General Football Discussion

[Kowalczyk]

If we manage a win over Macedonia on Wednesday, Holland will have qualified for the World Cup with 34 points out of 12 games. That's... unbelievable. Especially for Holland. We almost never have easy qualifying campaigns. There's always a lot of sh*t going on during the qualification.

The only exception to the rule was 1987. We qualified in convincing style at the time and were already there one game before the end of the qualification campaign. And then we won Euro '88!

Which means we're gonna win the World Cup! :bis: :party: :d4

K.

[carcajou]

Roy Keane sucks... He should be in jail, where he belongs.

[dws]

If we manage a win over Macedonia on Wednesday, Holland will have qualified for the World Cup with 34 points out of 12 games. That's... unbelievable. Especially for Holland. We almost never have easy qualifying campaigns. There's always a lot of sh*t going on during the qualification.

The only exception to the rule was 1987. We qualified in convincing style at the time and were already there one game before the end of the qualification campaign. And then we won Euro '88!

Which means we're gonna win the World Cup! :bis: :party: :d4

K.

Ko, you forget that UEFA afforded the Dutch the advantage of an extra fixture v's Cyprus :D No wonder Oranje qualified with ease. ;)

[Kowalczyk]

I didn't forget that, but it's got nothing to do with what I say.

Holland qualified convincingly and were already qualified one game before the end. The UEFA could have banned Holland (or handed them an administrative home defeat against Cyprus) due to the 'bomb incident', but eventually they didn't, so that the group was - at the end of the day - a 'normal' one. Doesn't make the way in which Holland qualified any less convincing.

K.

[dws]

I didn't forget that, but it's got nothing to do with what I say.

Holland qualified convincingly and were already qualified one game before the end. The UEFA could have banned Holland (or handed them an administrative home defeat against Cyprus) due to the 'bomb incident', but eventually they didn't, so that the group was - at the end of the day - a 'normal' one. Doesn't make the way in which Holland qualified any less convincing.

K.

Ooops! Sorry Ko, I think i may have offended you... all a misunderstanding. I used the emoticons to try and convey that i was kidding.I did listen to the match on Radio Radio Radio Een ... di do do do .... etc , etc .Big delay after the bomb...... Bosman scored 5 times. I think that would have given Bosman the Dutch record for most goals scored in a single International. I remember he scored 3 in the replayed game.Greece tried very hard to get UEFA to impose a statutory 0:3 against Holland.

Yes , it was a convincing qualification for 'Euro 88.... only 1 goal conceded .. Saravakos for Greece (de Kuip i think). Poor old Spelbos and Silooij , from that defence, missed out on the Euro through injury. I think the Finals defence would have been stronger with them ( Van Aerle and Van Tiggelen the replacements).

I think the current defence is also very strong. However, the high defensive line they hold leaves them vulnerable to the flighted pass from deep. We saw that a few times v Czech Republic (I think Saravakos' goal in Euro '88 qualifier came about from such a situation ... or was at from a quick free ?)


One last thing. Ko, you being the music man on this forum .... could you tell me name of that tune ( i believe its from the film 'Shaft') played on Radio 1 before and after the football ? This has been bugging me since about 1983..... first time i heard it was during the closing credits after the Olympiakos game X'C . Tuned in by accident to that game during the extratime period. I think the commentators were Leo Driessen and Jack Van
Gelder.Realised it was Ajax when i heard names such as Boeve and Koeman. When i heard the commentators scream with excitement i thought Ajax had scored.... then heard the name Anastopoulos X'C . Olympiakos won the game 2:0 . That was a bittersweet night for me .... the bitter being rather obviouse..... the Sweet? Realising that i no longer had to rely on Monday's newspaper to get Ajax results .... could now follow their progress on radio.

[DanK]

I cant believe The Netherlands qualified without the usual struggle and self destruction. Congrats to van Basten and the boys for the win AND more importantly the qualification. Bring on 2006!!!

Now only if the Aussies can somehow beat either Uruguay or Colombia in a months time and qualify as well i will be one happy Dan :eusa_pray:

Do we have a post yet for WC06???

If i had to place a bet, i would say Chile will face the aussie's.

oops forgot about Chile. Actually truth be told if I had to pick out of these 3 , Chile would be the one I would like the Aussies to play. I think Uruguay would beat as again, Colombia could beat anyone on their day, so would be a threat. Chile, while I think are a great team, I cant see them destroying a team as the other 2 could do.

