Motty's verdict - 2010 World Cup
Well, the 2010 World Cup is almost over and what a month it has been. South Africa have been great hosts and some of the football has been wonderful to watch. While we wait for Sunday's final between Spain and the Netherlands, take a look at my review of the tournament and let me know what you thought of the action - on and off the pitch.
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South Africa 2010 will be John Motson's 10th World Cup with BBC Sport. John will be filing regular video reports from Cape Town, offering expert insight and opinion as well as recalling his own fond memories of previous tournaments. You can watch World Cup Motty on the BBC Sport website and the Red Button. John will also be using 
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Comments
Come on Motty, let's call a spade a spade - this tournament has been truly dire, not least due to the beach ball.
Do a list of the top 50 World Cup games in the past 30 years and not one from this year would get in the list.
For any further evidence just look at the goals of the tournament - a poor list of wild shots that flew past the keeper due in large parts to the ball.
And to top it off the most boring team to contest the final in that period will probably win the whole thing - Spain zzzzzzzzzz.
You don't need to keep up the hype, the tournament has virtually finished.....thank goodness.
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2nd
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To be honest this was not a classic world cup, none of the real stars performed, it seems a much more a commercial thing. Motty keep true to football by the next world cup things will have sadly changed again for the worst.
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I won't argue that this hasn't been the most exciting of World Cups, especially in terms of goals or great goals, but I can tell you it's never been boring. For example, even though Spain got to the final in the end, you never predicted it would be as tough for them as it was.
I'll take the memories of Brazil's remarkable collapse against Holland just as they seemed to establish themselves as favourites, England, Argentina and Brazil all failing their first major tests in the tournament, Ghana making history, South Africa going down fighting, and players such as Valdivia, Sanchez, Forlan, Sneijder, Ozil, Muller and Villa.
2010 was not up to the level of 1994 or 1998, but definitely a cut above 1990, 2002 and 2006.
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Fantastic world cup in a stunning place.
Will all the doubters dissing South Africa beforehand please stand up and leave the room now.
Thanks.
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FIFA unfortunately messed up some of the seating - but that's FIFA.
As to the drama, heartbreak and cheating, well, that's football - though here is an amusing - and gruesome - take on the cheating:
[Unsuitable/Broken URL removed by Moderator]
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It's been a poor World Cup.
If there had been any justice the Germans would be in the final on Sunday and picking up the trophy - just for the way they played the game and with such a young side.
The TV panel of 'experts' have been well below par.Both Channels were guilty I wanted England to do well ( I'm a Scot) but found the arrogance and in some cases xenophobia of Motson and co, out of line. Motson, in particular, is unwatchable.
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1. At 6:11pm on 09 Jul 2010, DelbertWilkins wrote:
And to top it off the most boring team to contest the final in that period will probably win the whole thing - Spain zzzzzzzzzz.
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I read this and thought, what an eejit.
Then I thought about it.
Interesting that there were so many contrasting football systems on show at this WC - but it's not the system that wins the game, but how well it is executed.
Tippy-tappy is not my cup of tea, though it is infinitely better than kick 'n rush.
Having thought about it, I still can't agree that Spain are boring to watch. Not if you like football, that is. In all its variety.
So, in my considered opinion - what an eejit.
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8. silverstoat wrote:
The TV panel of 'experts' have been well below par.Both Channels were guilty I wanted England to do well ( I'm a Scot) but found the arrogance and in some cases xenophobia of Motson and co, out of line. Motson, in particular, is unwatchable.
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I've found the punditry mostly poor, though some of the guest presenters did well.
I think Hansen and Co were just completely out of their depth - Premiership myopia writ large.
Agree about Motson. He does not try to be offensive, of course, but he just can't help himself.
Is that why he's been parked out of harm's way?
