World Cup final

finchy

When did the Dutch become such a team of cheats? And how does anyone have the nerve to whinge at the referee after they were lucky not to have been reduced to 7 or 8 men?

shouldbeinbed

fair do's on a lot of the tackles/assaults (or mild warnings as they would have been in the 1970's) , they should have been down to 9 by the end but the Spanish went to ground very softly when the realised what was happening, some of the free kicks and yellows against them were won by the Spanish rather than conceded by the Dutch, also there were some micey tackles going in from the Spanish side that got no response from Webb, probably because he was letting natural justice take its course.

Robben got taken out with a shoulder in the chest and the Spanish player that took a tumble in a tackle then went for revenge way off the ball and nothing happened in either case.

Also there was the passback to Casillas that he missed and the Dutch passed the ball to him from the corner and Robben staying up when being blatantly fouled in perfect free kick territory on the edge of the box that would have got Puyol rightly but harshly sent off and could have been a panalty of Robben had fallen in the right place.

it was bad from the Dutch but by not all one way stuff.

verylonglegs

I notice the manager of the Dutch has criticised Webb for his handling of the game which I think is a little cheeky, he should look to his players who couldn't behave. I have a lot of sympathy for any ref who finds himself trying to manage a game where it becomes apparent the players, from both sides, have every intent on testing the rules like that.

I started out wanting the Dutch to win it but after about 20mins I didn't think they deserved to get their hands on the trophy. Ah well, it's all over for another 4 yrs anyhow.

Tom Butcher

They could easily have been down to 8 at half time - the karate kick, Robben going in high and late on the knee of a Spaniard (didn't even get booked) and one other I can't remember because there were so many. VanBommel (sp?) should have been sent off at least twice and Robben should have gone for carrying on and putting the ball in the net once the whistle had gone.

Well done to the Spanish for keeping their discipline in the face of the intimidation.

Shocking game for the referee - the Dutch made it hard for him but he chose to be lenient because it was the world cup final.

antfly

There is more than one way to skin a cat, intricate passing isn`t compulsory.The funny thing is when the game opened up Holland looked the most dangerous team a lot of the time. Heitinga was sent off because Iniesta took a dive when he felt a slight touch whereas earlier on Puyol fell all over Robben when he left him for dead and put his arm around his waist, knocking him out of his stride enabling the keeper to make the save. Robben didn`t even get a free kick whereas if he had gone down like he usually does Puyol would surely have been off. Spain committed plenty of other fouls as well.

Tom Butcher

Robben shouldn't have been on the pitch in the second half after one of his first half fouls so Puyol pulling him back would have been irrelevant. Robben should have gone again for scoring once the whistle had gone too - the ref even booked a spanish player for a similar offence about 10 minute aferwards.

The karate kick incident was a red card offence so de Jong should have gone. Even if he didn't mean to drop kick him in the chest it was wreckless and use of excessive force and the rules say that's a red card.

Van Bommel is the biggest thug in the whole tournament and should have gone at least twice prior to Puyol attempting to pull back Robben, The deliberate stamp on a Spanish player alone should have been a red and he committed at least 4-5 other fouls that were either definite or borderline yellow card offences.

The Heitinga sending off was fair enough - he pulls him back slightly when he's through.

The one thing I do agree with you is that Puyol should have gone but if the ref was following the letter of the law Holland would have forfeit the game for being down to 7 players by the end - and by the time Puyol went Holland would long since have been down to 8 and Spain out of sight.

You talk about there being more than one way to skin a cat - of course there is - I'm just glad that on this occasion the way the Dutch team chose didn't succeed.

antfly

I agree about Van Bommel, it`s a mystery how that guy gets away with it but don`t forget Iniesta retaliated which could also be a card. What bothers me is that a Spaniard was rewarded for what was a clear dive {look at it again the contact is minimal} and a Dutchman was punished for staying on his feet.

Frank the tank

The Dutch have gotten away with murder this tounament. As for their conduct in the final, the ref has a real tough job. Apply the letter of the law and the dutch would have been down to 9 possibly 8 men before half time thus the final (as a world wide spectacle) would have been ruined. So Webb had to, I feel compromise his decision making.

