Pale Horse, Pale Rider wrote on 06/30/14 at 19:09:47:


Well, the underdog put up a fight in both matches (btw, the Swedish commentators claimed that Matuidi should've gotten a red card instead of the yellow?!) - but the favourites went through deservedly in both matches I think. Nice not to see in both was: very little acting, clean play and no coach screaming at the refs for the duration of the game, Scolari-style...

Btw, France - Germany will be interesting to watch: http://existentialcomics.com/comic/35 ;

Smyslov_Fan wrote on 06/30/14 at 14:39:19:


Colombia's James may be the next superstar (5 goals already and as a midfielder), and they have some other quite good players too... When Falcao couldn't participate no one gave them much chance, but they look the most impressive - all wins and no acting to get it.
And if Neymar is still injured when they play, then Colombia may even be the favourites vs Brazil.

France looks good (though at time of writing Nigeria is holding level with them), but in their third game they were quite lucky that Sakho didn't get a red card after just a few minutes.

Argentina-Belgium will be tough, many big names and a lot to prove for both sides.

Btw, any theories on why there are so few goals on free-kicks this year? IIrc, only Switzerland has scored on a free-kick so far - or has there been any more?

Agreed that Brazil has had a tough draw, but I don't think Colombia is as good as France. Germany and the Dutch also have tough draws. Argentina has the easiest draw of the tournament. They may not look good, but then they don't really need to be stellar to advance to the semis. 

I saw both the video and the photos. Thanks for the links!

Smyslov_Fan wrote on 06/30/14 at 01:27:00:


I think even if Robben really fell too dramatically the penalty is justifiable. No comparison to the penalty in Croatia - Brazil ...
I think the tournament doesn't have a clear favorite so far. The Netherlands may have a current status as favorite but they don't seem invicible. Brazil is a disappointment so far, they might even lose to Columbia i guess.

I didn't write that I agree with Lallas.
Have you watched that little video?

There was contact indeed, but not nearly enough to cause a fall. Robben took one or two more steps before he "stumbled". As a former amateur I have been tackled worse (and without any danger of injury; it's not hard to do a sliding without any risk for the opponent) and still remained upright. But I must add that for a referee in the heat of the moment it's nearly impossible to distinguish a sliding (Marquez didn't even do that) aimed at the ankles (which is very dangerous indeed) from a sliding aimed at the ball. So I'm all for protection of the strikers. It's just that I disliked the Schwalbe enormously when the Germans specialized in it, so I'll always be reserved about Robben. I'm happy Oranje made it, but it is a stain.
Lallas' argument is a bit weird indeed, but not new to me. It has to do with sense of justice - one time the referee gives the defender the benefit of the doubt, the next time not. Defenders should realize that, so Marquez (that was the name of the Mexican defender, wasn't it?) was rather dumb to take the risk in a non-threatening situation.
But let's not complain too much. When I compare play anno 2014 with play anno 1974 it has become much, much fairer. Players like Johan Neeskens were sheer butchers. The strategy of Van Hanegem and Israel, when playing Ajax and Cruyff was to kick his ankles a couple of times until he was so intimidated that he didn't have any courage anymore.
Enjoy Brasilian samba versus Dutch school:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfuD282WiWM

Interestingly, Michael Ballack and Alexis Lallas both thought the penalty was well deserved. Robben dove, but there was also contact. Lallas, as a defender, recognised that even if there was no contact made (and the video replay showed there was contact), it could still be a foul. 

Lallas also made the rather strange argument that there was a cumulative effect happening. Robben had been knocked over in the box several times in the match, and the ref finally blew his whistle for one of them. Lallas didn't offer that as a psychological explanation, but an actual justification for the penalty. 

I doubt anyone would have had a problem with Robben getting a penalty for that late first half collision where two Mexican defenders got a piece of him before they touched the ball. 

Robben is a great player but he keeps diving in every game. https://vine.co/v/MFgBWT7j03K