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This can't be one of the great world cups. What will I remember? The usual England hype, failure, then backlash; some truly abysmal refereeing; the best team in the competition (Germany) not quite making it to the final, despite scoring 4 goals on 3 occasions, playing easily the best football and probably having the player of the tournament (Schweinsteiger); players who perform brilliantly for the premiership, but can't hack it at international level (mostly English sadly) as well as players who were hopeless in the premiership but are remarkable on the international stage (Forlan). Oh yes and that ball...
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Not the best world cup, but good selective viewing all the same.
Germany, Argentina and Spain all played entertaining football - as did Ghana.
Spian's passing is the best and I hope they win.
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I am surprised everyone thinks this has been a boring WC... although I appreciate the majority of you are English.
All in all I thought it was good. My team Germany was the big surprise and probably slot into the "teams who did not win it but deserved it" category such as 1974 Netherlands.
Bit dissapointing South Africa did not get further which blemished it a bit and also none of the stars (except Iniesta and Xavi) really performed.
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It's frankly been a bit of a damp squid on the park at any rate. It's quite ironic that the two finalists, though rated by most as good football teams have actually got to the final without having tobe brilliant. Nonetheless, I suspect that once the the rose tinted spectacles of memory are taken into account this World Cup has in reality not been any worse tham say USA or Japan/Korea. The one thing that has been poor has been the
opinions of the so called expert's. I'm sure more sense is talked in most pubs in any country than the anodyne drivel served up by Hansen and co.
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Its not been great in relation to other world cups thats for sure. Nobody has really grabbed this tournament by its imagination, except maybe Germany who were a surprising breath of fresh air. Top players have failed to perform, the top teams have just plodded through, and alarmingly often, managers & officials have taken centre stage.
Game of the world cup for me? Slovakia & Italy. great game, and a surprise to boot. Player? well i would go Forlan for the way he carried Uruguay through.
South Africa have done a more than capable job, so in that respect, yes Africa has shown it can host a world cup. But a fascinating tournament? No i wouldnt go that for.
Commentators curse, now watch a truly mesmerising final......
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Dire tournament, just awful, and I thought I could enjoy it more once England were out. No games have been 'wow' so far, unlike last time with Germany-Costa Rica, Portugal-Netherlands, England-Portugal, Italy-Germany, the final and the 3rd placed play offs in 2006 were great as well.
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Lets not beat about the bush; this was the worst World Cup in living memory. It was hosted by a country that has had very little impact on the international footballing stage and that somewhat affected the usual hype around the competition. France, England, Italy, Brazil, Portugal and Argentina all flopped which is never nice to see in the World Cup because you want these teams to do well to keep it competitive and interesting to watch.
The commentary was abysmal, the support for Ghana in their match against Uruguay (by pundits and commentators) was ridiculous. There was very little respect showed to the Uruguayans who themselves had played good football and for me will remain the outstanding team of this World Cup. Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez shone.
On the note of punditry; I couldn't understand a word of what Emmanuel Adebayor was saying, and when his phone went off live on air that underlined how unfit he was to talk about football. Another example of when pundits were completely one-sided was when Switzerland beat Spain. Gary and pals wouldn't even talk about Switzerland before the game. How stupid they looked afterwards.
The quality of refereeing was totally unacceptable. Italy were screwed over twice by the referee in two successive games, the goal New Zealand scored against them wouldn't have been given in a pub-game and Quagliarella's equaliser against Slovakia was wrongly disallowed for offside by Darren Cann, who has apparently done 'a great job' this World Cup. There may as well have been Mr. Magoo on the sidelines. And I haven't forgotten Frank Lampard's two-metre-over-the-line goal which further highlights the incompetence of FIFA. I'm not even going to mention the need for technology, I'd be wasting my breath, you readers aren't thick.
