WORLD CUP

[sunshine]

The 2006 World Cup will be played in Germany this summer. It is the biggest event in soccer and arguably the biggest sporting event in the world. Only the Summer Olympics and tennis rival soccer when it comes to worldwide appeal and interest. After those three there is basketball.


While the media will run with the black/speed team theme--see France, Brazil etc..-(remember the non stop media blather on Nigeria in the 90's?), there are more than a few white stars to keep an eye on. And some young players like Wayne Rooney and others to follow. I will try and probably others will as well try to keep people informed and soon will highlight several young speedy stars not yet mentioned in this group.


I believe TV coverage will be wall to wall. And of course England is always a team to keep an eye on since the English press are second to none when it comes down to soccer coverage. They are hilarious.

 

[Realgeorge]

test

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

with Denmark not making the cut for the World Cup arguably the fastest soccer player in the world, Dennis Rommedahl who plays for Charlton Athletic in the English Premier League, will not be in action. the dude runs a 10.2 in the 100 meters!

so who are the fastest guys remaining in the field? anybody know? or more likely for most Americans on the board, anyone care?

one of my favorite players, Michael Owen, is on pace to be fully recovered from a boken bone in his foot in order to play for England. he can fly when healthy.

 

[guest301]

Jimmy.. the fastest american players would be whites like Landon Donovan,Frankie Hejduk, Josh Wolff and a couple of blacks like Eddie Johnson and tough but smurf like Donovan Beasley. I would say from multiple times of viewing that either Landon or Frankie was the fastest. By the way..if I can tear myself away from the olympics tonight..there is a exhibition game tonight between the united states and a very fast japanese team on ESPN. Late tonight..around 10 or 11:00 eastern time.

 

[Iron]

The World cup is definately something to look foward to this summer.Soccer unlike any other sport has massive worldwide appeal.Every region and continant over the world will be represented with the respective populations of them nations going into a world cup frenzy.From Japan to Iran to Germany to Ghana to Mexico.Such diverse races,cultures and economys.Culturally and economically soccer trancends more than any other sport.Watching the world cup is the only time i appreciate diversity as it offers the few chances to see all White teams against all Black ones in a sport which requires speed,strengh and teamwork.Seeing this helps shatter a few myths to the notion of Black physical superiority.Good teams to look out for with a fair shot of winning are Argentina,Italy,England,Spain, Holland and the Czech Republic.The last White team to win the tournament was Germany in 1990 so hopefully this year will break a sixteen year drought.

 

[guest301]

If anything could ever replace the greatest moment in american sports history than our incredible victory over the Soviets in Lake Placid, it would be a World Cup victory for the United States. I don't think it would be as quite a upset as that one was but it would be more meaningful because of the world wide popularity of soccer. It would also put some big holes in the caste system with so many white players on the United States team. We did well in the last world cup(8th place). I would love a United States- England final matchup. Michael Owen, Wayne Rooney, Landon Donovan and Kasey Keller...it doesn't get any better than this.

 

[sunshine]

One young rising star to watch is Germany's Lukas Podoslki. He is only 20 and has great skill and tremendous speed. He is a forward. Needless to say Germany will be watching his every move..
Michael Owen is my favorite soccer player but worried that his broken foot won't heal in time for WC.

 

[guest301]

Germany is usually known for it's physical back to the goal forwards. Is Lucas more of a soccer version of a crossover dribble and slash to the goal. I have not seen the guy play. Michael and Landon are my favorite players. What would really be a interesting match and have deep political ramifications would be if Iran and the United States met in the second round.

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

guest, yeah i caught the U.S.-Japan game and posted about it on the other thread. our guys played great for the most part. but i strongly doubt a U.S. World Cup victory would get the media attention that the hockey game did, even though, from my perspective, it would be a BIGGER upset. the whole world plays soccer, only a few northern countries play hockey.

furthermore, in the U.S. soccer has always been relegated by the mainstream media as the red-headed stepchild of the sporting world. most American sports writers couldn't care less about it because of their ignorance of it, so they don't cover it, and in return most Americans know nothing about it. it would be HUGE in the rest of the world, because we are still not looked on as a soccer power despite our FIFA ranking. most countries view us dangerous when playing well, but beatable by the "real" teams.

and speaking of big German forwards, how about Miroslav Klose? that guy is awesome! he is out with a shoulder injury right now, but he is amazing in the air.

 

[Don Wassall]

What networks televise soccer games or do you get your soccer info from websites and magazines?

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

i have to use multilpe sources to get soccer info, since the U.S. media ignores a lot of the football-soccer world.

Fox soccer channel is the only tv station that covers soccer to any degree, with the occasional national team game on ESPN or NBC. the internet is always a useful tool, and i talk about it a lot with friends from overseas.

