Euro 2004

[Czar]

It is funny to think of a nation as a "once were" because every generation is different, and generations do change.

[Andail_unplugged]

Czar, you've got a point, but still...many nations remain soccer nations generation after generation (after all, a generation in soccer isn't that long - ten years maybe), it's more about the general sport culture, the view on the sport among all ages, all categories, if it has political support, good news coverage etc.

[..]

England to win

Excerpt from recent MSN convo with REMCO :

9th Cdt.Bogaard says:
french has to win 
Come on England says:
Never!
Come on England says:
U french by any chance?
9th Cdt.Bogaard says:
no
9th Cdt.Bogaard says:
dutch
Come on England says:
Oh well anyway.. Come on England!   
9th Cdt.Bogaard says:
we play thuesday against germany
Come on England says:
Well at least we agree on one thing..
Come on England says:
Bloody Germans
9th Cdt.Bogaard says:
hehehe
Come on England says:
All the english have to say to shut up a german is .. 5:1 
9th Cdt.Bogaard says:
LOL
9th Cdt.Bogaard says:
looking forward to tonight, big game
9th Cdt.Bogaard says:
french was world champion, so i think they win
Come on England says:
Yeh but did u c what happened in the last world cup?
Come on England says:
They went from world champions to being knocked out in the first round
9th Cdt.Bogaard says:
yep
Come on England says:
Too cocky for their own good
9th Cdt.Bogaard says:
so now they are extra motivated
Come on England says:
Yeh to lose 

[Vel]

Hahaha - it finished 0-0.
I think that this puts both Croatia and Switzerland out of the group, unless England - France finishes as a draw.

[Privateer Puddin']

Barcik, you sir are wrong, i'm not saying we've won or are going to, but you predicted 3-0 or 4-0, therefore you are wrong.

[Matt Frith]

*Tier Concurs with Pudding*

Go England!

[Daz]

Englane are 1-0 up, yeeeeey

[Czar]

Damn if there werent at least 3 yellow cartons distributed in 3 minutes.
Those Switz boys really get on my nerves, they can go and play ping pong. If they want it rough they'll get rough, but PLEASE stop pretending it hurts!

[Privateer Puddin']

zidane got us real good still, it wasn't a thrashing and we can take heart from our performance until the 90th min..

[Matt Frith]

*Tier concurs with Pudding*

[TheDude]

zidane got us real good still, it wasn't a thrashing and we can take heart from our performance until the 90th min..

I can't help but LAUGH. 2-1 France.

I was actually hoping England would win, but it's their own falt for missing a pen, giving away a free kick then giving away a penalty.

[LucasFan]

LOOOOOOOOL

[Czar]

No TWISTS in this match ( in the mildest sense).

Damn, and I was hoping to stay 1-1

[Privateer Puddin']

Just saw the freekick again by Zidane, what a wonderful strike and if we're gonna be beaten by someone, it has to be him, however i'd like to say if England had won, 50% wouldn't have come back to this thread with your clever replies of 'LOOOOOOOOL'

[Flippy_D]

Puddin', you're not allowed to flame Lucasfan. It's the law.


All I can say is Blast. We never freakin' win like that. It's actually a British mental thing, if we're about to win, we lose it (mentally and often literally).

[Privateer Puddin']

Flippy_D: I had to think of Basil Fawlty and his famous line when quoting Lucasfan.

[Nellie]

They just amended the Oxford Dictionary:

ma'soch|ism n support of the English football team

[Barcik]

I know throwing in a LOOOOOOOOOL isn't the smartest thing to do, but that was exactly what I felt when James fouled Henry; I laughed out loud. How pathetic can you be? At first, I thought James was sent off and Beckham will go stop the penalty. And that, is quite a LOLish thought.

Throughout the match, it seemed like the French refused to shot from 20 metres. They had so many comfortable shooting positions from medium ranges, but they all the time tried to get the ball into the box, through the excellent English defensive lines. I was yelling "shoot!!!" so many times, but they just wouldn't. Zidane wasn't good enough, Pires' famous diagonal runs were cancelled by the defense, and Henry was off-focus. Viera, however, was excellent, but his job was considerably easier when we look at England's ultra-defensive match.

Tomorrow, the silly English press will blame Eriksson for the loss, but it was he who almost won England 3 points. The English suffer from a severe megalomania; they think they have a great team. Eriksson, a foreigner, knows otherwise. He gave his players the mentality of a small team looking for a surprise victory, and this is the only way the English can play against the stronger French.

Anyway, after seeing how badly both Croatia and Switzerland look, England shouldn't have any problems in qualifying. But in the next phase, they really should return to the underdog mentality.

[Czar]

Anyway, after seeing how badly both Croatia and Switzerland look

HEY!

I didn't see YOUR country qualified for the championshiop, now DID I?

*figures that Barcik is from Israel, and the last time he looked at a map Israel was not in Europe*

Erm.
Sad but true. He should move Olic from the attack and put Krpan, though Pletikosa, our goalman was injured, and now Butina is replacing him.

[TheDude]

Anyway, after seeing how badly both Croatia and Switzerland look

HEY!

I didn't see YOUR country qualified for the championshiop, now DID I?

*figures that Barcik is from Israel, and the last time he looked at a map Israel was not in Europe*

Erm.
Sad but true. He should move Olic from the attack and put Krpan, though Pletikosa, our goalman was injured, and now Butina is replacing him.

I hope Croatia do well and get through because Prso just signed for my club Rangers! They had quite a few chances to score.