As for the final itself, whoever wins it will be an undeserved winner. Holland have been boring and incredibly lucky, and the Spanish are a dim shadow of the team that set Austria and Switzerland alight two years ago. Whoever wins it will be a sad day for the World Cup, once the most prestigious tournament in sport. I remember when you'd wake up and wait the rest of the day with your knees shaking just because Saudi Arabia vs Belgium was that afternoon. This World Cup I found myself catching glimpses of the matches from the latter stages in pubs and electronic stores as I walked past.
I'd like to think I speak for everyone when I say Brazil 2014 couldn't come any sooner. Those Brazilians know how to celebrate their football and you can bet the Azzurri, the Germans, the Argentines and maybe even just the Three Lions will have great squads and it will be an improvement on Germany 2006 (one of the most exciting tournaments I can remember) instead of continuing in the same mundane trend that 2010 has set for us.
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# 17 - What a nonsense !!!!!
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9. At 10:21pm on 09 Jul 2010, mr_hag wrote:
..So, in my considered opinion - what an eejit.
If I can reply and try to explain. I am not trying to make this tippy-tapa vs "kick and rush" as the latter patently is ineffective and takes no real skill. I am not debating Spain are highly skilled, nor that the tactic is effective (Euro 08 disproves this).
I don't like the implication amongst pundits and the media at large that if you don't find the Spanish style of play wonderful you are either a dinosaur or don't understand football. I don't accept a style of play that is effectively 9 men behind the ball with Villa and the odd full-back pushing on is anything other than boring. 600 sideways 2feet passes per match trying to stifle the oppostion and bore them into making an error is not what I expect from a world cup winning team.
It's a game of opinions.....but mine is right!!
Spain are dull, dull, dull and have ruined the tournament as a spectacle in the latter stages and would ruin football as a spectator sport if it caught on (although I realise not everyone has the skills to implement it). On pure entertainment and making people get out of their seats I stand by my accusation that Spain would be the most boring winners of the last 30 years...zzzzzzzzz
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This has been a very mixed world cup, and to be honest there have been very few fantastic games. The first round of games in the group stage brought about 25 goals in 16 games which is an appalling goal return and was testament to the defensive nature of the tournament and how ill at ease the players were with the jabulani.
In terms of goals, this competition is only eight goals behind the world cup of four years ago with two games remaining, i think with the amount of games played in the European season and the defensive nature of some of the medium sized nations it's hard to have a truly great tournament, other posters have refered to Spain as boring, i would call them effective their knockout stage opponents have felt compelled to play with 11 men behind the ball and catch them on the counter attack, and the Spanish have invariably worn them down with their ability to retain possession and their pass and move game eventually opening up an opportunity.
Germany for all their attractive counter-attacking thrust did exactly the same, and it proved ineffective because the Spanish are such a solid outfit that their quick breaks at pace were usually halted with key interceptions or defensive tackles.
Spain will win the world cup in my opinion and will be known as a great side because of winning the European championship and then the world cup fulfilling their potential finally, and they are great players but they know they won't have looked great because they are a side that is fatigued after a long season and have down what truly great sides do when they are not playing well, and that is grind out results.
I think the last world cup winning side to truly sparkle in every game they played in a world cup tournament was Argentina in 1986, and many sides have settled for being effective when they couldn't be brilliant.
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An excellent review of an excellent World Cup from an excellent man.
People will look at the World Cup at point at the low number of goals, the second lowest average ever. So what? Goals aren't everything - drama is, and we had that in abundance throughout. I'm not saying it's the greatest World Cup ever, but it's far from the worst.
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Remember that the tournament isn't finished yet and almost every world cup final i've seen has been awful, so Holland and Spain have a chance to end everything on a high with a legend of a final!
We can but hope.
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The BBC did a count down to the 2010 World Cup by doing blogs on all the previous World Cups. Many, many people posted comments including myself.
One thing I remember was every blog as we went along, the number of people that remembered the world cup that was their first world cup. People posting comments reminising about goals, players, matches,etc.
My point is I just pity the people, or kids maybe, that in years to come will say,
'2010 was my first world cup. I remember when.......'
