From the BBC a few hours ago. Pete
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Sent-off Zidane named best player
Zidane's final match in professional football was the World Cup final
Zinedine Zidane won the Golden Ball award for the World Cup's best player, despite being dismissed for headbutting Marco Materazzi in the final.
France captain Zidane polled 2012 points in the vote by journalists at half-time during Sunday's match.
The midfielder, 34, beat Italians Fabio Cannavaro (1977 points) and Andrea Pirlo (715 points) in the ballot.
He scored a penalty early on in the final but was red-carded in extra time as France went on to lose on penalties.
The former international player of the year and 1998 World Cup winner announced last month that he was retiring from football after the tournament.
Zidane was the best player of the tournament - the red card doesn't change that at all.
On Sunday, he put France ahead from the spot in the opening minutes but was sent off after slamming his head into Materazzi's chest during the tense second period of overtime, which ended 1-1.
It was to be his last act as a professional player and, with the French missing his prowess in the ensuing penalty shootout, Italy went on to claim the World Cup title.
Other nominees for the Golden Ball award were Maniche (Portugal), Michael Ballack (Germany), Gianluca Zambrotta (Italy), Thierry Henry (France), Gianluigi Buffon (Italy), Patrick Vieira (France) and Miroslav Klose (Germany).
Germany goalkeeper Oliver Kahn won the prestigious award in 2002, while other previous winners include Brazilians Ronaldo (1998) and Romario ('94), Italy's Salvatore Schillaci ('90) and Argentine great Diego Maradona.
Germany striker Miroslav Klose was the Golden Shoe winner for the tournament's leading scorer with five goals.
England World Cup debrief
Re: Jackie Charlton
Your right. I meant to say premiership teamPagey wrote:Jockey
Big Jack promoted Middlesborough to the 1st Division and narrowly missed doing the same with Sheffield Wednesday if I remember correctly ??
but you get my point.-
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Trumpet blowing time.
Now that the greatest team in the world has appropirately won the greatest award in soccer with minimal bad publicity, I can reflect on the efforts of various nations focussing obviously on the topic England.
Most of what I think has been said already in various forms. I actuallly did not get to see all of England's ganes in their entirety and on some occasion through complete boredom.
I do not wish to go into blaming indiviuals. Svengali has gone and now Donald Duck or someone similar has taken control.
One exception is that of Lampard. I am a true 100 %Blue (not just the nose). I have followed the careeer of Frank Lampard since his West Ham days. He is one of the all time great players and will go down in history as being so. He has been ranked by FIFA ahs high as number 1 midfielder in the world briefly last year surpassing Zidane. However anybody doing their job properly on the sort of salary Jockey mentioned should have been aware that Lampard's performance had taken a drop in the three or four last months of the English Premiership. So including him in the squad needs consideration and playing him full time proved to be an avoidable mistake. Anyway much larger mistakes were made by the England management.
However as I think Jockey pointed out before the competetition began is that England were rated at 8 in the world and got seeded in the World Cup. This happend after their defeat of Poland in the World Cup qualifiers when they switched places with Sweden. The fact that England and Sweden drew 2 -2 shows that the rankings were not so far out. Others were proven completely incorrect (e.g. Czech Republic). They were ranked highly but not seeded so perhaps the seeding proved more accurate.
Being rated number eight you would expect to reach the quarterfinals and no further. England had a relateively smooth passage to the quarters where inevitably they met a higher ranked (and seeded I think) side.
So England achieved exactly as expected and made a valiant attempt at beating the Portugese but were narrowly defeated. If England had survived that round it would have meant almost certain termination by one of the remaining giants (the host nation). My bet is that if that had happened England supporters would still have had a moan.
What England needs to do now is to start preparing immediately for the more focussed European Championships. The existing team needs to be scrapped and a new manager appointed that has a proven track record of winning. A new team needs to be sculptured from new players and include very few of the World Cup squad. (Terry, Cole and Hargreaves are the only must keep players so long as they continue their outstanding performances at both club and international level).
I believe that a better England side could be created just using players from the London clubs so anything is possible with the whole country to pick from.
As for the other seven nations that reached the last eight, the best team won and some small surprises happened on the way. The South Americans have proved in history to have a huge disadvantage in Europe.
