World Cup 2018

BruceWayne11 said:

Dominance in ability, possession, chances created etc. All easily seen when watching a match. 2 goals with 1 shot for Belgium, and you know how much of an uphill struggle that will be for Brazil. Because it's rare that any team scores more than 2-3 goals. Somehow they lucked 2 from 1 shot on goal. There's no remedy for the more dominant team to that kind of luck in an important match. I think I'm just tired of seeing things like how Real Madrid won CL and now more luck, mistakes etc being important in the WC...

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But fundamentally, football is a game where the winners are decided by one measure only: who can force the ball into the opposition's goal the most times. Having the most possession, most shots, most shots on targets, most successful dribbles, most corners, or whatever else, doesn't dictate who wins.

This can't be changed without fundamentally altering the game into something completely different. That's never going to change, and nor should it; and so there will always be different strategies to try and win a game. Do you attack more, gambling on simply creating and converting a lot of chances; or do you focus mostly on defending your own goal and hoping to be clinical in the few chances you create; or do you go for something on the spectrum in between.

There is no right and wrong, so long as you stay within the laws of the game. Teams aren't obliged to entertain TV viewers, that's not their job; their job is to win. And when it comes to winning, all that matters is the scoreline at the end of the game. Unless you want to change the game into something totally different and start giving out points at the end of matches for things like possession or shots on target, that will always be the case.

JamDav1982 said:

How many games did the German team who you said closest match your ideas win?

Brazil did not struggle to creat against Belgium they struggled to finish off the countless chances they had.

Again... you predicted Barca as nailed on winners of CL anyway.

On top of that you said Spain were different from Barca due to Costa at CF as well.

You constantly change the goal posts and talk after the event to fit pre conceived ideas.

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I have no idea why are you mentioning that now?
If I write 100 estimations, of course that 10-20 or whatever number will be wrong.
If 1 or 20 of my estimations were wrong, that doesn't neutralize some others.

If Germany, (my favorites) got knocked out, that doesn't neutralize the fact when I said that Halil won't make it, that our team are turtles and similar.

So, yes. My team, Germany, didn't win it.
Your team, Brasil, didn't win it.
Spain, a favorite from other guys, didn't win it.
So what now? Are we all idiots?
No.

Sometimes you guess right, sometimes you don't.
Even though "my Germany" is out, teams who will win it (France, Belgium, Croatia/Sweden/England) are again way closer to a German football than to Spanish/Brasilian football.
So, at the end of a day, a winning team will again be closer to what I am proposing in my posts: evolved tactics with technique but ALSO with pace, stamina, strength, thugs etc.
Also, another thing, ALL remaining teams are multidimensional in attack, and EACH ONE of remaining teams have a strong, tall CF who can score both with feet and head:
1. France: Giroud 193cm
2. Belgium: Lukaku 191cm
3. Croatia: Mandzukic 190cm
4. England: Kane 188cm
5. Real Madrid: Benzema 185cm
(Yet, our fans want to play Messi at a false 9 in 2018/19 without a true CF )

So, I am wrong in some things, surely.
But some patterns from my posts are repeating in all winning teams from a World cup, Euros and Champions league.

France, Belgium, Croatia, England can all:
1. play possession, to some extent
2. play fast counters
3. score after corners
4. play crosses to a tall CF
5. have somewhat strong, fast, physical and yet technical team in general

About Barca in a CL, I was naive.
I thought that our defense alone will be enough.
But Messi and our short, onedimensional players and our ability to play ONLY possession football killed us in the end. (End EV's weird decisions, of course).

Creating false narratives and BBZ. Name a more iconic duo.

watch BBZ change the goal posts completely (AGAIN) when sweden beats england tomorrow.

JamDav1982 said:

One of those thugs was terrible and about biggest reason they lost as well but that will be glossed over in BBZ latest rules after the event.

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Own goal aside, Fernandinho put such a poor shift. Did nothing well, tbf.

BBZ it gets mentioned that you said Barca were certs for CL and that Germany were the team that meet your ideals in WC as shows how much you change the goal posts after the event.

Even Spain who you now try to claim are another Barca you were saying at start of tournament they were different to Barca due to Costa at CF.

Brazil did not struggle to break down Belgium they struggled to finish their chances.

You change and force narratives after the event constantly.

Convenient now to claim the four decent teams left 'fit my narrative'. Means nothing to say it now when never said it previously.

You are wrong on Barca in CL this season as well. They never went out in CL 'only trying to play possession football'. In that Roma ie Barca sat back and thought could see out game defensively.

Something that people were complaining about during match chat and you were mocking them for.

Vilarrubi said:

Atletico have won 1 game in the last 15 against us...............................................

Atletico also have arguably the best defence and "Physical Bus" we've seen of the last few years.

The players in our midfield is the problem.. NOT the possession football.

Absolute nonsense from you once again

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Atletico won 1 game in the last 15, in LA LIGA, you forgot that part.
You know, our guys are brave in La liga, but not so much under pressure in a CL.

In a CL, Barca won 1 match out of last 4 against Atletico.
And our only win 2:1 came after 0:1 and a red card for AM.

So, basically, under pressure of a CL, Barca has 0 wins against AM's bus.

So, maybe it is not ONLY about midfield when our attack is insanely onedimensional and predictable and we can score only through shortpasses through the middle, which any European NT team or any big European team will neutralize easily agaisnt us.