What on earth will they remember??
I've got nothing against Africa or South Africa who have been great hosts. But what a boring world cup on the pitch!!
Roll on Brazil 2014.......
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This world cup has been the international birth of 4-2-3-1, as played by Benitez at Liverpool for years. It makes for solid but boring football.
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This tournament goes down as the worst on record so far, although I have hopes of the final turning this around. Those at the tournament can experience the atmosphere that elevates the whole experience far more than the tv audience, where the quality of the football has been poor and the vuvuselas detract significantly. The trouble being that we have been spoilt by the EPL and La Liga in providing an exciting product every weekend that the World Cup has not got near. This has to go down to FIFA and the introduction of the Adidas ball, where I felt Spain only looked truly happy with against Germany. It has just taken far too many teams, too long to get used to playing with. Never have I seen so many instances where passes have gone for throw ins where the receiver looks in position, only for the bounce to see the ball skip through. Blatter is a old fool that requires replacement, leaving the tournament down graded in his grab for lucre and the back peddling over technology.
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This has been the least entertaining World Cup I can remember since I first started watching them properly in 1994. Too many teams - Switzerland, Greece, Portugal - came merely to stifle, the ball was truly awful, and we've even had dreadful pitches - witness the huge pieces of turf coming loose in the Holland Brazil game. And then there were the vuvuzelas...
I think part of this was due to there being too many teams involved - who could honestly say they were looking forward to Switzerland v Honduras or Algeria v Slovenia?
On the bright side diving and feigning injury has been slightly reduced although I still think more measures are needed to deal with this, particularly the players, who, when their team is getting the result they want, like to embellish their rolling around with a triple somersault and girlie scream. Let's have a 2-5 min injury lay-off for everyone who stays on the deck for more than 30 secs after a tackle - if they are that badly hurt they need the recovery time, if they aren't, they can use the time to contemplate whether their skills would be better occupied in the theatre.
On the bright side, we had exciting teams in Germany, Argentina & Chile and to a lesser extent, Japan and South Korea, who at least in the group stages had a go at everyone. I'd also congratulate Uruguay if it wasn't for their first game or, in particular, Suarez; the excess weight he carries round his midriff a seemingly insufficient ballast to protect him from going down when a stiff breeze blows thru the stadium.
So for me, the poorest World Cup in memory and I hope we get a good 3rd place match and Final to lessen that - although the headlines of "Holland will set out to stifle Spain" seem to suggest yet another dull game in a tournament of mediocrity.
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# 13 BarryTrotter - what has being English got to do with finding the World Cup boring. I'm Scottish, with no care for England, and in my opinion - as in many others - this was a dire World Cup. First impressions last, and in the first round of 16 matches, what was served up was dire; numerous teams employing 'two banks of four', which was generally a bank of four and a bank of five, and a ball that not even the best players in the world could control, making raking crossfield passes impossible to play and reducing everyone to slow tip tap football. If football carries on like this, those big contracts will fall away - who really wants to watch a game that is about not losing? I want to watch a game where people are trying to win.
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One other issue this World Cup has highlighted, is the abject coverage from the presenters and pundits lined up behind the BBC, with only the temporary foreign imports having any useful contribution.
I have heard so many complaints regarding Capello and how he should be playing Rooney that it is ridiculous, when the only real question is why is he playing him at all given such terrible form. Others not being able to come to terms with the abject performance of Germany against Spain, just because they failed to take on board what useless teams England and Argentina were as a unit.
The whole BBC football experience is so outdated and mediocre, it is starting to detract from the product.
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The mark of a good World Cup is whether you're keen to watch the next match. I started watching the first few but the first round of games were just boring. As the tournament continued, there's been a few highlights but in the most a bit dull. Therefore, i've skipped several of the latter matches...compare this to our regular Saturday night fix of Match of the Day which i really look forward to each week. What a difference!
