Who will win Soccer World Cup 2006 Poll
- Thread starter kale7334
- Start date
hehehe Secret Italian soccer team training video. You guys gotta see this.
http://usa.worldcupblog.org/group-e/secret-italian-training-video.html
http://usa.worldcupblog.org/group-e/secret-italian-training-video.html
25 reasons why England can still win the World Cup (ignore this if England lose on Saturday).
The Times June 30, 2006
We're still in it and we can win it
By Simon Barnes
England have the ability to silence the critics
THE JOURNALISTS HAVE COME TO Baden-Baden to take the waters of cynicism, and they have drunk deep. You cannot sit at a table there without hearing that England are useless, that Sven-Göran Eriksson is a fool and that David Beckham is a liability. It is impossible to hold any conflicting view. But I have now left town, and as my train makes its endless journey to Berlin (at least, unlike Mr Norris, I don’t have to change) it occurs to me that (a) this view is quite possibly wrong and (b) cynicism is the dry rot of the soul. It also occurs to me that England are quite capable of winning the tournament. I don’t say will win. But I most certainly say could win. Here are 25 reasons why.
1. They are still in it. That is the most compelling reason of all. England, and seven other teams, could win, but no others. Certainly, many teams have played better than England in this tournament so far. Among their number are Spain, Holland, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Australia and Mexico. And where are they now? Gone to beaches every one. The first crucial strategy for winning the World Cup is not getting knocked out.
2. England can get better. Hardly get worse, murmur the cynics. To an extent, true. But, though it is shocking, at least in Baden-Baden, to admit such a thing, there are some very good players in the side, each capable of sustained and unified periods of excellence.
3. The players themselves are certainly not bowed down by the weight of failure. On the contrary, they are delighted with their success, while at the same time eager to start playing well. They have got beyond the level at which failure would be considered a national disgrace. Now they are at the sharp end of the tournament, they genuinely think they can get in there and cause a bit of damage. The players are up for it.
4. Beckham is a seriously effective player. Three of England’s goals — 50 per cent — have come from Beckham: the own goal against Paraguay, Peter Crouch’s goal against Trinidad & Tobago and the free kick against Ecuador. In other words, three of England’s four games have been decided by Beckham’s boot. He’s a dangerous opponent.
5. The central defence pairing is very sound. True, there were the two set-piece bloopers against Sweden (one of which was after Rio Ferdinand had been substituted), but John Terry and Ferdinand are extraordinarily hard to get past.
6. The Eriksson ambience works. His — to an English player — revolutionary notion of treating players like adults, and putting trust in them, has created a team full of strongly self-motivated and self-reliant people: Beckham, Ferdinand, Wayne Rooney, and all.
7. In Paul Robinson, England have one of those quiet-but-solid goalkeepers, a man not inclined to flap or panic or attempt the outrageous. The defenders know where they are with him. In any team, confidence starts from the back. A quiet word about his distribution would be a good idea, true, but he’s a very effective player.
8. The attacking midfield is packed with men of a quite dismaying level of talent. True, Frank Lampard has been poor and his prolific shooting lacks all confidence. But he, Steven Gerrard, Joe Cole and Beckham are goalscorers at every level of the game they have played. All opponents fear them.
9. The rise of Owen Hargreaves from bit-player to one of England’s finest has been the best part of England’s campaign so far. Against Sweden, his performance as a holding midfield player was exemplary. He can give England time, and with it control, in hard matches.
10. England play Portugal tomorrow, and Portugal are a team in a state of shock. Their senselessly violent match against Holland has brought suspensions for Deco, their main creative force, and Costinha, another influential player. Cristiano Ronaldo is in the middle of another pout. They are there for the taking, if England are good enough.
11. Joe Cole is in the form of his life. His goal against Sweden was perhaps the best in the tournament so far — for anybody, not just for England. He is bursting with confidence and the idea that he was once a fringe maverick, or that England ever had a problem on the left of midfield, seems laughable.
12. The injury to Michael Owen was, sad to say, a bit of a blessing in disguise. Sorry for poor Owen, of course, but he was having a poor tournament, not back to himself after his injury, without his traditional icy sharpness. Eriksson would never have dropped him, his misfortune might well work in England’s favour.
13. Crouch upsets defenders just by being there. The only real problem with him is that he only has to walk on to the pitch for every England player to start raining long balls at his irresistible head. It is a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder peculiar to English football. But — particularly from the bench — Crouch is horribly disruptive and defenders wish he would go away. That’s never a bad thing.
14. Argentina play Germany tonight. That means that England can meet only one of this pair of ancient foes, each a traditional World Cup nemesis. Had England finished second in qualifying, they could have met both. This was cheeringly lucky. And if England must meet one or other, they can only do so in the final. If that happens, they will remember, as will we all, that the last time England played either side on World Cup business, England won.
