The Swamp

Nonlinear FC

Yeah, there's definitely a weird need / desire for non-soccer fan to make sure you know that he / she is not a soccer fan in a lot of situations. I was at a watch party for the Portugal game, so of course half the people there aren't even watching, and there are a handful of ladies that are just spo...

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For those in the know or who have an opinion about this: is the NCAA good or bad for player development in the US? Intuitively it seems bad to me to have players of that age playing 3 month seasons and dealing with all the other bullshit that the NCAA has to offer. And yet I count 8 guys who played...

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I also got over the "SCORE A FUCKING GOAL!" mentality this time around. The games entertained me without the need for a goal to be scored. Mexico/Argentina was great radio. Ah, yes, a huge mental shift. And, look, some soccer games are boring as fuck, even in the WC. To state the obvious:...

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A good Academy example of not $ is Andy Najar. DC United got him after only a few months in the US. They developed him signed him and got the transfer fee. I am guessing Gideon Zeeleman (Arsenal) also was not paying $5k a year for Bethesda's club (or whatever full cost is). The only said thing I se...

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* There's a lot to be said on this, but I'll keep it brief: There's a huge battle and major shift going on for who "owns" youth soccer in this country. The bottom line is that the better players are increasingly being funneled into professional academy set-ups. Where when Landon and Beasl...

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Also, if I'm Klinsmann, I find the best technique coach out there and I offer him a lot of money. The US needs better first touch. This leads to my biggest question. How possible/practical is it to develop fundamental ball technique beyond a certain age (17? 20? 25?) I invite comparison to the spor...

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As far as generational awareness, I have this nugget. I have happily watched a lot of games over the past two weeks with my 10-year-old son (the other son sort of comes and goes - mostly goes). We don't normally watch too much sports on TV together, so this has been fun. Now, other than the last Wo...

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No but really, I think there's a divide at around age 45 where everyone below that age grew up in a world where the U.S. qualifies for World Cups and the World Cup was on TV. I'm not saying that everyone below 45 is a fan, but they know enough people who are fans that they don't think it's weird or...

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As a new fan. #3 is appropriate. I have been treated great here and given quality information on the game from all of you without any shit. Rest seem like Bullshit. It will take care of itself. I have 2 more questions: 1) Do they play soccer no matter what weather-wise? do the ever play soccer on a...

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The whole "We didn't quit" narrative makes me crazy. Is there actually an expectation that they would quit? If you watched the Portugal - Ghana match, you will see two teams that very much quit at different times. The thing is, a team doesn't usually quit, it's a handful of players that d...

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And the other thing... PKs are fucking awesome. I mean, they absolutely suck if you have truly vested interest, but beyond that... Is there anything in sports more thrilling than that? Hockey shootouts (which... awesome) are pretty damn cool, too. It's part of the sport, there's no other viable solu...

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That's what gets me about the PK complaining. It was clear at the end of the PK games that each team was running on fumes as it was. Is the thought to make them play until players collapse and a goal happens? Anyone that sat through the monstrosity of the American v. UCLA college final in the late ...

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In looking for another thread, I read the thread from the Belgium friendly last year. I don't remember watching any of the game, but apparently I watched the second half. Disconcerting. Watching the Germany game, I was a nervous wreck. More so for the Ghana/Portugal result. If we didn't move on, I ...

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I agree degen. The flip side of that is CONMEBOL especially on recent form. I think CONCACAF is about right.

The politics and numbers will make it impossible to lower Africa's number of slots.

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Some thoughts: * I'm not sure even on hindsight, that I'd even cede the Group of Death to the other group. Spain (crap) = Portugal (pants) Germany > Netherlands (barely) Chile > Ghana (clearly) US > Australia (clearly, if not, than more than barely) * For the second WC in a row, UEFA is kind of shit...

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Survive and advance, I guess. Ghana is gonna need a new witchdoctor Some of you are friends of mine on Facebook, so apologies for the duplicate sentiment here: Strike the "I guess" part. NO ONE gave the U.S. a shot of getting out of this group when the ping pong balls were pulled in Decem...

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Portugal is subbing their keeper in the 88th minute. Beto is apparently hurt That was another really weird aspect of the denouement over there. He was wincing, limping, grimacing and holding his side for a good 10 minutes before that. Then they sub him out and has a little bitch fest about it. Like...