Glad the Spanish won, I fancied them before a ball was kicked but then thought it would be the Germans once the competion got going properly.

rick_chasey

johnfinch wrote:

When did the Dutch become such a team of cheats?

Not sure about cheats but even before this world cup the Netherlands had a higher yellow card average in world cups than any other team in the tournament.

Remeber the battle of Nuremburg?

shockedsoshocked

Personally I enjoyed the game. Thought the first half was a bit boring, but the Dutch came out at half time and seemed to up their game massively. I don't think either side was particularly impressive, and I don't understand why all the commentators were getting such huge erections when talking about Spain afterwards, their performance wasn't that sensational.

The best game all tournament, as with last year, was for 3rd place.

Lillywhite

ShockedSoShocked wrote:

Personally I enjoyed the game.

Middlesbrough supporters must be easily pleased. Hardly an advert for the beautiful game.

Cleat Eastwood

ShockedSoShocked wrote:

Personally I enjoyed the game. Thought the first half was a bit boring, but the Dutch came out at half time and seemed to up their game massively. I don't think either side was particularly impressive, and I don't understand why all the commentators were getting such huge erections when talking about Spain afterwards, their performance wasn't that sensational.

The best game all tournament, as with last year, was for 3rd place.

+1

Hansen was almost jizzing describing Iniesta's goal.

deptfordmarmoset

It seems to me that for long periods of the game anti-football successfully neutralised football.

I wonder whether the game would have been a better spectacle if draws in knock-out games were settled in favour of the team with the fewer cards awarded against them.

Karl2010

I am a football fan. But i though the World Cup Final was such a let down. Very boring!
The Germany / Uraguay game was much better.

eh

I don't understand why all the commentators were getting such huge erections when talking about Spain afterwards, their performance wasn't that sensational.

I don't get the Spain thing at all, they have no width and score hardly any goals, not much different from how Italy traditionally play. Effective yes, exciting / interesting nope.

finchy

Rick Chasey wrote:

johnfinch wrote:

When did the Dutch become such a team of cheats?

Not sure about cheats but even before this world cup the Netherlands had a higher yellow card average in world cups than any other team in the tournament.

Remeber the battle of Nuremburg?

Yes I remember that game well. It's a pity as I do have quite a soft spot for the Dutch. Maybe it's because they play in orange, as I also have a soft spot for Euskaltel and (dare I say it as a Bolton fan) Blackpool FC.

finchy

eh wrote:

I don't understand why all the commentators were getting such huge erections when talking about Spain afterwards, their performance wasn't that sensational.

I don't get the Spain thing at all, they have no width and score hardly any goals, not much different from how Italy traditionally play. Effective yes, exciting / interesting nope.

I imagine that the commentators and pundits get excited because the team has got a bit of an aura of invincibility at the moment.

rick_chasey

johnfinch wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

johnfinch wrote:

When did the Dutch become such a team of cheats?

Not sure about cheats but even before this world cup the Netherlands had a higher yellow card average in world cups than any other team in the tournament.

Remeber the battle of Nuremburg?

Yes I remember that game well. It's a pity as I do have quite a soft spot for the Dutch. Maybe it's because they play in orange, as I also have a soft spot for Euskaltel and (dare I say it as a Bolton fan) Blackpool FC.

What can I say? It's obvious who I was supporting in the final...

fast as fupp

the spaniards were a bunch of diving, imaginary card waving snides- i couldnt believe it when handball hansen said they were a team our children could look up to :shock:

highlight of the game was ladyboy torres laddering his tights and laying prostae on the ground

potentially a great tournament ruined by commercial greed and cheating

Gazzaputt

fast as fupp wrote:

highlight of the game was ladyboy torres laddering his tights and laying prostae on the ground

You must be a dirty manc or bluenose.

snailracer

Rick Chasey wrote:

johnfinch wrote:

When did the Dutch become such a team of cheats?

Not sure about cheats but even before this world cup the Netherlands had a higher yellow card average in world cups than any other team in the tournament.

Remeber the battle of Nuremburg?

The Dutch team of the 90's were a right bunch of thugs, too, although this was usually overshadowed by their brilliance.