WORLD CUP 2014 - BRAZIL

faille

faille

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Favourites? Probably not, but there's certainly a few that would be in the running.
 
Brando

Asshat Brando

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Barca, RM, Bayern etc would win because they play with each other every day. If you watch a lot of games you can tell there is a difference in the fluidity of the moves from watching EPL or Champs league to this. Coaching also plays a part as well, no way Hodgson should be coaching a national team and Klinsmann bombed at Munich so the jury is still out so to say.

I'm starting to think the old Ajax youth policy ring pretty true for everywhere. From a youth level all the best players are usually strikers, as you move up in age group you make the group smaller and the strikers that aren't the best get moved back to midfield, and then next age group the team is made smaller again and the worst are moved to defense and so on and so forth. Eventually you're left with the worst at that age group playing defense and goalie which makes sense in a way as you'd have to say the worst players at this WC and for club teams in general is usually the goalie. Amazing goalies are very few and far between as far as I can tell and usually one of the weakest links on any team. Certainly cost Croatia a chance at points in the first game.
 
Jozu

Jozu

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Akinfeev makes a bad mistake so now he sucks end of discussion...lol.

The guy is a good keeper and will show it at some point during this tournament.

If you are judging keepers by a single frame of time then Ochoa is a way better keeper than Casillas, etc.
 
Lambourne

Lambourne

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Bayern played a friendly against the Netherlands two years ago. Netherlands lost 3-2, they went on to lose every match in the European Championship a few months later (including against Denmark) so not at the top of their game considering that two years before they were in the final of the World Cup (against Spain). Netherlands always seem to either do really well, or really really badly. Made it to the semifinal in 2004 and 2006 European Championship, failed to even qualify for 2002 World Cup. When it's bad, it's bad.

Highlights, couldn't find english commentary.
 
Quineloe

Quineloe

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Ossoi_sl said:
Liverpool played the Israel national team in 1983Israel vs. Liverpool
Click to expand...
That was the team that won 6 league championships in a row, and they lost to a national team that couldn't even qualify for the next tournament.

Top clubs today have the tremendous advantage that they can sign people from all over the world to fill their weak spots. If a national team doesn't have a national goalkeeper worth shit, they're fucked for the next tournament until someone new shows up. Some of the top teams field a top 10 player in every single position, that and the fact that they play together 50 to 60 matches a year while a national team is hard pressed to do more than 15 should make a victory on for the club the likely outcome.

Times were different in 1983, there were far fewer foreigners on the teams, especially from overseas. For example if you look at this:1986 FIFA World Cup squads - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediayou'll notice that the Brazil and Argentina players almost all still played at home

Compare to this:
2010 FIFA World Cup squads - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
2010 FIFA World Cup squads - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The exact opposite.
 
Lambourne

Lambourne

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Netherlands just lost world cup final to Australia three days ago... in hockey. Payback time, mates.
 
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