Vilarrubi said:

Absolute nonsense from you once again

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Yeh.
All those CLs titles in our trophycabinet in the last 7 years are working in your favor, mate.
Remember, we had Iniesta in all those 7 years.
Busquets in all those 7 years.
And Xavi-Alves in 4-5 of those years.

You make it sound as if we played with 3 donkeys in midfield.
And then, in the first 4-5 years we had: Messi-Iniesta-Xavi-Busquets-Alves.

Good game.

Really really hoping for BEL to take this seriously now .. they probably won‘t get such a good chance for a title with such a good squad for long time again.

West Saxon said:

But fundamentally, football is a game where the winners are decided by one measure only: who can force the ball into the opposition's goal the most times. Having the most possession, most shots, most shots on targets, most successful dribbles, most corners, or whatever else, doesn't dictate who wins.

This can't be changed without fundamentally altering the game into something completely different. That's never going to change, and nor should it; and so there will always be different strategies to try and win a game. Do you attack more, gambling on simply creating and converting a lot of chances; or do you focus mostly on defending your own goal and hoping to be clinical in the few chances you create; or do you go for something on the spectrum in between.

There is no right and wrong, so long as you stay within the laws of the game. Teams aren't obliged to entertain TV viewers, that's not their job; their job is to win. And when it comes to winning, all that matters is the scoreline at the end of the game. Unless you want to change the game into something totally different and start giving out points at the end of matches for things like possession or shots on target, that will always be the case.

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I agree there's no feasible way to change football in that manner. Celtic beat Barca 2-1 in 2012 while being utterly dominated for 90 minutes. As you say, football is only won by scoring more than your opponent. However, any team in footall has that same chance against a much better team. It is perhaps one of the things that also makes football special. Take Portugal's 2016 Euro win for instance; average team that fluked their way to win it. Normally would've been out in the group stages even. And yet, because football has low margins for winning and losing, it was possible.

JamDav1982 said:

BBZ it gets mentioned that you said Barca were certs for CL and that Germany were the team that meet your ideals in WC as shows how much you change the goal posts after the event.

Even Spain who you now try to claim are another Barca you were saying at start of tournament they were different to Barca due to Costa at CF.

Brazil did not struggle to break down Belgium they struggled to finish their chances.

You change and force narratives after the event constantly.

Convenient now to claim the four decent teams left 'fit my narrative'. Means nothing to say it now when never said it previously.

You are wrong on Barca in CL this season as well. They never went out in CL 'only trying to play possession football'. In that Roma ie Barca sat back and thought could see out game defensively.

Something that people were complaining about during match chat and you were mocking them for.

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I said that Spain plays like Barca due to 5 short clones in midfield.
Their only advantage is having Costa, so they can play SOME crosses, unlike us who can pass only to Messi at the edge of a box.
But they still play a slow possession, sterile game.
And I am happy that they lost.

DonAk, you, majority of guys here have some good predictions and sometimes you are wrong.
I really don't get your point.

Yes, German team on paper is how my dream team would look like (minus Muller and a horrible Timo Werner). They lost.
I don't get you.
Are you expecting 100% accuracy in predictions?

Are you now going to repeat in every single thread (Alena, Dembele, any random player, City, Pep) that I was wrong about Germany?
Fine, I was wrong about Germany, you were wrong about Brasil, but Barca still plays crap for a CL level with a onedimensional attack and slow possession football.

Let's change that.

BBZ8800 said:

Atletico won 1 game in the last 15, in LA LIGA, you forgot that part.

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Nope..... In ALL competitions.

BBZ8800 said:

In a CL, Barca won 1 match out of last 4 against Atletico.
And our only win 2:1 came after 0:1 and a red card for AM.

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And the other two were draws.... which means 1 win each and 2 draws.


Also your original post never mentioned "The pressure of a CL" you are REALLY clutching at straws now.... you said our style doesn't work against Atletico..... IT DOES.

Just need France to get eliminated now and we are in for top tier fuckery.

vlad said:

What a disaster WC he had, absolute rubbish



That move to PSG ruined him totaly

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we had a sayin, better to be first in the vičlage than second in the city. Well... Not. He did not develop at all. No competition equals stagnation.

BruceWayne11 said:

I agree there's no feasible way to change football in that manner. Celtic beat Barca 2-1 in 2012 while being utterly dominated for 90 minutes. As you say, football is only won by scoring more than your opponent. However, any team in footall has that same chance against a much better team. It is perhaps one of the things that also makes football special. Take Portugal's 2016 Euro win for instance; average team that fluked their way to win it. Normally would've been out in the group stages even. And yet, because football has low margins for winning and losing, it was possible.

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Exactly, you're totally right - the possibility for an underdog to stun everyone and pull off incredibly unlikely victories is what makes football so compelling. I'm biased because I'm English, but I've never seen anything as amazing as Leicester's title win in 2015/16. They were relegation favourites, and their entire squad cost less than Kevin De Bruyne. They simply had no right to win the league, but they found a playing style that worked for them, fought like mad, never gave up, and got the ultimate reward. And it's football's loose framework - we have the laws of the game, but within them, teams can do what they like; whereas most other sports are very rigid and formulaic - that allows things like Leicester winning the league, Celtic beating Barca, Portugal winning the Euros, etc to happen. I wouldn't ever want it to change.

It's now or never for England. I mean, come on you have Sweden and Russia/Croatia in your bracket to the final. This is some ridiculously lucky path as far as I can remember in world cups. It would be a disgrace if England isn't going to be in the final this year.