Also, the vevuzelas has wrecked the match atmospheres, and just because it's an African world cup, why do we need African players in the commentary teams? They're difficult to understand and dull to listen to. I'd rather have Roy Keane on the panel - that would make me tune in!
So, i'm not sad to see the World Cup end as the next significant event on the football calender is the start of the Premiership/Championship/Football League & non league fixtures. Come on Southampton and Cambridge!
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9. At 10:21pm on 09 Jul 2010, mr_hag wrote:
1. At 6:11pm on 09 Jul 2010, DelbertWilkins wrote:
And to top it off the most boring team to contest the final in that period will probably win the whole thing - Spain zzzzzzzzzz.
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I read this and thought, what an eejit.
Then I thought about it.
Interesting that there were so many contrasting football systems on show at this WC - but it's not the system that wins the game, but how well it is executed.
Tippy-tappy is not my cup of tea, though it is infinitely better than kick 'n rush.
Having thought about it, I still can't agree that Spain are boring to watch. Not if you like football, that is. In all its variety.
So, in my considered opinion - what an eejit.
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Bottom line is that all Spain's games have been relatively boring and if it weren't for Villa, they'd have been out long ago.
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I'm with the majority of people on the blog, this has been a terrible World Cup. I've waited patiently for this tournament, convinced the Mrs to put up with 3 games a day because the World Cup always provides classic must see moments. I think the France V Uruguay game set the tone and the World Cup never got going.
Before anyone comes on saying it's because England were rubbish I'd like to say I love the World Cup because of the other sides. I love watching the minnows of Europe, the powerhouses of S.America and the unknown quantities from Asia and Africa. That's what makes the World Cup.
This tournament has been about negative, stifling football, that the commentators and pundits too to calling 'intriguing'. That meant dull. None of the best players in the world have performed. Portugal were awful and failed to use Ronaldo, Messi bubbled but when it mattered his team were a shambles and he had no chance to explode, Rooney was shocking and clearly unfit, Kaka was below average, admittedly like his Real Madrid performances and Torres has been dire by his standards.
The ball has clearly been one of the main reasons for a terrible tournament. FIFA tried to be clever introducing this, it failed. There has to be a common theme for the poor games and I am putting the ball forward as a main contributor.
In the end, I started to turn off the games so the Mrs wasn't having to put up with the rubbish being played. even I got bored of the group games. I thought things would get going after that, but there hasn't been one 'must see' game and the goals of the tournament have been poor. Considering these are the best players in the world, hardly any great goals to enjoy.
Sorry people. Worst Word Cup in my living memory. Germany was great, this has been terrible.
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A disappointing WC. There have been some good games (not many though); Slovakia/Italy, Brazil/Ivory Coast... (er can't think of any others).
Most players considered world class didn't perform: Torres, Kaka, Rooney, Lampard, Gerrard, Ronaldo, Eto'o, Ribery, Drogba (injured), Messi (unlucky not to score), many French players etc...
Plenty of good players had a good tournament (+ a few great ones): The German Team, Dos Santos, Javi Hernandez, Gyan, The Chile Team, Forlan, Suarez (legend), Sneijder, Robben, Iniesta, Xavi, VIlla.
Hopefully more tournaments in the future will be as good as Euro 2008. All the more enjoyable because England weren't in (coming from an English man). Bring on Brazil 2014, guaranteed to be better than SA.
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This world cup has been one of the best ever and I adore the way Spain have played so far, they have shown to the rest of the world how the beautiful game should be played. Those saying that this has been the worst world cup are fans of teams which have been a total disappointment so they're showing their frustation by trying to denigrate both this magnificent world cup and the best team of the world (Spain). If you find it(this world cup) boring, you still have Big Brother to watch. I bet you'll find it more exciting than this world cup.
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............unfortunately yes.
