WORLD CUP

[MJZiggy]

For different reasons perhaps. Then again, were Aimar still around...

[retailguy]

For different reasons perhaps. Then again, were Aimar still around...

maybe. maybe not. Perhaps Bretsky has you pegged correctly? she is pretty hot if I recall.

[MJZiggy]

Aimar is a he. Pablo Aimar to be exact. The midfielder from the 2006 qualifying squad. HoooWEEEE! I think now he plays somewhere in Spain.

[retailguy]

Aimar is a he. Pablo Aimar to be exact. The midfielder from the 2006 qualifying squad. HoooWEEEE! I think now he plays somewhere in Spain.

i was talking about maria belen chapur. i thought you were in love with someone from los lonely boys?

[MJZiggy]

Aimar is a he. Pablo Aimar to be exact. The midfielder from the 2006 qualifying squad. HoooWEEEE! I think now he plays somewhere in Spain.

i was talking about maria belen chapur. i thought you were in love with someone from los lonely boys?

Alas, Henry is married. And that's lust, dear, pure and simple. I only love people I can actually have. Makes life much more interesting.

[retailguy]

Aimar is a he. Pablo Aimar to be exact. The midfielder from the 2006 qualifying squad. HoooWEEEE! I think now he plays somewhere in Spain.

i was talking about maria belen chapur. i thought you were in love with someone from los lonely boys?

Alas, Henry is married. And that's lust, dear, pure and simple. I only love people I can actually have. Makes life much more interesting.

didn't stop gov sanford.

[MJZiggy]

Didn't he eventually end up with the Argentine chick? Either way, SOME of us have morals. Don't believe the Guvner is one of us.

[retailguy]

Didn't he eventually end up with the Argentine chick? Either way, SOME of us have morals. Don't believe the Guvner is one of us.

don't know. don't care. agree with you on that one. he isn't one of us. she was hot though.... not hot enough to lose his whole life over, but hey what the hell do I know?

[wootah]

Saw Japan-Denmark yesterday. Great game, great play by the samurai squad. Denmark never seemed up to the challenge, just trying to use their height advantage, but literally falling short every time.

What a play by Deisuke Honda in preparing the 3rd goal for Japan!!! A flash of brilliance. Even if you do not know anything of football, or maybe not even like it, you've got to admire that display of skill. To dribble a defender like that is the soccer version of getting 'posterized'. You see it in the replay as well, the Danish guy just stops afterwards and looks for a place to hide Top class stuff by Honda.

I cannot see all games, but viewing the highlights, it's clear that playing time is over. Holland won, without too much effort, but they're a strong team, especially up front. The return of Robben will help them a lot, all though he sometimes has the same effect as CRon: wanting to do too much by himself. The 2nd goal they scored yesterday is 85% due to Robben's class, though.

In the other group, Slovakia & Paraguay advance, while Italy is eliminated. Italy has a bit of the same soccer problems as the French; they had a very good team some time ago, but important players quit and most of the ones that didn't, got old. Italy clearly missed the creativity of Totti & the injury of Pirlo only added up to that. It's time for them to start from scratch and try to build a new squadra. Saw a great piece on the Italian squad and its fans yesterday. They live & die by that team in 'the old country'.

Ziggy, Aimar plays for Benfica in Portugal btw.

[wootah]

A final tribute to Italy


And for her fans @ Packerrats, Paraguay played again.

[Gunakor]

So here's the million dollar question for Bradley come Saturday: Assuming he comes out in a 4-4-2 once again, who will he pair with DeMerit in the middle of that back line? Does he go with what worked against Algeria and start Bornstein again, much to the chagrin of many US soccer fans who feel that Bornstein doesn't deserve a spot on the WC squad to begin with? Or does he give Onyewu another shot even though he hasn't looked good all tournament and is likely still ailing from his knee injury?

[wootah]

So here's the million dollar question for Bradley come Saturday: Assuming he comes out in a 4-4-2 once again, who will he pair with DeMerit in the middle of that back line? Does he go with what worked against Algeria and start Bornstein again, much to the chagrin of many US soccer fans who feel that Bornstein doesn't deserve a spot on the WC squad to begin with? Or does he give Onyewu another shot even though he hasn't looked good all tournament and is likely still ailing from his knee injury?

I wouldn't say that it worked against Algeria; those guys couldn't score a goal if the game lasted 2 weeks and you played without a goalie. If Onyewu is somewhat able to play, I'd give it a go. He's a force on set pieces against the physical play of Ghana. Although I must say I don't know any of the other centre backs in Bradleys selection.

Some nice games on today; Brasil - Portugal & Chili - Spain. Especially that last one might become a spectacle...

Edit: just discovered that Ghana only scored 2 goals this tournament, both via PK. Use Bornstein & let Gooch recover for the quarter finals, I say

[HarveyWallbangers]

How did I miss this thread? I need to visit the Romper Room more.

I don't trust Bornstein to have two good games in a row. The guy is a crucial error waiting to happen. I guess he'd be better than an injured Gooch. It will all depend on how Gooch looks in practice. I doubt Bradley will start him, but I felt like Clarence Goodson was playing very well in the runup to the World Cup. I'd feel more comfortable with him than Bornstein. I'd keep the MF combination of Dempsey, Bradley, Edu, and Donovan. You have the option of moving Dempsey up later and bringing on Stuart Holden or bringing on Clark if you get the lead. I've been most impressed with Gomez paired with Jozy, but Bradley seems to like Findley. Findley has a lot of speed, but he can't finish and panics when he gets a chance. He reminds me of Eddie Johnson in that respect. He's a poor man's Cobi Jones.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Question: Will there be a review of the yellow carded handball called on Beasley?

Probably not. And if there is, the findings will most certainly not be released to the public. After all, there was no review of the yellow card given to Findley for his "handball" (faceball) against Slovenia either. Accountability is not one of FIFA's strong suits.

Findley was carded for an even more absurd handball, and they didn't reverse the card. I don't think Beasley's was a handball, but the way he put his arms up made it hard to tell for the ref, and I'm still not absolutely positive that part of the ball didn't touch part of his upper arm. Findley took a ball to his face and clearly didn't hand the ball.

[Gunakor]

I've been most impressed with Gomez paired with Jozy, but Bradley seems to like Findley. Findley has a lot of speed, but he can't finish and panics when he gets a chance. He reminds me of Eddie Johnson in that respect. He's a poor man's Cobi Jones.

Agreed on Gomez and Altidore starting. Findley would make a better second half substitute anyway, where his speed would be even more of a factor against a tired Ghana defense.