 

[guest301]

Jimmy..you mentioned on another thread the "incredible Frankie Hejduk story"..could you relay a little of that..He has incredible speed...especially for a surfer!

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

i'm talking about the surfing thing, man! he is incredibly unique as an individual. just an off beat personality. on the field he is considered tireless, and in a game filled with remarkably fit athletes having the reputation as being especially well-conditioned is something. and he claims, to a lot of laughter i would imagine, that surfing is a big part of his fitness regimen.

 

[guest301]

If the movie "Point Break" was made all over again, Frankie would definitely be one of the extras in the movie! I think he has improved his crosses from the left flank the last couple of years, I think that's good because with his speed I want him more of a threat from the outside much like Donovan Beasley is.

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

in the second half ofthe friendly against the USA, Germany showed why it is one of only a handful of teams in the world who might be able to challenge Brazil in this year's World Cup (along with Italy and England). as Sunshine pointed out, Lukas Podolski is fleet of foot, but he didn't shine that brightly in this particular match. the savvy veterans were the ones who did most of the damage.

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

two matches took place on opening day, each with an all-white team in the game...

all-white Germany dominated Costa Rica 4-2, despite a clear offsides call that was missed by an official that gave Costa Rica its second goal. Germany looked very fast and organized. they were a well-oiled machine today.

there were several players that deserve recognition, including but not limited to Miroslav Klose, 21-year old speedster Lukas Podolski, midfielders Bernd Schneider and Torsten Frings, 22-year old defender Philipp Lahm and 21-year old defender Per Mertesacker. if Germany shores up its defensive strategy, they could make a deep run in the tourney.

conversely, all-white Poland, who was much bigger and faster than Ecuador, looked completely out of sorts despite their superior talent. they were out of sync and slow to the ball. furthermore, they were tremendously unlucky, being on the wrong end of a bad offsides call that cost them a goal and numerous shots that hit the posts instead of the net. all this added up to a very disappointing result for the Poles, losing 2-0. they now have a very difficult path to advance out of the opening round.

i am very excited about seeing England play in the morning. they have a tremendous amount of talent that could see them challenge for the championship, but health issues that won't be answered until later in the tourney (Wayne Rooney is not expected to play in their first game) make them an uncertain bet.

additionally, all-white Sweden takes on Trinidad and Tobago and all-white Argentina faces Ivory Coast. it should be another great day!Edited by: Jimmy Chitwood

 

[C Darwin]

Is it me, or are the dark teams gitting the calls?

Ger v. Trin (off-side goal)

Arg v. Ivory Coast (hand ball, no goal)

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

it is possible, but i don't think it's likely. the speed of the game in the World Cup is unparalleled, and my feeling is that the officials haven't acclimated yet. and, as with all human endeavors, there is always a possibility of error. while frustrating, it is inevitably part of the game.

despite the two blown calls however, Germany, Argentina, and England (who started just one black player-defender Ashley Cole- and one racially mixed player-defender Ferdinand)looked very strong, and Sweden earned a tie despite playing dismally. the only true disappointment thus far from a Caste perspective has been Poland.

additionally, did anyone else notice the NAACP's attempt to invoke racial enmity on Sportscenter by declaring that FIFA should do more to halt the "atrocious" racial dischord that permeates the World Cup?

it actually used words that decried the verbal insults endured by "players of color", once again implying that only white people can be racists. what a load of dung!

 

[OC football]

It is too bad that Poland lost that game. They were the better team. Being that Poland borders Germany it would be great to see the country advance. I will be pulling for Poland to defeat Germany in their second game as to get back into this thing. They can do it, they were a very highly rated team going into this world cup.

 

[devans]

For info... Angola and Trinidad both have a starting white payer in their teams

 

[Iron]

What's surprised me most so far is how tactically adept the African teams are now.They are certainly much harder to beat than in previous competitions.The Argentnians who possess some brilliant talent and are many people's favourites alongside Brazil and England were given a real tough test by the Ivory Coast.They played with alot of pace and power which at times seemed to bother the Argies.Argentina though made better use of the ball when in possesion and were able to intelligently find different angles and space which was brilliant to watch especially Saviola's second goal provided by Riquelma's throughball..This intelligent use of the ball proved the difference between the sides.

Poland were beaten by an all Black Ecuador side which was a real disapointment on the opening day.So far predominantly white teams are 2-1 up on their Black rivals.

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

so far, Poland is the only all-white team to lose to a non-white team (all-white Serbia and Montenegro loss to the all-white Netherlands is the only other white team to fall), but Sweden's draw with T and T is certainly a disappointment for their fans, as the Swedes were the much better squad.

i recall the white player for T and T from when they played the USA in a preliminary match. his name is Christopher Birchall, and he is the first, and only, white player to ever suit up for Trinidad and Tobago. the midfielder is a very solid player as an attacking goal scorer. he plays in England professionally.