I wonder what Ukrainian and Spanish supporters are saying now with one finishing way before of their capabilities would suggest and the other well surpassing theirs. England did what was expected.
BTW I think I should be on the England Manager Prospect List just ahead of Donald Duck.
Now that the greatest team in the world has appropirately won the greatest award in soccer with minimal bad publicity, I can reflect on the efforts of various nations focussing obviously on the topic England.
Most of what I think has been said already in various forms. I actuallly did not get to see all of England's ganes in their entirety and on some occasion through complete boredom.
I do not wish to go into blaming indiviuals. Svengali has gone and now Donald Duck or someone similar has taken control.
One exception is that of Lampard. I am a true 100 %Blue (not just the nose). I have followed the careeer of Frank Lampard since his West Ham days. He is one of the all time great players and will go down in history as being so. He has been ranked by FIFA ahs high as number 1 midfielder in the world briefly last year surpassing Zidane. However anybody doing their job properly on the sort of salary Jockey mentioned should have been aware that Lampard's performance had taken a drop in the three or four last months of the English Premiership. So including him in the squad needs consideration and playing him full time proved to be an avoidable mistake. Anyway much larger mistakes were made by the England management.
However as I think Jockey pointed out before the competetition began is that England were rated at 8 in the world and got seeded in the World Cup. This happend after their defeat of Poland in the World Cup qualifiers when they switched places with Sweden. The fact that England and Sweden drew 2 -2 shows that the rankings were not so far out. Others were proven completely incorrect (e.g. Czech Republic). They were ranked highly but not seeded so perhaps the seeding proved more accurate.
Being rated number eight you would expect to reach the quarterfinals and no further. England had a relateively smooth passage to the quarters where inevitably they met a higher ranked (and seeded I think) side.
So England achieved exactly as expected and made a valiant attempt at beating the Portugese but were narrowly defeated. If England had survived that round it would have meant almost certain termination by one of the remaining giants (the host nation). My bet is that if that had happened England supporters would still have had a moan.
What England needs to do now is to start preparing immediately for the more focussed European Championships. The existing team needs to be scrapped and a new manager appointed that has a proven track record of winning. A new team needs to be sculptured from new players and include very few of the World Cup squad. (Terry, Cole and Hargreaves are the only must keep players so long as they continue their outstanding performances at both club and international level).
I believe that a better England side could be created just using players from the London clubs so anything is possible with the whole country to pick from.
As for the other seven nations that reached the last eight, the best team won and some small surprises happened on the way. The South Americans have proved in history to have a huge disadvantage in Europe.
I wonder what Ukrainian and Spanish supporters are saying now with one finishing way before of their capabilities would suggest and the other well surpassing theirs. England did what was expected.
BTW I think I should be on the England Manager Prospect List just ahead of Donald Duck.
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The way things have been shaping up in Italy during the world cup at clube level may make it Italy this year.
However no decisions made yet but I believe if this is not a trick question that is would have to be Italy anyway in 1938.
I know that history has recorded this as a non event because it was held in France, a potential axis enemy, and many full squads could not or would not attend for political reasons. Despite that the final was between Italy (soon to become an axis power) and Hungary (already alligned to an axis power). Italy won for the second time by 4 - 2.
However no decisions made yet but I believe if this is not a trick question that is would have to be Italy anyway in 1938.
I know that history has recorded this as a non event because it was held in France, a potential axis enemy, and many full squads could not or would not attend for political reasons. Despite that the final was between Italy (soon to become an axis power) and Hungary (already alligned to an axis power). Italy won for the second time by 4 - 2.
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ENGLAND have risen FIVE places to fifth in the latest FIFA rankings — despite a dismal World Cup.
It will come as a surprise to fans who have seen their team fail to get past the quarter-finals in their last three major tournaments.
But the new rankings were compiled under a system which takes into account the importance of the match and the strength of the opposition.
FIFA TOP 10 — (previous ranking in brackets): 1 Brazil (1), 2 Italy (13), 3 Argentina (9), 4 France ( 8 ) , 5 England (10), 6 Holland (3), 7 Spain (5), 8 Portugal (7), 9 Germany (19), 10 Czech Republic (2).
STEVE McCLAREN’S first game as England boss WILL be against Greece after FIFA lifted a ban on the European champions.
The friendly at Old Trafford on August 16 was in doubt after the Greek Football Federation was suspended because of their close government ties.
