. Ronaldo also tends to be a huge big game bottler especially with Portugal so I expect him to do little.
Hmm? Did you not see him vs Barcelona this season? Was awesome in that game. And did you also not hear Alonso in press conference? He said they are not even making any special plans for Ronaldo, they will study his play but not do anything special marking wise. So to me that says, they are just going to make sure Portugal don't get the football. But they will, and Ronaldo will be 1 on 1 with Arbeloa quite easily. Only reason Barca do well vs him is because Alves' pace matches Ronaldo's
On June 27 2012 19:40 Pandemona wrote:
On June 27 2012 18:54 Aeroplaneoverthesea wrote:
On June 27 2012 18:43 Pandemona wrote:
On June 27 2012 17:55 Aeroplaneoverthesea wrote:
On June 27 2012 17:51 Pandemona wrote:
On June 27 2012 17:22 keioh wrote: Oh and for a prediction : Ronaldo will play like a moron because it's Spain so he'll touch 2 balls in 75 min and thus Portugal will look like "Chelsea". 1-0 for Spain after another boring match.
PLEASE MAKE ME WRONG PORTUGAL
All Ronaldo will need is 2 touches if he gets one on one with Arbeloa dude xD I mean, that is the miss match of the century! And we know the wingers for Spain will be no where to be seen tracking back, so an isolated Arbeloa vs Ronaldo is going to be a joy to watch for Portugal fans and the neutrals lol.
Why the hell would you think a team as defensive as Spain is ever going to let Ronaldo be 1 vs 1 with anybody?
Ronaldo rarely goes past players anymore anyway, he just scores goals and lots of them. He's gone from the next Garrincha from his Sporting/early United days to the next Van Basten. Ronaldo also tends to be a huge big game bottler especially with Portugal so I expect him to do little.
Hmm? Did you not see him vs Barcelona this season? Was awesome in that game. And did you also not hear Alonso in press conference? He said they are not even making any special plans for Ronaldo, they will study his play but not do anything special marking wise. So to me that says, they are just going to make sure Portugal don't get the football. But they will, and Ronaldo will be 1 on 1 with Arbeloa quite easily. Only reason Barca do well vs him is because Alves' pace matches Ronaldo's
I cannot for the life of me understand why on earth you would equate a very offensive team like Barcelona with the way this Spanish team play, have you actually watched Spain and Barcelona play? Not to mention that even by this mindless logic Ronaldo has about a 10% rate of playing well vs Barcelona, he is usually awful vs Barcelona.
You are also taking the words of managers pre match on face value. I really do wonder if this is the first tournament you've ever watched football.
I pretty much can't remember a single occasion this entire tournament or in the World Cup 2010 where any player for any team got themselves in a 1 vs 1 situation with a Spanish defender, and you honestly believe that the one guy they will give that space to is Cristiano Ronaldo? Absolute madness.
Balotelli 1v1 Ramos, skinned him alive....missed a 1on1 from it, probably miss of tournament....theres one. I have watched to much football, i have watched every international tournament since 98 world cup, when i was 8. You just have your vision of what is what and don't allow for anyone elses' opinion that is fine, i understand where your logic is coming from but you clearly didnt watch a galatico this season if you think Ronaldo "didn't do anything" in those matches. he won the copa del rey final vs them in 2010 and in 2011-12 season when they finally beat them in the league for the first time in like 2/3 seasons it was Ronaldo who rounded valdes with a stunning finish. Barcelona are Spain minus Spain doesn't have the Messi, if they had a Messi they would walk every competition they play, but they don't hense the teams like Switzerland Portugal England have all beaten them in the past 2 years. Lets just see what happens before you respond and criticise everything i have just wrote please! After the game, if it goes the way your expecting it too and Ronaldo does nothing feel free to quote me as much as you like
Oh Pandemona parhaps now you'll learn that football isn't played by reading names from a computer screen. Just like I predicted Portugal were completely toothless and didn't even manage a shot on target all game.
Another great defensive display for Spain, Del Bosque should have gone with Llorente instead of Negredo who was awful.
He was absolutely right and Ronaldo bossed that game just as much as any of the quality Spanish players. CR7 was just unfortunate in the finish. Xavi was finding little success and Iniesta was thwarted just as much as CR7 was. The Spanish attacks in the end were substantial but Portugal deserved to be 1-0 before extra time.
I didn't make a single prediction about Spain being amazing going forward and creating countless chances.
I purely said Portugal would not be able to score past this Spain team which they weren't.
Yeah but the only reason Spain didn't concede was pure luck, pure luck that Ronaldo wasn't having a good day. They deserved to concede and they were beaten a few times.
Meh I'd hardly call not conceding from those chances luck. Those were low percentage chances mostly. Better than he had all evening but nothing painfully clearcut where one could say "oh well even I could put that in.."
Ane yeah Ronaldo would walk into any team. I dont even get why thats a discussion. And he will also be important in any team he plays. Doesnt matter where. He might be less effective nationally then he is at club level but he is just as important. Always. All this he doesnt have a strikers touch and such is nonsense. If you can score more than a goal a game, hell if you can score a goal every 2 games, you know how to find the back of the net.
As for whether he plays on the left or right of a front 3 or in midfield. Putting him any behind a front 3 means A) hes playing out of his favoured position. B) well then who the fuck is supposed to play where he plays?
EPT
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Lineker 
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