France cracks Brazil!
I’m absolutely floored! The world’s #1 got beat by a team ranked 8th!
When I thought Brazil’s spot on the semi-final was a sure thing, France proved me wrong!
It was at 57′ when Thierry Henry 12 [FRA] scores for France with the help of Zinadine Zidane 10 [FRA]!
Play lasted for 93′ with the final score of 0:1 in favour of France, who’ll be facing Portugal in the semis.
I still can’t believe it! Hahaha.
Tags: FIFA World Cup, Football/Soccer, Germany 2006, Obiter DictumRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Football/Soccer, Light the Torch
3 opinions for France cracks Brazil!
brian greenwood
Jul 2, 2006 at 7:06 am
I am in awe over the abilities, fitness, and skill of the soccer players. They are world-class athletes.
I have an idea that will make the game even better.
The greatest thing about the greatest games on earth is that the player plays his opposition. It appears that in all soccer games, players have two opponents. They not only play the opposition colors, but they play the referee as well.
When a soccer player is brushed by an opponent and he falls down writhing in pain like he just took a .50 caliber round or stepped on a land mine until the 3 medics run on the field to cart them off on a stretcher with a wool blankie is an embarrassment to everything called “sports”. This is playing the referee and makes whiners of all soccer players – yes, I said all.
Other times the player could run on but elects to fall down in contact. This is more common and equally embarrassing. When this happens, the player looks to the referee as if it’s illegal for an opponent to contest his possession. Croquet would be a more appropriate game for such a pouter.
There are times the players are truly hurt, but the referee needs to insist they play on or get off the field. For sure, there is vicious antagonism at times. But the embellishment corrupts the nature of the game. The opponent’s purpose is to resist. Complaining when an opponent does so ruins everything for some of the most gifted athletes in the world.
Here’s an example. I watched a player get carted off on a stretcher when another player stepped on his arm. What the? I have never had a player taken off a field by stretcher when hurt during a rugby or hockey game. I cannot convey how detestable this is for all men who love competition and enjoy real sports and the nature of the real challenge of playing through opposition. Pain is part of it. If he had to leave, he could have walked off. Soccer has all the potential of being a sport, but is at best an “activity”.
It’s inherent in the game. It’s the rules. The officials have no authority to punish whining. I officiate several sports, and remind the captains before the game that I expect the players to play each other, not me. When they do, I penalize them for diving or unsportsmanlike conduct. The result is more often than not, a contest of skill and desire, not drama. Give the officials the authority to penalize players for playing the referee.
This makes soccer a great game for women and children - but not men who understand the true nature of sport. Whiners.
Sasha
Jul 3, 2006 at 4:18 am
Not a football fan now, are you? ;)
But you have to agree that there are other sports that create whiners and even actors in the players, take a basketball player for instance, he’d act out just to get a ref to “see” a charging foul and whine if he doesn’t. I mean, come on, really now.
brian greenwood
Jul 3, 2006 at 1:09 pm
Oh for sure. Agreed. Those referees need to be empowered as well. It’s tragic. The athletes are so talented.
As a referee, I have to discerne whether or not a player is baiting me or playing the opposition as he ought. Many factors play into this “sensing out” process. It can carry over as a pattern of behavior from game to game (no honest referee will tell you it doesn’t), it can be heard in the comments I listen for during the warm ups, it can be felt throughout the rhythm of every game as it is played.
A referee’s job is to protect the inherent integrity of the sport and be as invisible as possible. But if the players are not understanding “competition” and “persevering through resistance”, then I become as visible as necessary.
My favorite games of choice are rugby and hockey. If fell in love with them right away because as a player, the referee didn’t matter. More than in any other games, these are games engineered for movement and flow. The rules allow it. One referee and two touch judges on the rugby pitch. Bodies flying all over. One referee. NFL football has 7 - count ‘em 7 - officials on or near the field affecting play. Good night! It’s a recipe for bottlenecks and breakdown.
Don’t get me started. Perhaps I’ve made my point - European football is a wonderful game with incredibly skilled athletes bred and nurtured to whine because FIFA will not take these 4 simple steps:
1) Yellow cards are a ten-minute sin bin.
2) Anyone waving a pretend card at the referee gets a card.
3) TV replays for contentious penalty decisions.
4) Red cards reserved for serious foul play / 3 yellow offences.
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