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Well I must say that reading the user comments on this blog was a lot more interesting than Motsons blog. Too often pundits just peddle banal cliches. Still a legend though:)
However, I do think theres an element of rose tinted specs when people look back on previous world cups; people only remember the highlights, there were plenty of dire games in previous world cups too.
On balance, Id say it hasnt been a great world cup, but its been ok. The first two rounds of group games were terrible but its picked up since then and we may yet get a classic final (though I wouldnt bet on it.) I think there are some reasons for this:
1. Football has changed - the smaller teams arent naive and make the most of their talenst by being organised and getting men behind the ball. You cant blame them for that, but it doenst always make for great games. Plus everyone now plays with a variation on the 4-5-1 (apart from backwards England of course) which means teams often cancel each other out. We've seen the normally exciting Dutch playing in a much more structured and functional way, but look where its got them. In the Euros two years ago they were fantastic in the group games but went out in the first knock out game.
2. The ball definitely seems to have been a problem - we've seen too many overhit passes, crosses and free kicks.
3. The best team Spain, havent really hit their stride yet. It makes me laugh to read users saying Germany were the best team and they 'deserved' to win it. No the best team is the team that wins it, fact. Germany were great but beating England and Argentina, two teams that couldnt defend, doesnt mean you are the best team.
On the plus side, I think South Africa has been a great location to host it and give it a few years and maybe this world cup will be looked upon in a different light.
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#36 - Wrong. Nothing to do with England being rubbish. As an Englishman this is something I am used. The world Cup has been poor, I've no idea if this is the only one you've ever seen, but the best?
I agree that Spain have been good, but there's been little else to enjoy. Roll on the Euros and Brazil 2014.
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It's really been no different to any other World Cup - some exciting games, some dull games, some tense games, some dramatic games. A few surprise stars have emerged (Gyan, Forlan, Sneijder). Perhaps the ones who were (on paper) meant to perform felt the weight of expectation too heavy?
Most exciting team to watch I thought were Germany, who played a very simple, fast, counter attacking game. Great teams to watch I thought were Ghana, Japan and the 7-0 thrashing of North Korea by Portugal gave us the staple goal fest.
I do think Spain are boring to watch and very conservative, they over pass and can be as dull as the ten-men-behind-the-ball system - most of their games have been 1-0 wins. Don't think it will be the greatest final, Holland are even duller and nowhere near the total football sides of the 70's and 80's.
But then, it's rare a team who plays the best or most eye catching football ever wins it (Brazil 1970 an exception).
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I feel that I am one of only a few people that have enjoyed this world cup.
Ok, so it started off slowly with a few mind numbing games, such as France v Uruguay and Ivory Coast v Portugal, but there have been equally boring moments in tournaments gone by.
I have to disagree with (#16)Smurf-Wrong-Phillips SUFC who wrote: "No games have been 'wow' so far, unlike last time with Germany-Costa Rica, Portugal-Netherlands, England-Portugal, Italy-Germany, the final and the 3rd placed play offs in 2006 were great as well."
Unless I'm mistaken, the Portugal-Netherlands match was a dire game littered with 16 yellow and 4 red cards, England-Portugal went 120 mins without a goal and very few chances and Italy-France was one of the dullest finals ever.
There have been more shocks this time round than in any world cup I can remember...
Spain 0-1 Switzerland, Germany 0-1 Serbia, France 0-2 Mexico, France 1-2 S. Africa, Slovakia 3-2 Italy, Holland 2-1 Brazil.
I think people's opinions are influenced by the slow start to this tournament, however it has, in my opinion, grown to be an enjoyable one. I'm sure people will remember Ghana's run to the quarter finals and their heart-breaking loss against Uruguay...Germany have produced some stunning displays in the knockout phases (4-1 v England, 4-0 v Argentina), and a number of players have burst onto the scene (Muller, Ozil, Hernandez, Coentrao). Other well known players have shone, like Sneijder, Schweinsteiger, Forlan and Villa.
