Euro 2004

[Barcik]

but the majority of football supporters are far too violent in my opion.

I'll bite of your ear and feed it to your dog if you call me violent again.


Seriously, the violent fans are only a small minority. Or do you suggest that most people in the world (as football is after all the most popular sport) are violent?

[Chicky]

No not atall, infact i support most sports, i just think amount of racial abuse and violent attacks toways police and other fans is increasing, and somthing major should be done about this.

[Barcik]

It just seems a silly opinion to me. Do the tens of thousands who visit a football match take part in major brawls after leaving the field? No, they quietly go home. True, there are hooligans. But these are not real football fans - they are just stupid pricks who are searching for a reason to fight. But if most football fans were violent you would here about violence much, much more often.

[Chicky]

maybe my opinion is bias, infact it most probally is. I dont watch many football matches and when i do see them, its on tv... about the hooligans.

But if there is a group of rebals, just looking for a fight, then surley somthing should be done about it. Afterall it effected my opinion.

[Primus]

As a matter of fact, Euro 2004 organisers are alotta worried about hooliganism, so a few hundred undercovered policemen will be in the games, besides the normal police. Unfortunately, I must agree with OSC, there have been crescent vagues of violence on sports, mostly football. In Portugal, football worldÃ,  has also been investigated due to alotta illicit and illegal acts envolving large sums of money, overpower, and so on. And yes, footballers earn  too much. I'd love to earn on my entire life what one of them earns in a single year.Ã, 

[Privateer Puddin']

They do, but when certain players have to go through as much press hell some do, you cant get payed too much imo.

[Nacho]

Farlander, do not pretend, hardly anoyone outside Barca knew of the Bulgarian team.

Here in Spain that team was very known, not just for Hristo but also for Luboslav Penev (Valencia and Atlético)...

[Primus]

Earnings JUST in 2003-2004:

1st David Beckham (Real Madrid), 22,4 MILLION euros
2nd Ronaldo (Real Madrid), 16,5 M â,¬
3rd Zidane (Real Madrid), 14 M â,¬
4th Christian Vieri (Inter), 11,1 M â,¬
5th Del Piero (Juventus), 10,1 M â,¬
6th Ronaldinho (Barcelona), 10 M â,¬
7th Raul (Real Madrid), 9,3 M â,¬
8th Michael Owen (Liverpool), 9,1 M â,¬
9th Oliver Kahn (Bayern Munique), 8,84 M â,¬
10th Luís Figo (Real Madrid), 8,5 M â,¬

Eg a doctor can kill people: is there a bigger pressure?!...

[Privateer Puddin']

Proper wages are rarely told, so you have to speculate, and beckham as an example is in a silly amount of adverts and such

[Primus]

Beckham: 6.4 million euros, sallary; 11.4 million, adverts and publicity; 3 million, his autobiography; 1.5 million tournée in Asia: you're right, Privateer Puddin', but 6.4 Million is still too much just for a sallary... sigh I'm so green of envy that I seem a Martian...Ã, 

PS: of course these sums can be speculation, but I got 'em from a well informed net source (the magazine France Football).

[Barcik]

That's nothig compared to the sums spent in the US (NBA and such).

[Primus]

Barcik, none European country can compare with the $$$ God ;-)
But don't forget a football play must work with 11+11 (at least) very well paid players; in general, a soccer team has till 30 players; couch (usually a main one and two-three other ones); press accessors; doctors and other medic staff;Ã,  administrative staff; and so on, and so on, and so on. A football stadium costs hundreds x more than a volleyball one, to erect it and maintain it... and so on and so on and...

[Barcik]

It's a big business. Nobody said otherwise.

[Primus]

Barcik, unfortunately football has become (at least in Europe) the best, quickiest and so way of "washing" money... And also the nest of alotta illegal and illicit activities. They're the reasons I don't care too much about football anymore.Ã,  :'(

[Nacho]

For me it's a little bit ashaming that Beckham, playing 50 matches per year (90 minutes per match) earns more money than a cyclist (100 competitions days per year, 5 hours average per race...) 

I guess it's the law of offer and the demmand (sp?), I can't really complain...

[Primus]

Farlander:

I must agree with you. And that happens on most sports: even with olympic ones.

[Barcik]

TODAY IT BEGINS

4 years of waiting are through! Vamos Espana!

[Chicky]

woooo, i can barely wait ~.~

[Barcik]

What a lovely match by the Greek! For their very limited talent, they played perfectly. Very organized, very cool, very smart. It's amazing that the people most alike the Israeli one can play such controlled football. Maybe we need a german coach as well.

Portugal surprised even me. At first, I thought they will be beaten in a respectful manner by France in the quarter-final, but now I doubt they will qualify from their group. If Spain enters its organized mode, I don't see any way the hosts can beat them. They just couldn't stand the pressure. At firt, they wanted to score too much. They were playing in a hurry even before Karagunis scored the first goal. Later they slowed down a bit, but all their attacks were so banal and predictable. Figo was horrible - he should have taken the game on himself when his team was playing such a bad match, to channel the ball and use the diverse attacking repertoir of the Portugese. But he just disappeared. And when they were 2-0 down, why weren't there 10 players in red in Greece's box? How did they want to score? So pathetic!

[Privateer Puddin']

Common Russia! only because they have Smertin who was on loan to Portsmouth this year