Either way, your supporters probably overestimate us if there are chants like this one:
I'm afraid we're the ones going to chant "é como ver a Inglaterra" to our players in a few days time :p
wotyzoid
I just saw the highlights for from Iran and Portugal and what a nice goal from Quaresma. Menacing. A lot of really nice goals so far but not so many blinders like 2010.
Originally posted by Lira
Rating wise, only Ghana x Czechia (2006) (and, depending on who's counting, the 7-1) were more unexpected in recent memory.
I know you love these ELO stats, but a decent Ghana side beating an ageing Czech side is barely even remembered by anyone outside of those two countries, and much less as some kind of seismic shock. Ghana had a peak Michael Essien at that time, as well as few other players at top European clubs, so they weren't exactly Zaire 1974.
This Germany result isn't just about them losing to South Korea. It's about them losing to a team with 0 points, with nothing to play for, in a must-win game, having already played terribly all tournament despite having one of the best squads, above all despite being Germany, who haven't gone out so early for 80 years, when there wasn't even a group stage. This has quite literally never happened before.
My favourite thing about South Korea's second goal isn't just that Manuel Neuer took it upon himself to play as an emergency left winger. It's the hilarious donkey touch he takes from a simple throw-in to give possession straight to SK whilst 70 yards away from his own goal. This is the keeper apparently so good with his feet, we've been told for years he's effectively an extra outfield player for Germany. Whoops.
DJ RANN
All of the above points, and not to mention the clock had 15 seconds left of 6 mins injury time on it when Korea scored. It's a blunder of epic proportions and a moment that will personify their performance as a whole in this WC.
I still can't get over the fact that basically Korea were just playing for pride, Germany for their existence and Korea out played them.
Lira
quote:
Originally posted by SYSTEM-J
I know you love these ELO stats, but a decent Ghana side beating an ageing Czech side is barely even remembered by anyone outside of those two countries, and much less as some kind of seismic shock. Ghana had a peak Michael Essien at that time, as well as few other players at top European clubs, so they weren't exactly Zaire 1974.
I agree, but I think I've already overplayed the importance of Senegal x France (2002) by now, so I didn't want to bring it up, Spain x Netherlands (2014) was outshone by the 7-1, and Italy tying with New Zealand lacks the oomph of a proper defeat. Because this discussion would be highly subjective, I tried to use an objective measure (that rating).
But it's part of a trend - defending champions are crashing and burning at an impressive rate. The exception was Brazil in 2006, because we were eliminated by a rather respectable France in the quarterfinals. This time around, however, the writing was on the wall - Mexico did stun Germany earlier, and the match against Sweden wasn't exactly a walk in the park either.
quote:
Originally posted by SYSTEM-J
This Germany result isn't just about them losing to South Korea. It's about them losing to a team with 0 points, with nothing to play for, in a must-win game, having already played terribly all tournament despite having one of the best squads, above all despite being Germany, who haven't gone out so early for 80 years, when there wasn't even a group stage. This has quite literally never happened before.
That's why I considered adding the 7-1 into the mix, but that was also part of a trend - we choke spectacularly at home :D
quote:
Originally posted by SYSTEM-J
My favourite thing about South Korea's second goal isn't just that Manuel Neuer took it upon himself to play as an emergency left winger. It's the hilarious donkey touch he takes from a simple throw-in to give possession straight to SK whilst 70 yards away from his own goal. This is the keeper apparently so good with his feet, we've been told for years he's effectively an extra outfield player for Germany. Whoops.
:stongue:
I can only imagine what we'd be saying if his "all in or nothing" approach actually paid off. All I know is that I got an important phone call right when Neuer lost possession of the ball, and I had a really hard time understanding what was going on and paying attention to my trainee giving me a message :p