But FIFA yesterday ditched the ban after the Greek parliament changed a law to make their football governing body more independent.
I don't see the problem. For me we are a top 8 team/country.
We finished top 8, and that's about all we deserved, par for the course.
When we make it to semi-finals we are over-achieving IMO.
Anyone who thinks we are better than a 'quarter-finals team' is deluding themselves, IMO. Don't believe the press.
We can all have a pop at Sven for his selections, but who else could he have bought out there striker wise ? Defoe ? I love him being a Spurs fan, but last season he was appalling for Spurs, couldn't score against Sunderland, West Brom or Birmingham (all the bottom 3 teams)!!
Did Sven tell Rooney to shove a player in front of the ref because he's too much of a thick tw*t to handle frustration
Did Sven tell Lampard to miss the target with 15 shots that he normally gets on target or puts away at Chelsea
Did he tell Owen to twist his ankle and go home early leaving us short of strikers
Did he tell Gerrard to play without his usual passion
Did he tell Beckham to run out of steam and puke up on the pitch
Did he tell them all to fluff their penalties ?
Lampard and Gerrard (two of the best midfielders in the world) looked jaded and had no energy. Blame Liverpool for playing him 53 times last season, Lampard probably played a similar number.
Sven's won 15 trophies to date, that's more than every English Premiership manager added together. Plus he gets loads of fit birds.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not particularly a Sven fan, but he's no worse than McClaren, Allardice or Curbishley etc.
I don't believe the 'charismatic McClaren' will make any difference ? How many birds will he pull during his reign ?
We ain't what we think we are chaps, reality check time.
A Despondent Burger
We finished top 8, and that's about all we deserved, par for the course.
When we make it to semi-finals we are over-achieving IMO.
Anyone who thinks we are better than a 'quarter-finals team' is deluding themselves, IMO. Don't believe the press.
We can all have a pop at Sven for his selections, but who else could he have bought out there striker wise ? Defoe ? I love him being a Spurs fan, but last season he was appalling for Spurs, couldn't score against Sunderland, West Brom or Birmingham (all the bottom 3 teams)!!
Did Sven tell Rooney to shove a player in front of the ref because he's too much of a thick tw*t to handle frustration
Did Sven tell Lampard to miss the target with 15 shots that he normally gets on target or puts away at Chelsea
Did he tell Owen to twist his ankle and go home early leaving us short of strikers
Did he tell Gerrard to play without his usual passion
Did he tell Beckham to run out of steam and puke up on the pitch
Did he tell them all to fluff their penalties ?
Lampard and Gerrard (two of the best midfielders in the world) looked jaded and had no energy. Blame Liverpool for playing him 53 times last season, Lampard probably played a similar number.
Sven's won 15 trophies to date, that's more than every English Premiership manager added together. Plus he gets loads of fit birds.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not particularly a Sven fan, but he's no worse than McClaren, Allardice or Curbishley etc.
I don't believe the 'charismatic McClaren' will make any difference ? How many birds will he pull during his reign ?
We ain't what we think we are chaps, reality check time.
A Despondent Burger
We have a better squad of players than the Portuguese, therefore we are a semi-final team. Yours deludedBurger wrote:Anyone who thinks we are better than a 'quarter-finals team' is deluding themselves, IMO. Don't believe the press.
Did Theo WALCOTT score more goals for the Arsenal then last term than defoe for Spurs? So why was he selected ahead of Defoe? Sven never looked like picking him.Burger wrote:We can all have a pop at Sven for his selections, but who else could he have bought out there striker wise ? Defoe ? I love him being a Spurs fan, but last season he was appalling for Spurs, couldn't score against Sunderland, West Brom or Birmingham (all the bottom 3 teams)!!
Was Sven able to motivate his team, didn't look like it on the pitch... he just sat there. Did Sven select the right tactics, did he play people like Gerrard out of position just to accomodate Frank, did Sven really expect Rooney to play the lone-striker role... Sven threw away our best chance at a trophy for years.Burger wrote:Did Sven tell Rooney to shove a player in front of the ref because he's too much of a thick tw*t to handle frustration
Did Sven tell Lampard to miss the target with 15 shots that he normally gets on target or puts away at Chelsea
Did he tell Owen to twist his ankle and go home early leaving us short of strikers
Did he tell Gerrard to play without his usual passion
Did he tell Beckham to run out of steam and puke up on the pitch
Did he tell them all to fluff their penalties ?)
