Women's World Cup

[deep]

with this dude on the U S team

the Japanese did look like school girls

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

She gives good head... err, has a good head.

 

[intedomine]

Such a shame that such a classic match should be decided by a penalty shoot out. When are FIFA gonna show some leadership and end this ridiculous means of deciding a "winner"?

What a match though. A stunning spectacle. Was neutral myself, but would loved to have put money on Japan before the tournament. The Matildas have a long way to go before we can match these two sides for quality.

and Alex Morgan.. Just wow

 

[speedracer]

BTW, the 8-foot-tall chick who reffed tonight's match (quite well, imo) is a referee in the German men's second division.

‪Football player touched female referee's breast!‬‏ - YouTube

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

I think the overtime should be one 45 minute half with a golden goal. If no one won by then, I have no issue with PK's.

 

[PennyLanePHINS]

I like PK's, since it comes down to who can score the most goals under pressure, but then again it was such a back and forth match it would be nice to see them just keep adding 15 minutes. I wouldn't like a golden goal either, since the team should score then hold that lead for the next couple minutes. It's like football, the team that gets the ball in OT just has to score a FG and they win the whole game without ever having to play D. Guess it's just preference.

And the game was amazing, congrats Japan. Sawa is fun to watch, glad she got golden ball and boot. Maybe a rematch at the Olympics in London.

 

[No spoken words]

I am far from a soccer expert, so my opinion means nada, but, I know that I dislike the golden goal. I know that I never liked NFL's overtime structure, and the Golden Goal reminds me of that.

Then again, I fucking love NHL overtime, especially in the playoffs, and that shit is sudden death. (Yes, Shannon, the NHL still exists)

So maybe I like the Golden Goal.

In summary:

This post was less than useless.

 

[intedomine]

Easily solution, already put forward by many a critic. Remove 2 players for the first half of extra-time, and 2 more for each "half" after that, until only 5 are left. Will open up the game beautifully, increasing chances to score. A true test of endurance. Silver Goal in the first 15 mins. Golden Goal for every 15 minutes after that.

 

[Purplereign]

Easily solution, already put forward by many a critic. Remove 2 players for the first half of extra-time, and 2 more for each "half" after that, until only 5 are left. Will open up the game beautifully, increasing chances to score. A true test of endurance. Silver Goal in the first 15 mins. Golden Goal for every 15 minutes after that.

(off to catch some of the extra time highlights on zeh old intrawebz now - happy for Japan but a little shocked at reports that the US fell apart in the penalty shots ~ really enjoyed what i saw of this mornings game btw)

ciao

 

[phanan]

It should have never come to PKs - the game should have been over after the first 30 minutes with all the chances they had.

Once Wambach hit the crossbar, I was getting a bad feeling that this wouldn't end well. It appeared that they might survive, but kudos to Japan for fighting back.

Great game, disappointing result.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Yea the US did nothing but shoot themselves in the foot yesterday and really have no one to blame but themselves. Sharper finishes and the game is a rout by halftime

 

[Vincent Vega]

Congrats to Japan. Was very disappointed to see our women losing it, but in the end I guess pressure was too great. And Japan showed against them, the English, the Swedish and the US that they can control a game and exploit their chances.
All in all it was an impressive cup. 15 million Germans watched the final, the Berlin Olympique Stadium and the Frankfurt Commerzbankarena were sold-out, most others had pretty good attendance and I've never seen or heard so many people talking about women's soccer, especially in a positive sense.
However, as I alluded to above, there was this huge pressure put on the women's team here in Germany to perform, by the German football association, the media and pretty much everyone else. Not just to win the title, but to promote the sports and create equal opportunity for every woman in the country (exaggerating here a little). And mind you, the women usually have full-time employment besides playing semi-professionally, with no media attendance and only a couple hundred attendees. They don't have any sort of professional media training, no staff and nothing.

 

[deep]

this sports writer, well, he knows a lot more than I do. that's for sure.

U.S. women's loss to Japan in World Cup final was disgraceful
Players shouldn't get off easy for laying one of the all-time biggest eggs in sports.

T.J. Simers

9:28 PM PDT, July 18, 2011
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In all my years watching futbol, I have never seen a side on the pitch gag as much as the U.S. gals.

Talk about just dribbling it away.

Come on, where does President Obama get off tweeting: "Couldn't be prouder of the women of #USWNT after a hard-fought game"?

So the big guy wouldn't have been prouder had they won?

This was the mighty Soviet hockey team losing in Lake Placid to a bunch of kids and then fearing the next stop might be Siberia.