15. The Cole’n’Cole thing is going very nicely down the left. Ashley and Joe Cole are playing like a couple of brothers, full of mutual understanding and mutual support. It’s a team within a team, and it’s working very effectively.
16. I am not a huge supporter of supporters myself, but the racket they make certainly inspires the England team. With the stadium full of song and din and the air crackling with emotion, the England team invariably find more of themselves. It is something that gets more and more intense the longer England survive. England supporters cheer when things are going badly, most other nations don’t.
17. Opponents fear England. To hear them in Baden-Baden, you would think that foreign football people spit every time the word “England” is mentioned in conversation. But English lungs, English will and English heart are envied across the footballing world, and what is more, they are feared.
18. Aaron Lennon is a wonderful player to have on the bench. His pace alone is impressive enough, but he has shown that he can use it with intelligence, guile and sense. When you want to upset tiring opponents, give Lennon a run.
19. England have either Brazil or France in the semi-finals. Both sides, despite their excellence, are vulnerable, both have too many ageing players. Obviously, neither side are a pushover, but it’s the right side of the draw to be on.
20. This is Eriksson’s last throw. That has something special about it — a potentially inspirational do-it-for-Sven mood can be thrown into the mix.
21. Beckham’s, too. Beckham loves last chances (remember the game against Greece?), for they suit the theatricality of his nature. He’s not going to have another World Cup finals, still less a chance that is as good as this. It’s the chance of his life and he is keen beyond all measure to rise to it.
22. There is a feeling of destiny about this tournament, a feeling that England can hardly avoid meeting Germany at some stage. That can now only be in the final. Can it really be that the mother of all penalty shoot-outs awaits?
23. Rooney’s fitness has not just been the key to England’s effectiveness. It has also been the barometer of the mood. The fact that Rooney was fit for the second game when such a thing seemed impossible seems like an omen. It’s meant; it’s destiny, and remember that football matches are not always decided by rational means.
24. At his rampaging best, Rooney is one of the best players in the world, perhaps close to being the best of all. Rooney can do great things against any team he comes up against, and every team in the world knows it. He is a player with a unique air of menace. With him, anything can happen.
25. Rooney is not only good in himself, he brings out the best in everyone else as well. Rooney believes — knows — he can beat anybody. And by an extraordinary process, he translates his own inner certainty into a massive form of corporate self-belief. The England team breathe the notion we can win, for we are Rooney. England, bursting with the inspiration of Rooney, are capable of anything.
Absolutely anything.
thetimesonline.co.uk
The Times June 30, 2006
We're still in it and we can win it
By Simon Barnes
England have the ability to silence the critics
THE JOURNALISTS HAVE COME TO Baden-Baden to take the waters of cynicism, and they have drunk deep. You cannot sit at a table there without hearing that England are useless, that Sven-Göran Eriksson is a fool and that David Beckham is a liability. It is impossible to hold any conflicting view. But I have now left town, and as my train makes its endless journey to Berlin (at least, unlike Mr Norris, I don’t have to change) it occurs to me that (a) this view is quite possibly wrong and (b) cynicism is the dry rot of the soul. It also occurs to me that England are quite capable of winning the tournament. I don’t say will win. But I most certainly say could win. Here are 25 reasons why.
1. They are still in it. That is the most compelling reason of all. England, and seven other teams, could win, but no others. Certainly, many teams have played better than England in this tournament so far. Among their number are Spain, Holland, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Australia and Mexico. And where are they now? Gone to beaches every one. The first crucial strategy for winning the World Cup is not getting knocked out.
2. England can get better. Hardly get worse, murmur the cynics. To an extent, true. But, though it is shocking, at least in Baden-Baden, to admit such a thing, there are some very good players in the side, each capable of sustained and unified periods of excellence.
3. The players themselves are certainly not bowed down by the weight of failure. On the contrary, they are delighted with their success, while at the same time eager to start playing well. They have got beyond the level at which failure would be considered a national disgrace. Now they are at the sharp end of the tournament, they genuinely think they can get in there and cause a bit of damage. The players are up for it.
4. Beckham is a seriously effective player. Three of England’s goals — 50 per cent — have come from Beckham: the own goal against Paraguay, Peter Crouch’s goal against Trinidad & Tobago and the free kick against Ecuador. In other words, three of England’s four games have been decided by Beckham’s boot. He’s a dangerous opponent.
5. The central defence pairing is very sound. True, there were the two set-piece bloopers against Sweden (one of which was after Rio Ferdinand had been substituted), but John Terry and Ferdinand are extraordinarily hard to get past.
6. The Eriksson ambience works. His — to an English player — revolutionary notion of treating players like adults, and putting trust in them, has created a team full of strongly self-motivated and self-reliant people: Beckham, Ferdinand, Wayne Rooney, and all.
