Liverpool FC Forum

[bigmick]

Seems incredible with Alonso that we wanted to swap him for Gareth Barry. I thought Barry was an embarrassment for England, while Alonso has been excellent for Spain. That said, I suppose we can all be wise after the event and us trying to sell him a few Summers ago did come after a particularly ordinary season. Pique looks a good defender to me too, and the Mancs let him go way too cheap I reckon.

Fair play to Spain though. I fancied the Germans but they were never in it, I thought they really missed Muller. Funny how the goal reminded me of us on one of our worst days on defending zonally. Let the guy get a good clear sight of it, a nice clear run at it and then don't bother attacking it. Do all those things at the same time and you'll concede goals whichever system you're employing.

[Greavesie]

Mick, I absolutely agree about Pique, could easily replace Rio when he's finished, that said I don think its too far off either!

Since he's went to Barca and got regular football he looks class IMO

[zarababe]

Gawd the world cup final between two teams that have not played thebest football .. in fact have stuttered and faultered.

Truely gutted that Argentina did not get through.. GDR were awesome against us and completely out of it today ?

I can only hope Argentina had a bad day, on the 'wrong day' ..

Any how Spian will win it 'probably'.. Liverpool players represented in the final squads.. have to say makes me proud.

But oh how Argentina could have made us all smile with their sublime football.. not bettered by any of these !

[metalhead]

oki.. so I was wrong with my prediction then

Xabi Alonso had a fantastic game tonight

[tubby]

Seems incredible with Alonso that we wanted to swap him for Gareth Barry. I thought Barry was an embarrassment for England, while Alonso has been excellent for Spain. That said, I suppose we can all be wise after the event and us trying to sell him a few Summers ago did come after a particularly ordinary season. Pique looks a good defender to me too, and the Mancs let him go way too cheap I reckon.

Fair play to Spain though. I fancied the Germans but they were never in it, I thought they really missed Muller. Funny how the goal reminded me of us on one of our worst days on defending zonally. Let the guy get a good clear sight of it, a nice clear run at it and then don't bother attacking it. Do all those things at the same time and you'll concede goals whichever system you're employing.

Yeah letting Alonso go was a crime. But you never know it could have worked out with Barry and Keane....

I do miss his long range passes though.

[Sabre]

Very tight game so far. Spain may have just shaded possession but are not doing anything with it. Germany look dangerous on the counter as usual.

I disagree we did nothing with the posession. When you don't have tall guys like the Germans, and you want to avoid the Germans make 3 or 4 goals like they did in the previous games, a good idea is you have the ball, because when you have the ball the opposition can't score.

I was fairly optimistic about this game because Germany, like England, are too proud to say no to their own style. They let us play more than Chile or Paraguay did so Spain

could develop their game. And these days our game is vastly superior to the ones of the Germans. And needless to say Zarababe's Argentina.

Only Bad Bob beat us the first day, but that was a tad lucky.

I have my girlfriend sleeping in the other room. She's angry, but she must understand, this happens once in a lifetime.

Holland? a team in which Kuyt the red plays is always going to be a tough game. They have quality, and it won't be easy.

1-0 again will do for me. I'll sleep alone tonight, but I'm happy as fúck 

[Kharhaz]

Im pleased for spain and holland. However I cant help but feel this is going to be one boring final. Saying that, my predictions have been awful and will probably end up with 9 goals scored !

[Bad Bob]

Let the guy get a good clear sight of it, a nice clear run at it and then don't bother attacking it. Do all those things at the same time and you'll concede goals whichever system you're employing.

One of the studio guys over here (former, ahem, Canadian international Jason De Vos...a defender) reckons that Podolski was also at fault for staying rooted to the post and not helping his keeper out.  A whole host of errors on the German side led to the goal...it was a strange one for them to concede.

[LFC2007]

Congratulations to you and your compatriots, sabre. Like Barcelona near their best. Incredible in possession and when they lose the ball they hunt in packs to retrieve it; and then they go again and again and again, and usually they find a way through. Credit to the Germans, they were resilient, kept their shape and defended well for a very large part of the game but Spain carved out enough to deserve the win in the end.

[eurico]

[LFC2007]

 

[laza]

Gawd the world cup final between two teams that have not played thebest football .. in fact have stuttered and faultered.

Well thats not exactly the first time that has happened.

Good luck to Spain and Holland, though Im would have preferred Germans to get through as I enjoyed their play.

Im hoping football will be winner for the final but like Kharhaz dont have high hopes

Made up for Paul the Octopus, 100 percent 


Ditto missing Alonso

[Julio-0]

Goodby Paul 

[Ciggy]

Goodby Paul 

[laza]

Its not funny Juilo 

Typical fickle football fans, swim Paul swim for Marianas trench and safety mate

It won't come as much of a consolation to heartbroken German fans, but at least Paul, Germany's now world-famous "Octopus oracle", has maintained his perfect record.

The "psychic" creature has correctly predicted all six of Germany's World Cup games and, amid excruciating drama broadcast live on national television on Tuesday, plumped for Spain, causing anguish up and down the country.

And the eight-legged soccer soothsayer was spot on Wednesday, as Carles Puyol's semi-final header shattered Germany's dreams of winning their fourth World Cup.

Two plastic boxes, one with a German flag and one with a Spanish, were lowered into Paul's tank at an aquarium in western Germany, each with a tasty morsel of food inside.

The box which Paul opens first is adjudged to be his predicted winner.

But with classic fickleness, German fans turned against their beloved octopus after he forecast a Spanish win.

According to "Der Western" daily paper, there have been "a host of comments on Facebook, Twitter ... suggesting Paul should be fried, barbequed or turned into a seafood salad or paella."

"Others wanted to throw him into the shark tank," the paper reported.

And on Berlin's "fan-mile", some sections of the crowd also turned against their former hero. Anti-octopus songs were sung.

------------------------------------------

Though on more positive World cup news note 

LARISSA Riquelme, the stunning Paraguayan lingerie model who became a worldwide sensation during the World Cup, will run naked through the streets after all.
Millions of mostly male fans were left shattered by Paraguay's quarter-final defeat, as Riquelme had promised to run naked through the streets of Asuncion if the boys in red and white made the semis.

Her global fame was based on nothing more than a series of extraordinary photos of her supporting her team without much, ahem, support of her own. The gallery link off this page will teach you all you need to know.

Interestingly, the original pledge was to do a nudie run if Paraguay won the World Cup. This later became reaching the final ... then the semi-final ... and now it seems a quarter-final defeat was enough to warrant the celebration. A cynic might suggest Miss R is more interested in the bounce to her profile than the football.


"It will be a present to all of the players, and for all the people in Paraguay to enjoy, because they tried as hard as possible and gave it their all on the field," she said.

An exact date for Riquelme's streak has not been announced.