Burger wrote:Sven's won 15 trophies to date, that's more than every English Premiership manager added together. Plus he gets loads of fit birds.
His tactics were a joke, experimenting with new formations in vital games, picking players who were off form, playing people out of position, his cautious negative approach... not to mention his 4.5 million a year salary!
Obviously it's a game of opinions Harry, and I agree Sven made some strange decisions, but his performance was not as bad as Gerrard's, Lampard's, Beckham's and Rooney's. To me they let us don't most of all.
We ain't good enough at the moment, that's the bottom line for me.
All this stuff we're saying about Sven we said about Taylor, Robson, Hoddle, Keegan etc etc. Always the manager fault, never that other countries have better teams.
Burger
They beat us, they were the better team, their players didn't throw their toys out (Rooney) and lose themselves the game, they didn't bottle the penalties.We have a better squad of players than the Portuguese, therefore we are a semi-final team. Yours deluded
I agree this one was a bit strange but then he was the hot young prospect who everyone was raving about at Southampton and made Arsene Wenger (no mug) pay 12M for him. If he'd picked an out-of-form Defoe, the critics would have said 'why didn't he try this top young kid'Did Theo WALCOTT score more goals for the Arsenal then last term than defoe for Spurs? So why was he selected ahead of Defoe? Sven never looked like picking him.
Top pro's don't need motivating for a world cup. McClaren does the shouting, he's our next manager so they should be listening to him.Was Sven able to motivate his team, didn't look like it on the pitch... he just sat there
Yes he did, as that was his team. Did Rooney say 'I can't handle that boss, I'm gonna do one of em'did Sven really expect Rooney to play the lone-striker role
We were never ever gonna win the WC IMO.Sven threw away our best chance at a trophy for years.
Like Gerrard, Lampard, Rooney and Beckham. So had he dropped them no-one would have slagged him off for that then ??picking players who were off form
We ain't good enough at the moment, that's the bottom line for me.
All this stuff we're saying about Sven we said about Taylor, Robson, Hoddle, Keegan etc etc. Always the manager fault, never that other countries have better teams.
Burger
You guys also had a chance to hire Guus of Australia fame for the next WC but screwed that up.
I don't think McClaren will last at the helm to lead you in 2010.
Daft move hiring the assistant of a failure, though the stats say Sven was one of your best managers of the last 30 years.
Sven always picked the 11 biggest names among English footballers as opposed to the 11 guys that would make the best English team.
Shame to see that much talent firings blanks on the global stage due to poor team selections and total mis-management but that's footy.
Did Walcott even get a run? So why pick him?
Lumpy had a shocker of a WC and with his confidence sagging was the last guy you wanted to take the first penalty.
Anyhow, chin up lads!
for the next WC but screwed that up.I don't think McClaren will last at the helm to lead you in 2010.
Daft move hiring the assistant of a failure, though the stats say Sven was one of your best managers of the last 30 years.
Sven always picked the 11 biggest names among English footballers as opposed to the 11 guys that would make the best English team.
Shame to see that much talent firings blanks on the global stage due to poor team selections and total mis-management but that's footy.
Did Walcott even get a run? So why pick him?
Lumpy had a shocker of a WC and with his confidence sagging was the last guy you wanted to take the first penalty.
Anyhow, chin up lads!
jermaine jenasRoppongi wrote:Sven always picked the 11 biggest names among English footballers as opposed to the 11 guys that would make the best English team.
stephen downing
owen hargreaves
all played in the WC but are hardly the biggest names by any stretch of the imagination.
Although really entertaining for the rest of us, Sven's love of bonking was definitely part of his undoing.
Yes they played in the WC, but did Jenas, Downing or Lennon actually start a game? I don't think so.Harry wrote:jermaine jenasRoppongi wrote:Sven always picked the 11 biggest names among English footballers as opposed to the 11 guys that would make the best English team.
stephen downing
owen hargreaves
all played in the WC but are hardly the biggest names by any stretch of the imagination.
Although really entertaining for the rest of us, Sven's love of bonking was definitely part of his undoing.
Sven would go as far to play his big names out of position rather than ruffle a few feathers and pick a specialist positional player.