How come the president didn't remind the U.S. before its game with Japan they might be spending August in Nebraska if not successful.

As mismatches go, this was Oregon versus USC.

The Mavericks against the Lakers.

Some of us were undoubtedly expecting a clean sheet from Hope Solo, and I'm sure my fellow futbol fans understand what I'm talking about.

The powerhouse U.S. hadn't lost to Japan in 25 games, had a 1-0 lead with nine minutes to play, a 2-1 advantage with three minutes left in overtime and just flat out folded.

And the president couldn't be prouder of these losers?

A 1-0 U.S.-Japan soccer game is like watching a baseball game with the Dodgers trailing, 1-0. Everyone understands there's no way to overcome such a deficit.

I was so confident when the U.S. went ahead that had I been told Rick Neuheisel was coaching the U.S., I still wouldn't have been concerned.

Maybe a lucky nutmeg through Solo pulls Japan even, but when the U.S. went up, 2-1, near the end of the game, it technically wasn't a golden goal, but just as good. Beckham understands what I'm talking about.

Credited for their resiliency after beating Brazil, the Americans seemed insistent on establishing their legacy as chokers in allowing Japan back into the game.

As Hollywood scripts go, the U.S. still had the chance to make everyone's day and duplicate its 1999 World Cup dramatic win on penalty kicks.

No one is talking today about blowing it if the U.S. players are running around the field in celebration after winning on penalty kicks.

But instead, somewhere in Japan today a broadcaster is now forever famous for screaming: "Holy Al Michaels."

Just think of the endorsement deals waiting for the U.S., the invites from Leno, Letterman and "The Bachelor" and the little girls about to be born and named Hope.

Just think about all those warm, fuzzy and fictional columns that were going to be written about the advances in women's sports and growth in soccer popularity in the afterglow of a thrilling U.S. win.

Just think about how quickly everyone will forget these duds unless someone mentions Greg Norman and other great choke artists of our time.

In the days leading up to the final game, the U.S. players talked in radio interviews about their never-quit attitude and other attributes that made them a great team.

"There is something special about this group," Solo was saying after beating Brazil, a sentiment echoed by Abby Wambach.

"That is the perfect example of what this country is all about," she said. "We never gave up."

I'm guessing someone who plays for Japan was saying the same thing after actually winning the World Cup.

There is no way you can feel sorry for this bunch. They talked about preparing themselves for this moment, never dreaming they'd get an opponent who didn't have a chance against them. And they still weren't up for it.

The U.S. hockey team beat the Soviet Union and everyone gushed and then the hockey team went out and finished the job with a win over Finland.

No one around here, though, seemed interested in waiting for the U.S. women's soccer team to prove itself more than a shooting star. Who didn't go overboard? Some were suggesting no men's team could do what these women were doing given their unselfish, tough and tireless play for one another.

I couldn't agree more — hard to fathom a U.S. men's team collapsing in such a manner.

As for hanging tough together, which teams seem to do when they win, anyone watching TV couldn't help but notice Solo leaving her teammates behind in defeat to share her emotions with some folks in the stands.

If there is anything memorable now about this U.S. women's soccer team, it's how it melted in the glare of the big moment. Their role model, I presume, is Phil Mickelson.

They just gave it away, and to make excuses or diminish the magnitude of such a collapse is to treat the U.S. gals like women instead of world-class athletes.

I would imagine that's how most would want to be viewed in victory, so no reason to offer a free pass in defeat and go all gushy.

I say treat the gals like athletes and make sure they understand if they choke again, it's off to Nebraska for the whole lot.

t.j.simers@latimes.com

Copyright © 2011, Los Angeles Times

 

[speedracer]

^He sounds like a pretty huge blowhard.

The sports books had USA as a ~64% favorite over Japan before the match, and I definitely would have bet Japan at that price if I had been in Vegas.

Japan beat the reigning champions (on their own turf, no less) to make it to the final.

Of the 25 previous matches between USA and Japan, only about 5 of them involved squads resembling those today, and only 3 were in competitive tournaments (twice in the 2008 Olympics, once in the 2011 Algarve Cup).

USA men blew a 2-0 lead against Mexico and lost 4-2 in the Gold Cup finals three weeks earlier. And so forth.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

I agree that they did completely blow that game... That's about it.

 

[intedomine]

Beaten by a better side who wanted it more. That's about it really.

 

[speedracer]

Alex Morgan

‪[HD] Alex Morgan Goal vs. Boston Breakers 07-24-2011‬‏ - YouTube

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

Alex Morgan