Iron wrote: What's surprised me most so far is how tactically adept the African teams are now.They are certainly much harder to beat than in previous competitions.

you will notice, i'm sure, that the African nations that are playing well do not have African coaching staffs. the coaches are all of European backgrounds, which accounts for the much higher level of discipline and teamwork than we've seen from the African teams in years past. however, it must still be noted, as it was by the announcers during the Italy-Ghana match, that the Africans still do not play well when they feel pressure. if they either don't score early, or even worse for them, get behind, they inevitably begin to crumble. i haven't seen them yelling and fighting with each other yet in this tourney, so maybe that's finally a thing of the past at least.

the USA was an incredible disappointment today. the Czech Republic completely destroyed us. we looked slow, unskilled, and uninspired. we were outrun all over the field by the supposedly "old and slow" Czechs for the entire 90 minutes. and our black champion defender, oguchi onyewu, directly cost us 2 of the 3 goals.

as a team we were unbelievably dismal, and i can only hope that we bounce back strongly against France.

conversely, the Czech Republic was incredible. i picked them early on as a title contender, and they certainly looked it today. the only negative for them from the match was the injury to giant forward Jan Koller. if he's out of the tourney, that would be a devastating blow for their chances.

and no one has mentioned the all-white Socceroos from Australia. they played a full 90 minutes today and showed a perserverance that should make us all proud. down 1-0 for most of the match, they scored 3 goals in the last 6 minutes of the match to take a huge surprise win over Japan.

as of right now, 9 all-white teams have played, and 2 nearly all-white teams (England and Portugal). they have a combined record of 6-2-1.

with one loss coming to another white team. now then, if you count Iran as white, (which they certainly look it to me, but i'm certainly no expert on genetics) then their 3-1 loss to Mexico would add another notch to the loss column. pretty good tourney, so far!

 

[OC football]

The fact is that white teams are doing better so far then they have in a very long time. In 2002 4 of the 8 teams to make the quarter finals were non white (Turkey, South Korea, Brazil, and Cameroon).

Its not like African teams have never done well in this thing. They are just not doing well in this years tournament so far. We have this mindset that black teams are getting better and can not accept that they are actually becomming less competative. Granted it did seem as though there were more blacks in the BPL this year but that just may be my imagination.

Granted I may be speaking too soon as the first round is far from over. The almost all black "French" team may pull off a victory over Switzerland. I hope not. Also, Brazil has yet to take the field, they will be playing a very capable Croatia.

Iran is not a white country. Some Iranians have Latin features but if you were to line the Irans team up next to say Portugals it would quickly become apparent who is white and who isnt. I will admitt that the Iranian goal keeper was white looking, aside from that; their arabs.

 

[Matra1]

our black champion defender, oguchi onyewu, directly cost us 2 of the 3 goals.

I wouldn't blame him too much for the first goal. It's not easy marking a 6 ft 8 player when the ball's being crossed in the air. Johnson (black) played well in the second half.

The Czechs looked super but Koller is out injured now and they got a lot of yellow cards that could come back to haunt them. The US seemed to lose their confidence especially after the second goal. They had plenty of possession they just didn'y know what to do with it. They were unimaginative up front. That said, I don't think any team in the tournament thus far could have withstood that Czech team today. The US will need to regain their confidence and play the game of their lives against Italy on Saturday. It's possible they could lose all their matches, even the one against Ghana

OC football - The Iranians are not Arabs. They just look and all too often act like them.

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

onyewu is DIRECTLY to blame for the first goal. his stupidly clumsy yellow card in the fourth minute necessitated the back line of the US shifting so he wouldn't be marking Koller exclusively for danger of a second yellow.

i am well aware that it is tough to mark a 6'8" forward of Koller's skill, but it is impossible to do it when your back is turned and you have no idea where your mark is, like onyewu did on this occasion. the other US defender was equally lost (was it Lewis?), but onyewu has been hyped for several weeks as being "the man" on the back line, and as such must be held to a higher standard than an average player.

this was by far onyewu's worst game that i have watched. even Julie Fowdy and the rest of the ESPN soccer analysts called him out. he had an incredibly high number of fouls, and the officials will be watching him very closely as long as the US remains in the tourney.

johnson had one decent shot that missed, but so what? Josh Woolf played equally as well, as coach Arena mentioned, but not only did you not mention him, shouldn't the US be to the point where we don't get humiliated on the world stage? NOBODY on this team, white or black, should be feeling good about themselves after this game. this was an embarassment.

i thought the US lost their confidence after the quick first goal by Koller (Coach Bruce Arena shares my opnion, btw), but you are right about how ugly our play was. we definitely have our work cut out for us now, and we had an incredibly difficult task to begin with. we certainly can't take anything for granted.

as for your case about the Czechs being unstoppable today, you may very well be right. they were awesome!