Overall, in my opinion, this world cup has been an improvement on the previous two in 2002 and 2006 in terms of quality, atmosphere (even with those vuvuzelas!) and memorable moments.
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SA 2010 Great location,
but on a negative note - poor attendance levels (shambles for the biggest tournament on the planet), awful ball, shameful standard of refereeing, biased punditry, defensive football, FIFA's ignorance to bringing the game into the 21st century shown again, underperforming so called 'world class' stars.
only positives where players like Gyan / KP Boateng, Suarez / Forlan, sanchez and Ozil.
Germany 06 compared to this world cup from a football point of view was miles ahead.
How i long to watch a football game with an atmosphere and singing and not hear those god awful horns!!
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If you think the punditry has been "overhyped", just wait until Aug 14th when Gray and co will again eulogise about the greatest league in the world.
Pundits, as with football press are earning a living being part of the hype, why should they rock the boat, and tell it as it really is. They were bending over backwards to blame England's demise on everything but the players.
Football on the pitch needs rescuing from the money men, and it needs a revamp off the pitch.
Now, if they could have the likes of Seedorf and Klinsmann (who generally dont go for the Premiership hype) + keane (who told everyone that the only potentially World Class player was Rooney, and he was still one in the making, that Barry and Gerrard were coming off indifferent seasons, that Green and James were fighting relegation for the season, so just how do you meet the ridiculous expectations that are in part nurtured by press and pundits ?
To those 3, oh for a Brian Clough.
The BBC are always saying they need to freshen up shows, how many facelifts does Strictly Come Dancing have ? Time for a look at the pundits, and if they are not going to say anything other than the party line, lets get fresh faces in. How about Waddle ? His rant on 5live was class, he said more home truths in that 5 minutes than the Pundits of BBC/ITV did the whole time.
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#39- The fact that you are used to the mediocrity of the English football team as you have admitted it yourself is undoubtedly the reason why you are unable to see the positive side of this world cup. This(England being rubbish) has considerably affected your perception of good and bad, and has left you with the unability to make a proper judgement.
As for Spain being dull; Arsene Wenger has described the Spanish football as being from another planet. This of course is why you'll never be able to contemplate the excellence of the Spanish football, as it is from another planet and you're just a human being. nuff said
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This has been a very poor world cup and as usual it will be a poor final. The two finalists both like to play pretty football, keeing possession and happy to knock it about. The problem with that is that neither side will worry about getting the ball back. my fear is that they will cancel each other out.
The most exciting football, not necessarily the best, has been played by the South American "minor" teams. Uruguay have tried to score goals against everyone and were a little unlucky against the Dutch (anyone seen a replay of the last minute handball? thought not). Chile were very entertaining, Paraguay tried very hard and Mexico (I know Central AMerican) were great to watch.
The pundits only ever watch the Premiership, so they do not have an idea about who does what in other leagues. They are very dull and do not speak their minds. Agree with their bias about the African teams, they almost seemed to be apologising for the Empire again!
Player of the tournament has been Schweinsteiger. Outstanding talent.
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This World Cup by no means the worst ever. A bit boring in first 2 rounds of the groupstage but then the tournament really got going in the 3rd round and has continued like that in the knockout stages.
2002 and 2006 was the opposite with an ok groupstage and mostly sleepingpill matches in the knockout stages. I guess the people who says that 2006 was a great World Cup is joking? It was fantastic outside the stadiums and the atmosphere was great but the football was deadly boring with only Germany and Argentina trying to attack.
IMO the 2nd half of Slovakia-Italy and the incredible turnaround in the Ghana-Uruguay game was alone more exciting than both 2002 and 2006.
Of course not everything is good. The lack of atmosphere at the games(due to the awful vuvuzuelas) and the stupid new ball Jabulani has partly ruined it.