7. In Paul Robinson, England have one of those quiet-but-solid goalkeepers, a man not inclined to flap or panic or attempt the outrageous. The defenders know where they are with him. In any team, confidence starts from the back. A quiet word about his distribution would be a good idea, true, but he’s a very effective player.
8. The attacking midfield is packed with men of a quite dismaying level of talent. True, Frank Lampard has been poor and his prolific shooting lacks all confidence. But he, Steven Gerrard, Joe Cole and Beckham are goalscorers at every level of the game they have played. All opponents fear them.
9. The rise of Owen Hargreaves from bit-player to one of England’s finest has been the best part of England’s campaign so far. Against Sweden, his performance as a holding midfield player was exemplary. He can give England time, and with it control, in hard matches.
10. England play Portugal tomorrow, and Portugal are a team in a state of shock. Their senselessly violent match against Holland has brought suspensions for Deco, their main creative force, and Costinha, another influential player. Cristiano Ronaldo is in the middle of another pout. They are there for the taking, if England are good enough.
11. Joe Cole is in the form of his life. His goal against Sweden was perhaps the best in the tournament so far — for anybody, not just for England. He is bursting with confidence and the idea that he was once a fringe maverick, or that England ever had a problem on the left of midfield, seems laughable.
12. The injury to Michael Owen was, sad to say, a bit of a blessing in disguise. Sorry for poor Owen, of course, but he was having a poor tournament, not back to himself after his injury, without his traditional icy sharpness. Eriksson would never have dropped him, his misfortune might well work in England’s favour.
13. Crouch upsets defenders just by being there. The only real problem with him is that he only has to walk on to the pitch for every England player to start raining long balls at his irresistible head. It is a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder peculiar to English football. But — particularly from the bench — Crouch is horribly disruptive and defenders wish he would go away. That’s never a bad thing.
14. Argentina play Germany tonight. That means that England can meet only one of this pair of ancient foes, each a traditional World Cup nemesis. Had England finished second in qualifying, they could have met both. This was cheeringly lucky. And if England must meet one or other, they can only do so in the final. If that happens, they will remember, as will we all, that the last time England played either side on World Cup business, England won.
15. The Cole’n’Cole thing is going very nicely down the left. Ashley and Joe Cole are playing like a couple of brothers, full of mutual understanding and mutual support. It’s a team within a team, and it’s working very effectively.
16. I am not a huge supporter of supporters myself, but the racket they make certainly inspires the England team. With the stadium full of song and din and the air crackling with emotion, the England team invariably find more of themselves. It is something that gets more and more intense the longer England survive. England supporters cheer when things are going badly, most other nations don’t.
17. Opponents fear England. To hear them in Baden-Baden, you would think that foreign football people spit every time the word “England” is mentioned in conversation. But English lungs, English will and English heart are envied across the footballing world, and what is more, they are feared.
18. Aaron Lennon is a wonderful player to have on the bench. His pace alone is impressive enough, but he has shown that he can use it with intelligence, guile and sense. When you want to upset tiring opponents, give Lennon a run.
19. England have either Brazil or France in the semi-finals. Both sides, despite their excellence, are vulnerable, both have too many ageing players. Obviously, neither side are a pushover, but it’s the right side of the draw to be on.
20. This is Eriksson’s last throw. That has something special about it — a potentially inspirational do-it-for-Sven mood can be thrown into the mix.
21. Beckham’s, too. Beckham loves last chances (remember the game against Greece?), for they suit the theatricality of his nature. He’s not going to have another World Cup finals, still less a chance that is as good as this. It’s the chance of his life and he is keen beyond all measure to rise to it.
22. There is a feeling of destiny about this tournament, a feeling that England can hardly avoid meeting Germany at some stage. That can now only be in the final. Can it really be that the mother of all penalty shoot-outs awaits?
23. Rooney’s fitness has not just been the key to England’s effectiveness. It has also been the barometer of the mood. The fact that Rooney was fit for the second game when such a thing seemed impossible seems like an omen. It’s meant; it’s destiny, and remember that football matches are not always decided by rational means.
24. At his rampaging best, Rooney is one of the best players in the world, perhaps close to being the best of all. Rooney can do great things against any team he comes up against, and every team in the world knows it. He is a player with a unique air of menace. With him, anything can happen.
25. Rooney is not only good in himself, he brings out the best in everyone else as well. Rooney believes — knows — he can beat anybody. And by an extraordinary process, he translates his own inner certainty into a massive form of corporate self-belief. The England team breathe the notion we can win, for we are Rooney. England, bursting with the inspiration of Rooney, are capable of anything.
Absolutely anything.
thetimesonline.co.uk