Again, either way it will be tough, but with Hiddink at the helm, we may finally make it...maybe :eusa_pray:

[Manneken Pis]

Here's an interesting spin on Holland's "achievement"....

It's from the BBC messageboard (copied from some newspaper article), and somewhat England-centric, but it re-emphasises the difficulty of the group Holland got....

By Will Buckley:

"It has been made so easy for England to qualify for next year's World Cup finals that they might as well have been handed an invitation from the corporate sponsors after the draw and saved people from much needless fretting.

First England were placed in the easiest group according to FIFA rankings.

Adding together the rankings of the top four teams before kcik off yesterday produces the following level of difficulty (highest ranked team in brackets)

Group 1 (Holland) 78

Group 2 (Turkey) 85

Group 4 (France) 109

Group 8 (Sweden) 145

Group 3 (Portugal) 147

Group 7 (Spain) 170

Group 5 (Italy) 176

Group 6 (England) 208.


To put it into words - england's group is nearly three times easier than the one containing Holland, Czech, Romania and Finland and nearly twice as easy as the one containing France, Switzerland, ROI and Israel. Which sounds about right.

Secondly, if winning the easiest group proved beyond England, being so placed ensured they were the major beneficiaries of the rule that allowed the 2 best 2nd placed team to qualify automatically.

(England's group also has the largest gap between the 2nd and 3rd teams ranking by some distance - a whopping 62 places seperates Poland and Austria)

Thirdly, if even this tilting on the playing field failed to allow England to roll into the final, there is always the play-offs, with all their inherent chicanery"

[bryan]

Anything based on FIFA rankings is arse.

[Manneken Pis]

Which brings me to another point....

Is it just me or does Marco V B look like a younger version of Rinus Michels?

[dws]

England were placed in the easiest group according to FIFA rankings.

(England's group also has the largest gap between the 2nd and 3rd teams ranking by some distance - a whopping 62 places seperates Poland and Austria)

England usually get a piss easy qualifying group. The last time they were drawn in a somewhat difficult group ( world cup '94 qualifying opponents: Holland , Poland, Norway , Turkey and San Marino) they failed to qualify.

Their rivals for Germany 2006 qualification have a pitiful qualifying record over the last 9 international tournaments.. Austria and Poland each with 1 qualification since 1986 . N Ireland and Wales with 0 qualifications since 1986.

Even the Italian's group, the next weakest, has a semblence of credability. Italy's main rivals: Scotland, Norway and Slovenia, have 8 qualifications between them since '86.

Makes me think back to when Holland missed out on Korea and Japan. Fifa granted Ukraine a second seeding. In granting this unmerited seeding to Ukraine, Fifa had to downgrade a Nation deserving of a second seeding.
I wonder if the Nation that lost its second seeding was the Republic of Ireland?

[Philippe]

I expect France to qualify this evening, no matter how mediocre this team is.
When things do go right for some countries, they can always count on the referee. Like in the last game is Switzerland when Makele did not get the red card he diserved ..

[Venezuelan Ajacied]

Looks like Leo Benhaker is going to the world cup too, Trinidad and Tobago have qualified for the play off against Bahrein????? What the hell??? Im rooting for Slovakia in the european playoff's.

The aussies will face their nemesis once again, Uruguay beat Argentina today to nab the play off spot in south america.

Ps: Venezuela got hammered 3-0 in Brazil, so what else is new :D

[Over Pasanens Head]

Ps: Venezuela got hammered 3-0 in Brazil, so what else is new :D

Apparently 70,000 people turned up just for the Brazil training session when they were only expecting 25,000.

[Kowalczyk]

If Hiddink pulls it off and takes Australia to the World Cup, he will be a f*cking legend...

Same goes for Beenhakker, by the way: okay, it's 'only' Bahrein, but it would be an absolutely historic achievement to take Trinidad & Tobago to the World Cup.

These two guys... One of 'em is a PSV man and the other one a Judas, but there is no denial: they know what they're doing. They're not stupid.

It's also good news for Ajax, this... The Uruguay games will distract Hiddink a bit more. PSV will have to do without him for a few more games.

K.

[DanK]

If Hiddink pulls it off and takes Australia to the World Cup, he will be a f*cking legend...
K.

Ko, 100% correct mate. The press and the usual critics of australian football have actually jumped on the bandwagon with Hiddink. The public already love him too.