I have watched all World Cups since 1982 and here is my ranking
Best - 1982
2nd - 1986
3rd - 1998
4th - 1994
5th - 2010
6th - 2002
7th - 2006
Worst- 1990
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This world cup has been one of the best ever and I adore the way Spain have played so far, they have shown to the rest of the world how the beautiful game should be played.
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God I hope the rest of the world weren't watching then. If everyone played like Spain I'd never watch another game. I know it's good, skillful, clever play but it's dull. Just because something excites Alan Hansen doesn't mean I have to find it exciting.
I don't want eleven Ray Wilkins on the pitch, 67 sideward passes in the middle of the pitch during each move is just like watching paint dry.
It's the Peter Ebdon way of playing football and I don't have any high hopes for this final whatsoever.
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46. magnus bang wrote:
I have watched all World Cups since 1982 and here is my ranking
Best - 1982
2nd - 1986
3rd - 1998
4th - 1994
5th - 2010
6th - 2002
7th - 2006
Worst- 1990
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What a coincidence, me too. Though I have vague memories of the 1978 final, too.
Here's my ranking:
Great - 1990
Very good - 2006, 2010, 1986, 1982
Ok - 2002, 1998
So-so - 1994
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17. At 02:51am on 10 Jul 2010, FitnesseAlliance wrote:
Lets not beat about the bush; this was the worst World Cup in living memory. [...]
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Mr Grumpy got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning....
I'm looking forward to a classic 3rd place match, btw.
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bloody hell,spain are boring? what are you people watching,if the spain games have been dull its because the opponents park the bus,you cant blame spain for this and the reason they park the bus is because spain play great passing football that will tear you apart given the chance.
it has been a dull world cup,not as bad as 2002 but not good.
the ball is hasnt helped,its not just affected the shooting but also the passing,if that goes wrong the games become disjointed.
the vuvuzelas have taken away any atmosphere,when all you can hear is tinitus you cant hear singing or cheering,in the stadium for the commentators this might be fine but all i hear is a lack of atmosphere.
the commentators have been appalingly biased and patronissing to african sides,this is offensive,only one made it out of the group stages,it was an awful wc for them,ghana did well and gyan is a quality forward but there is little else to say about them. at one point on itv the commentators said something like "im sure you will all be supporting ghana unless you are uruguayan". i dont need to be told who im supporting thank you very much,thats not your job!!!!! poor world cup anyway,lets hope for a good final.
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I have never heard such a bunch of whiners in my life. No wonder England never performs! They have the most miserable, critical and unsatisfied supporters on the Planet.
As a result, the World Cup in South Africa has been judged unconciously by the useless performance of England.
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From yesterdays moderated comment:
Uruguay v Germany 3-4 (best game of the tournament)
Netherlands v Spain 2-1 (re-run of champions league final)
Fantastic venues in a fervent hosting nation. Tournament let down by the generally poor football and in particular FIFA.
Issues:
FIFA
Jabulani Ball (many issues including fairness)
Unsporting behaviour rife
Consistent (un)professional fouling unpunished
Different officiating applied to the big names and stars
Appalling standard and consistency of officiating throughout
Vuvuleza versus Singing or Chanting (lack of atmosphere)
Empty seats (some times filled by volunteers did this compound the Vuvuleza problems)
Poor television coverage (FIFA rollovers and missed incidents)
Unrealistic media and pundits
World cup legacy in hosting nation
World cup finances
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
Dreadful World cup! Yes at times Argentina, Germany and Spain played good football, but overall the standard of games was shocking. Thankfully i recorded most of matches and was able to fast forward through to the few best bits!
The ingredients of any good world cup are great matches, star players performing to the full potential, an attacking Brazil side and if you're lucky England doing well. Well none of these things happened with many of the hyped up matches just failing to deliver, The Brazil Portugal match was a good example of yawn football.
It's such a shame as the organisation of the event was excellent and the enthusiasm of the S African people deserved more. The other saving grace was that Spain won playing good passing football.
Let's just hope Brazil 2014 is a big improvement.
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