2014 World Cup

[Maladict]

Australia are on fire

[FunkMonk]

Yeah they got blitzed by a couple goals early on but they've made a match of it.

Fully expecting them to draw with Spain now. 

[Norgy]

Syt, your avatar has inspired me to take one of our former players as well. It's the photo of his first game. Can you tell who that is?

It's Jürgen Kohler?

And, I feel vindicated in mentioning Spain might fuck it up. Bye, bye, tiki-taka.

[DGuller]

Syt, your avatar has inspired me to take one of our former players as well. It's the photo of his first game. Can you tell who that is?

[Maladict]

Ah, too bad. They may be able to beat Spain though.

[Norgy]

This must be the first time I watch the Dutch team play where I don't recognize ghetto majority of players names because they are so obscure.   What a decline of Dutch soccer!

It is Spain that is playing horrible, making it easy for the Netherlands. In van Persie and Robben the Dutch have two great players, but the rest of the team are either unknowns or has-beens. It is astonishing how bad Spain's defense has been.

It was woeful, that Spanish defence. That aside, with Spain having a bad day, I think the Dutch show how they continuously produce players that are ready to step up. Dutch youth coaching is most likely the most successful in the world. It's kept a country with much less of a pool to draw from more successful for 26 odd years than say England. When I went to the Netherlands in March, I was drawn to the huge number of full-sized, well-kept pitches in urban areas like a relatively small place like Zwolle. They were full of people playing, mostly kids, with several coaches. That improves young players.

There are sides that I haven't seen so far that I think might do well, and Argentina and Germany are two of them. I love the World Cup. 

[Ed Anger]

Fernando Torres is a gaylord

[Josephus]

Best thing from the first two games: the freekick spray.

That's been in the MLS for years.

[Josephus]

What a decline of Dutch soccer!

Come again?

[Josephus]

There hasn't been a boring game so far so Chile and Australia better turn up.

they did. Best game of the tournee so far I'd say.

[Josephus]

in case you haven't noticed, I'm watching games on delay and avoiding this forum until then.  Some of us work.

[Grey Fox]

No one works during the World Cup.

[FunkMonk]

Fernando Torres is a gaylord

This is true.

[Zanza]

Syt, your avatar has inspired me to take one of our former players as well. It's the photo of his first game. Can you tell who that is?

It's Jürgen Kohler?

Nope. Similar timeframe though.

[Syt]

Syt, your avatar has inspired me to take one of our former players as well. It's the photo of his first game. Can you tell who that is?

Lothar Matthäus, 1980?