I've said it before, if we can't qualify with this guy at the helm, we are just not good enough. I only wish they had got him earlier and given the team more time to understand his requirements.

There is talk here that even if Aust dont qualify (god please not again!) they will be asking Guus to stay on as the players love him and he loves the players apparently (aussie spirit and all). I am sure PSV will LOVE this... :yes:

Especially now that we will be part of the Asian region, we will also have the Asian Nations Championship to play in...Gone are the days where we would have to wait for 4 years to play a meaningful game again.

Aussie-Aussie-Aussie...Oi, Oi, Oi

[Over Pasanens Head]

Especially now that we will be part of the Asian region, we will also have the Asian Nations Championship to play in...Gone are the days where we would have to wait for 4 years to play a meaningful game again.

Aussie-Aussie-Aussie...Oi, Oi, Oi

But being part of the Asian group brings its own problems due to the number of qualifying games that have to be played over anyone period. Players can be away from their clubs for a very long time and I just cannot see European clubs liking this too much.

But good luck in November.

[Frans]

Personally, the only reason I would want to see Australia win is because they have Hiddink in charge. Other then that I hope they lose, most especially because they are cheating bastards who rigged a draw with the Solomon Islands in order to get an easy Oceania final. I also hope they lose because they are doing everything they can to destroy any political power of the oceania configuration. I'd be quite happy for them to go to Asia, provided they took the rest of Oceania with them, but of course, they're only in it for themselves. Lest we forget, the last oceania participant in the world cup was New Zealand.

Really Australia's best chance was in '98 when they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory against Iran. Let's hope they screw up again. :eusa_pray:

GO URUGUAY!!! :cheer:


(I'll feel sorry for Guus if they lose though)

[Kowalczyk]

I can sense a little bit of 'next door neighbor rivalry' here... I recognize it. The mighty Kingdom of The Netherlands: good guys. Krauts: bad guys. :yes: ;)

I have a different opinion on the Australia v Uruguay games. In general, I sympathize with countries where the lads love a beer, a good pisstake and generally prefer 'tongue-in-cheek' over drama. These are my favourite places and my favourite people, in most cases.

In practice, this means (generally speaking) that I, in most cases, tend to sympathize with the 'English-speaking world' (in practice: either countries where English is the official language or countries where people speak English reasonably well) and much less with the 'latin' world.

What I'm trying to say is... CAAAAARRMMMM ON YOU SOCCEROOS!! Stuff them diving, whining, ponce f*cking bastards for us, fer FACK's sakes!! I mean: they shake your hand, but as soon as the ref looks the other way they step on your f*cking face, don't they. HAMMER 'EM!

Oops, now gave myself away (I think...) :hypocrite:

K.

[English Eagle]

Stop sitting on the fence Ko & tell us who you want to win will you?.

Personally with most of my family living there,some of my school mates living there & some of the Palace boys playing for them i think i should shout for the "Aussies".So i hope Uruguay win because i dread the endless phonecalls if England play,& lose,to the boys from down under & under Sven we all know it could happen. :eusa_pray:

[Frans]

I can sense a little bit of 'next door neighbor rivalry' here... I recognize it. The mighty Kingdom of The Netherlands: good guys. Krauts: bad guys. :yes: ;)

too true :D

I have a different opinion on the Australia v Uruguay games. In general, I sympathize with countries where the lads love a beer, a good pisstake and generally prefer 'tongue-in-cheek' over drama. These are my favourite places and my favourite people, in most cases.

agreed

In practice, this means (generally speaking) that I, in most cases, tend to sympathize with the 'English-speaking world' (in practice: either countries where English is the official language or countries where people speak English reasonably well) and much less with the 'latin' world.

can't fault you there.

What I'm trying to say is... CAAAAARRMMMM ON YOU SOCCEROOS!! Stuff them diving, whining, ponce f*cking bastards for us, fer FACK's sakes!! I mean: they shake your hand, but as soon as the ref looks the other way they step on your f*cking face, don't they. HAMMER 'EM!

Oops, now gave myself away (I think...) :hypocrite:

K.

Hmmm, now see, here is where you've got it wrong. Yes the Uruguayans are probably a bunch of wankers and I don't want to see them in the WC any more than the rest of the board. BUT, the aussies are just as bad. Blimmin underarm bowling, go slow run-scoring, result contriving arseholes. And don't forget that 98.67% of the 'Australian' team is in fact comprised of Greeks, former Yugoslavians and Italians. All who are of course, among the less savoury european soccer nations.