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Easy fucking goal for him. Keeper cleared it right to him, just near the penalty spot. He could've done just about anything else there, and been fine. The text book calls for him to... and this is gonna shock some people... CATCH THE FUCKING BALL. The next option, if he's a little nervous about a p...

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And for those of you guys who do not have multiple screens going, Portugal does NOT look invested in this game at all. That result was unbelievable. I can't tell you how much I thought Ghana was going to score... Not invested is a massive understatement, at that point that you posted that. But, the...

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Positivity, bitches.

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degenerasian wrote:86% humidity in Manaus.. the suisse will have fun with that.

Prescient!

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Ecuador... making some bad choices.

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I don't think I'm being too negative when I say that I'm expecting a complete disaster. Agreed. Germany is in the top 6, maybe top 3 teams as far as WC form and pedigree is concerned. Netherlands Brazil Germany France Chile Argentina I know you threw in "pedigree" but man... What's up wit...

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If h2h was the first tiebreaker Ghana would be eliminated already. They'd probably roll over for Portugal. This is the only argument for the GD and Goals scored being the earlier tiebreaks: it creates more scenarios on the last matchday. Or, put another way, it takes into account all 3 group matches.

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The announcer we got for that game here in Canada kept saying that there wasn't any contact on that penalty. While Samaras did make it look worse than it was, he was kicked. By still, this guy kept insisting that it was a non-existent foul. And this reminds me of something I notice at this stage of...

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Wow! That makes the US/Portugal result look heartwarming. What a gut punch. Do Ivorians care about soccer as much as 1994 era Colombians? I'd hate to be that defender right now. Not just the defender, one of the midfielders pulled a Bradley. What happened in that game at the end... Ivory Coast did ...

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There's not a mechanism to ban him from this tournament, right? Did they suspend that guy in the 2002 (?) World Cup who had the ball kicked at his legs and then went down grabbing his face? Rivaldo, if memory serves. I don't remember... Google Machine?! *bleep blorp boop* no, he got a small fine fo...

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Just in general, that was shitty game. Both of those teams are chock-a-block with assholes and dirty, underhanded play. I mean, I knew this going in, of course, but that was some cartoon-level "living up to reputation" stuff today. Someone mentioned WWE... totally agree. And there's a reas...

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I really think they have to... He's an embarrassment and disgrace to the game.

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There's not a mechanism to ban him from this tournament, right?

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Was that an accumulation thing? Given what went down in the 1st, that seemed like a soft red to me.

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govmentchedda wrote:Balotelli off. Shit first half from him.

I think its got more to do with a) they are going to go even deeper into Catennacio and b) he's HIGHLY likely to pull a second yellow the way that first half played out. The last thing they need is to give an already desperate Uruguay that kind of boost.

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That first half was, um... chippy.

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The huge wild card, which others have kind of expressed, is what Portugal decides to do with this game. The reason they barely celebrated that goal is that they got outplayed in a must-win game against, in their minds, an inferior opponent. Everyone in this group circled the US as a must win (well, ...

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b) With that said... This is a US squad that has twice scored goals at the death that saved Honduras (2010) and Mexico (2014). I'm not really sure it's in our DNA to try play a cynical, "wink wink" style. I don't know that I've ever seen us do it effectively, and asking this team to play ...

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Growing pains. As soccer grows in the US it's going to go through painful headlines and analysis from those who watch the World Cup every 4 years and think they're experts. If you take the 'any press is good press' philosophy, this world cup has been everywhere. I mean the google doodle changes for...

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Omar Gonzalez had just come in and he's a defender. I'm not sure what instructions he got but he certainly wasn't on the back line when that play started. This. If you look at the replay, he was very close to the center spot when Bradley was dispossessed. Why? Seriously. What's he doing that high. ...

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Sometimes I really wonder if I'm watching the same game as others. We're going to put that goal on Bradley?? Really? I'm seeing some version of that everywhere today. wow. It's not like he took a shot on goal, or tried some crazy, ill-advised pass. He SLIGHTLY duffed a trap on the other side of the ...

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This is ridiculous.

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Colombia's first goal brought us he the best team celebration of the tournament. Even involved most of the bench.

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