Perhaps the best solution would be if they all ran out and killed each other, and were subsequently banned from international competition for 50 years.


and I'll say it again. anyone who believes the Solomon Islands earned their 2-2 draw with Australia should be sent to the asylum. :redcard:

[aveslacker]

But being part of the Asian group brings its own problems due to the number of qualifying games that have to be played over anyone period. Players can be away from their clubs for a very long time and I just cannot see European clubs liking this too much.

But good luck in November.

This shouldn't be an insurmountable problem because all FIFA WC qualifying dates around the world are synchronized, and there are no top flight UEFA leagues playing on those days (which is why Ajax haven't played in over a week). That means that they can get to their matches, although travel is undoubtedly a pain.

[aveslacker]

I'm absolutley stoked for Trinidad and Tobago and really hope they qualify. It is hard to dislike a team like that -- the nation has a population of just over 1 million! Having lived in the caribbean for a while, i can also vouch that Trinidadians are among the nicest people around. So good luck to them.

And while I can understand the concerns of the Kiwis on this board, I personlly would still rather see the Aussies in the WC than Uruguay, whose style of play is pretty well summed up by Ko above.

[Over Pasanens Head]

This shouldn't be an insurmountable problem because all FIFA WC qualifying dates around the world are synchronized, and there are no top flight UEFA leagues playing on those days (which is why Ajax haven't played in over a week). That means that they can get to their matches, although travel is undoubtedly a pain.

I think that you will find that the groups outside of Europe are of a different size and as such they cannot be totally synchronized ie:- S America where 18 games are played to qualify.

[Venezuelan Ajacied]

You know being South American i should lean towards Uruguay, but then again this fucking team really played like k says right in front off my eyes when we drew 1-1 in Venezuela. The fucking bastards are greedy as hell too they think their the best and all just because they won two world cups when th soccer ball was made out of straw, well Venezuela beat them 3-0 on their home soil after they were saying they were going to score 6 against us. I say fuck'em beat the shit out of them, Go Soceroos.

If most of you dident know, it is the second straight time that Uruguay play Argentina on the last fixture date needing a result(last time it was a draw) this time they needed a win, and they got it.After Korea and Japan the Uruguay coach admited publicly that their had been an agreement between the two federations before the game to allow Uruguay the draw so they could make it trough, this time speculation ran wild, and it happened again :pukey: .

The Aussies have the best chance because the return leg is to be played on their home ground, on the last ocasion the return leg was played in Uruguay.So beat the hell out of them.

Ps: if Colombia or Chile had gotten into the play-off i would have been ruting for them. :yes:

[Venezuelan Ajacied]

I can sense a little bit of 'next door neighbor rivalry' here... I recognize it. The mighty Kingdom of The Netherlands: good guys. Krauts: bad guys. :yes: ;)

too true :D

I have a different opinion on the Australia v Uruguay games. In general, I sympathize with countries where the lads love a beer, a good pisstake and generally prefer 'tongue-in-cheek' over drama. These are my favourite places and my favourite people, in most cases.

agreed

In practice, this means (generally speaking) that I, in most cases, tend to sympathize with the 'English-speaking world' (in practice: either countries where English is the official language or countries where people speak English reasonably well) and much less with the 'latin' world.

can't fault you there.

What I'm trying to say is... CAAAAARRMMMM ON YOU SOCCEROOS!! Stuff them diving, whining, ponce f*cking bastards for us, fer FACK's sakes!! I mean: they shake your hand, but as soon as the ref looks the other way they step on your f*cking face, don't they. HAMMER 'EM!

Oops, now gave myself away (I think...) :hypocrite:

K.

Hmmm, now see, here is where you've got it wrong. Yes the Uruguayans are probably a bunch of wankers and I don't want to see them in the WC any more than the rest of the board. BUT, the aussies are just as bad. Blimmin underarm bowling, go slow run-scoring, result contriving arseholes. And don't forget that 98.67% of the 'Australian' team is in fact comprised of Greeks, former Yugoslavians and Italians. All who are of course, among the less savoury european soccer nations.

Perhaps the best solution would be if they all ran out and killed each other, and were subsequently banned from international competition for 50 years.

and I'll say it again. anyone who believes the Solomon Islands earned their 2-2 draw with Australia should be sent to the asylum. :redcard:

And give Venezuela and automatic berth to the World Cup for fair play :eusa_dance: :eusa_liar: