Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Quarter Finals and seven matches left.

"It was just like taking a penalty back home in my neighbourhood." Oscar Cardozo, Paraguay striker after his side's 5-4 penalty shootout victory over Japan.

 
David Villa scores against rivals Portugal in their Round 16 clash: Spain 1 - Portugal 0
  • Of the 184 players still involved in the World Cup, less than 10 per cent apply their trade in England. MICHAEL COCKERILL
The Quarter Finalists are sorted and there are seven matches remaining for a Supremo to be determined, fines to be avoided and reputations salvaged. During our time in running the competition we’ve never had a Mate being one step ahead of the organiser but, in his first Football4Mates tournament, Yoni, exceeded all expectations this morning by submitting his tips for the Quarters first thing. I’m feeling sarcastic sniggers but beware; this is a Mate whose passion for football is first class.

Passion together the weapon of being an unbiased neutral - a secret component that has helped our current Supremo dominate this competition. Add this with a Mate who rarely misses any match and the pressure mounts on Rayment to hold onto his lead and salvage the pride of the three Lions and Supremo George K to reclaim his title.

Outside the three, Harry Potter is keeping pace with some shrewd tipping, Luke and Mr Lenny Man have been consistent from Day 1 and our pre-tournament dark horse Turczynski is threatening.

Spicy Duels and Australia have taken the lead from Europe (526-524), Ireland are thumping the French (72-56), NZ 72 – Australia 70 and England 64 – Argentina 51. Javier at the moment is starring down the barrel of numerous fines (Butt End Award, Europe, and Argentina), while Jonovsky and Duncan are in a battle to keep the Argentinean on the bottom.

Failure to impress in 2010: Cristiano Ronaldo looks desperate as Portugal struggle to create an equaliser Photograph: Paul Thomas

No pressure Mates and remember to enjoy the Quarter Finals.


Round 16

Monday, June 28, 2010

Day 17: English Misery and a NEW leader



Biggest blunder in World Cup History? Frank Lampard's shot bounces into the goal behind Manuel Neuer - disallowed!

“The man of leisure returns” after a one day absence in which we have seen the collapse of the English both on and off the field. In what has been a fairly low scoring couple of days, two good spurts of brilliance from Yoni and Mihail saw both Mates finish Day 16 & 17 with twleve points each. With this success, Yoni has not only erased Rayment’s lead, he has knocked him off the top. Well done to the man from Israel who is seeking to continue the Mediterranean domination of this competition. Rayment slides to second and George K is struggling to hold onto third from Luke and Harry Potter. At the bottom end, it seems like a tussle between Jonovsky and Javier.

  
Germany midfielder Thomas Mueller celebrates with teammates after scoring his team's third of four goals (4-1). Photo: AFP
 Argentina's Gonzalo Higuain, left, celebrates after scoring his side's second goal in the 3-1 victory over Mexico. Photo: AP
  
PLAYER TOTAL
  1. Yoni 88
  2. Rayment 85
  3. George K 78
  4. Luke 76
  5. Harry Potter 75
  6. Turczynski 72
  7. Mr Lenny Man 72
  8. Mihail 69
  9. Haakie 68
  10. Joe S 67
  11. Do Chi 66
  12. Benny G 65
  13. Stylianos 64
  14. Blairos 64
  15. Gav 63
  16. NicO 62
  17. Beelitz 62
  18. Tony 60
  19. Andy 54
  20. Jeremy 53
  21. Nestor 51
  22. Motto 50
  23. Duncan 49
  24. Slavco 48
  25. Javier 43
  26. Jonovsky 42

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Round 3 Wrap and a Former Supremo Tops Day 15

As Braaaziil conitnue to handball their way through this World Cup and we reach the business end of the tournament, it seems that our leader and newly baptised, Mr Football, Rayment, has been feeling the pressure, tipping a very disappointing four points from nine matches. We've gone for Mr Football as this is the Mate who took days of work for, and get this, World Cup Fatige. That's brilliant!!!

A spiteful Group G stalemate between Brazil & Portugal, Duda of Portugal reacts as he is given a yellow card by Referee Benito Archundia

Rayment's stumble though has allowed Yoni back into the race, cutting our leader’s margin to five points. George K is holding onto third but is looking over his shoulder as Harry Potter, who has been blitzing it with twenty one points in two days, hovering three points behind. Putting away the disappointment of Italy’s early exit, Stylianos (USA 94 Supremo) topped Day 15 with 14 points.

Chile goalkeeper Claudio Bravo fails to stop a goal by Spain's Andres Iniesta: Spain 2 - Chile 1
From the incentives angle, one player (Nestor), is looking good for the Red Mist Award as  Australia top that list. However, Mates that predicted England, Argentina, Uruguay, Netherlands and Ghana are still in with a shout. Also, excellent work for those who foresaw Mexico (2), Chile (2), USA (6), Paraguay (Mr Lenny Man), Uruguay (Jeremy) and Slovakia (Do Chi) for the Obama Yes We Can Award. It’s now a case of who will go the furthest.

Here is an interesting statstic for you to chew on. Japan, who made the Round of 16 have the second worse (NZ bottom) Pass Completion Rate (709 [62%]) in this tournament, this compared to Brazil's 1647 (84%) - wonder if they've included Brazil's three handballs in that figure? Enjoy the KnockOut phase.


Round 3 -

Friday, June 25, 2010

Day 14: World Champions Crash Out

"Terror in our legs, heads and hearts" Marcello Lippi. And with that the World Champions pack their bags and head back to the Italian Riverina. Arrivederci and I doubt any of us will be loosing too much sleep.  The Italians had only 6 shots on their goals during their three matches - "impressive" I hear you say - five of which ended up in the back of the net. That's fantastic!! Norton Street can now pull down their mega Italian Flags and send them straight to the dry cleaners and let's hope in for years time they'll have the dignity of sticking up some Australian flags alongside the tri colours of Red, White and Green.

Fabio Cannavaro wipes away the tears as he leaves the pitch. This could well be his last match. What a stinker (Slovakia 3-Italia 2)

New Zealand and Paraguay engage in team bonding before kick off

Excellent results this morning for Harry Potter (5th) and our flying Dutchman, Haakie (9th) who both showed faith in those incredible All Whites (0-0 v Paraguay) and Japan (3-1 v Denmark). While our top 2 had quiet evenings, Yoni (2nd) and Luke (3rd) picked up a score each to make some progress on closing the gap. Remember Mates, whilst some of you are dropping off the pace all of you are involved in either Spicy Duels or personal battles against eachother where defeat will cost you a fine or humiliation.

Joris Mathijsen, left, and Gaetan Bong go for a header (Netherlands 3 - Cameroon 1)

PLAYER TOTAL
  1. Rayment 79
  2. George K 68
  3. Yoni 67
  4. Luke 62
  5. Joe S 58
  6. Harry Potter 57
  7. Turczynski 57
  8. Mr Lenny Man 56
  9. Haakie 55
  10. Blairos 53
  11. NicO 52
  12. Gav 52
  13. Benny G 51
  14. Do Chi 50
  15. Mihail 50
  16. Beelitz 49
  17. Stylianos 46
  18. Tony 46
  19. Andy 45
  20. Slavco 44
  21. Nestor 43
  22. Duncan 43
  23. Motto 41
  24. Javier 41
  25. Jonovsky 38
  26. Jeremy 37




Thursday, June 24, 2010

Day 13: The Mythical Figure Returns

Australia's Tim Cahill (right) rises above Serbia's Vidic to heads Australia into the lead and onto victory (2-1)


This on the same day the Socceroos exit the World Cup to a team (Ghana) that has not scored a goal in open play (two penalties), USA winning virtually with the last kick of the game to top their group and England squeezing through to find only Ze Germans standing in their next game, we witness the re-emergence of that 'Mythical' player and Supremo, George K, return to the fold scoring in three out of four games (15pts). Tony deserves mention for picking the Socceroos (2-1), Rayment holds his lead after an average day of results and George K climbs into second.
   
England players celebrate after scoring to go 1-0 up against Slovenia. Next Opponent, Germany.

From the Spicey Duels front, the Australians who have been behind Europe from day 1 are looking at fines as they trail Europe 360-389. Again NZ have it over the men in gold 54-48, Ireland over France 52-39, come on Motto and England are giving poor Javier (Argentina) a wholloping 55-39.
Landon Donovan's stoppage time goal against Algeria secures top spot for the US

PLAYER TOTAL
  1. Rayment 77
  2. George K 66
  3. Yoni 62
  4. Luke 57
  5. Joe S 56
  6. Turczynski 53
  7. Blairos 51
  8. Mr Lenny Man 51
  9. NicO 50
  10. Harry Potter 48
  11. Do Chi 48
  12. Gav 48
  13. Benny G 47
  14. Haakie 46
  15. Mihail 46
  16. Tony 44
  17. Beelitz 42
  18. Nestor 41
  19. Stylianos 41
  20. Duncan 41
  21. Andy 41
  22. Motto 39
  23. Javier 39
  24. Slavco 39
  25. Jonovsky 36
  26. Jeremy 35
  27. Leedham 33

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Day 12: Rayment extends lead

Tip of the day goes to Luke and his 2-2 prediction with Nigeria v South Korea but, it's that man again Rayment, scoring another staggering twleve points to extend his lead further.,This coming from the player who said "This is when it starts to get hard" - yeah thanks mate.

After dragging their entire nation's reputation through what can only be described as elephant dung, France have finally packed their egos and manager (French coach blank over not shaking Parreira's hand) and are on their way home, much to the entire world's relief, including our French Mate, Motto. Hopefully Motto you can get your campaign back on track over the upcoming matches.

''Probably one or two (players) are not happy, but the majority are happy. For this reason, it is no problem. One player is not so important compared to all the other players. The group is more important than one player." FABIO CAPELLO, Terry gets a towelling from Capello.

   
Otto Rehhagel & Diego Maradona find time for a little dance before kick-off & Martin Demichelis stabs home from close range after Melito handballs in the 77th minute. Photograph: Ian Walton/Getty Images
 
Uruguay's Luis Suarez scores a header in the 43rd minute to give
Uruguay a 1-0 victory over Mexico




PLAYER TOTAL
  1. Rayment 71
  2. Yoni 56
  3. Luke 51
  4. George K 51
  5. Joe S 45
  6. Blairos 45
  7. NicO 44
  8. Mr Lenny Man 44
  9. Harry Potter 42
  10. Gav 42
  11. Turczynski 42
  12. Mihail 42
  13. Do Chi 41
  14. Haakie 40
  15. Tony 37
  16. Benny G 36
  17. Nestor 35
  18. Stylianos 35
  19. Beelitz 35
  20. Javier 35
  21. Jeremy 35
  22. Andy 34
  23. Duncan 33
  24. Motto 33
  25. Leedham 33
  26. Slavco 33
  27. Jonovsky 32


Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Round 3: A Date with Destiny For Two Nations....again

As we complete the day's action of Round 2 Games Joe S and Blairos had positive results (12pts) that will give both players a nice confidence booster for Round 3. Complete table is below. Don't forget your tips and good luck. In the meantime as Greece and Australia prepare for their All Against the Odds Games, here is a trip down memory lane when both nations achieved the unexpected.

Ronaldo breaks his goal drought and Portugal produces its highest World Cup score,
thrashing North Korea 7-0
David Villa (left) blows his chance of a hatrick in Spain's 2-0 victory over Honduros and Jonovsky & Nestor's hope of breaking their Score Prediction ducks.
In one of matches of the World Cup so far, a relentless Chile finally broke down a record-breaking 10-man Switzerland 1-0 to move to the top of Group H.


 


Monday, June 21, 2010

Priceless Special 1

Never to late Mates for a laugh with the Super Ego. Day 10 Update is further down.

"The Incredible Sulk: French go to town on 'pathetic, disgraceful, laughing stock of the world' team" It's hard not to throw our opinion into the ring with this one but, for the sake and credability of our competition we'll need to stay out it. Though we do wonder what the Irish make of it.













Mutiny ... France players decide not to train. Photo: AP


 


Day 10: The All Whites hold the Champions and Turczynski makes a surge.

Shane Smeltz of New Zealand scores the opening goal past Federico Marchetti of Italy. Photo: Mike Hewitt, Getty Images
On the day the All Whites hold the World Champions to a draw, the French finally having enough of their Manager and his staff and Rayment picking up his fourth consecutive score with the first match (Slovakia v Paraguay) of the day to extend his lead, Turczynski made a surge up the ladder with an impressive ten pointer.

Just as he's packing his bag to head off into the Mongolian wilderness to find his future bride, Turczynski, who to date has had a quiet tournament, may just about make it his time to come back into contention. However, with Rayment picking scores (21pts) and Yoni nailing outcome (36pts) the road may be tough. Javier has finally moved of the bottom with good results which has left our pre tournament favourite Jonovsky planted on the bottom whom along side Nestor are still waiting to pick up their first scores.

We are moving into the business end of the tournament as teams are looking at playing for their survival so think carefully with the expectation that some upsets may be on the cards.

 The Ladder
  1. Rayment 53
  2. Yoni 45
  3. Luke 40
  4. Mr Lenny Man 40
  5. George K 38
  6. Harry Potter 34
  7. NicO 32
  8. Turczynski 32
  9. Gav 31
  10. Do Chi 31
  11. Mihail 31
  12. Beelitz 29
  13. Slavco 29
  14. Leedham 29
  15. Jeremy 29
  16. Benny G 28
  17. Joe S 27
  18. Motto 27
  19. Haakie 27
  20. Andy 27
  21. Nestor 26
  22. Stylianos 26
  23. Blairos 26
  24. Duncan 24
  25. Tony 24
  26. Javier 23
  27. Jonovsky 22

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Day 9: Flawless, Absolutely Flawless

A devastating evening by Rayment smashing all previous records together with the competition on this Day 9 of the World Cup. Rayment, mates, racked a 100% record, scoring the maximum fifteen points to open up an eight point lead from Yoni and Mr Lenny Man, who have both been consistent from the start.

Harry Kewell is given a red card in Australia's match with Ghana for handling on the line(1-1). Photo: Steve Christo


Australia held its breath: Luke Wilkshire fires his shot straight at goalkeeper Richard Kingson. Photo: Reuters

Anelka kicked out of World Cup
  1. Rayment 46
  2. Yoni 38
  3. Mr Lenny Man 36
  4. George K 34
  5. Luke 33
  6. Harry Potter 30
  7. Gav 29
  8. Mihail 29
  9. NicO 28
  10. Motto 27
  11. Beelitz 27
  12. Slavco 27
  13. Jeremy 27
  14. Benny G 26
  15. Joe S 25
  16. Andy 25
  17. Do Chi 24
  18. Haakie 23
  19. Nestor 22
  20. Stylianos 22
  21. Leedham 22
  22. Turczynski 22
  23. Jonovsky 20
  24. Blairos 19
  25. Duncan 17
  26. Tony 17
  27. Javier 14

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Day 8: A Disastrous Day and not just for the Germans and English

What is it with the Serbs and their jumps?
Nemanja Vidic (right) handballs in the penalty area. Germany 0 - Serbia 1
 

Mates, what happened to your predictions on this Day 8 of the 2010 World Cup? If Fabio Capello is planning his next session on drilling his players on how to pass, shoot and trap a ball, then most you also need to go back to the prediction board. Says I who is sitting near the bottom. The highest score today was 2. That's right, 2. Seven players in all predicted an outcome, two, Slavco & Jonovsky, foresaw Serbia knocking off Ze Germans. However, since both their backgrounds are from the former Yugoslavia, then their predictions don't count as being of extraordinary vision - kidding, well done you two.

Two players that were amongst the few point scorers were Luke and Rayment which means that they have retaken the lead for at least 24 hours. Just before we head off, I simply cannot pass the Reds sneaky captain,  Boss-Walker, who has picked up 2 points in 9 matches. Come on mate, you've got to pick up the pace or face the indignity of ridicule from the squad.
  • On the Spicey Deuls front:  Eurpoe lead the Australians 183 - 181, Ireland 25-France 23, Australia 21 - NZ 21, England 27- Argentina 14.
It was fast and frenetic as the USA and Slovenia (2-2) battled to the death in their Group C match.


"It's nice to see your own fans booing you" ... England's striker Wayne Rooney talks to a cameraman.

Friday, June 18, 2010

Micheal Cockerill v Harry Kewell

"Harry Kewell, you are a Myth" MICHAEL COCKERILL
'TWO minutes on the park in the past six months. That's all we've seen of Harry Kewell, the footballer" and the battle between Sydney Morning Herald Football Journalist Micheal Cockerill and Harry Kewell had begun. Over the past couple of weeks Cockerill has laid seige into the "myth" that is Harry Kewell with some stinging criticisms. Yesterday, the player responded. Don't players often say that they don't pay attention to what the papers are saying? Here are some of the articles in Cockerill v Kewell as Australia prepare for its massive match against Ghana.

"More substance, less style please, Harry" MICHAEL COCKERILL June 16, 2010



Livid Kewell demands Fairfax football writer show himself 
"Why isn't he here?" Kewell said. "He's the one making all these accusations. I want him to know about it. I want to know why is he doing it? Does anyone have any answers for me?"

"Why I'm standing by every single word I've written" MICHAEL COCKERILL SMH June 18, 2010

HERE I am Harry, where I was always going to be and where I'll be for the next few weeks. Covering the World Cup.

Not covering you, exclusively, I must admit. I like to get around. On Wednesday afternoon, when you seemed to be rather upset that I wasn't squeezed among the press pack at Ruimsig, tape recorder in hand, I was actually in Pretoria. Months ago I applied, and received, accreditation to report on South Africa's game against Uruguay. You can check if you like.

Personally, we agree with Mr Cockerill on this one, and always have. For all his talent Harry's contribution to Australian football has never reached the level of hype that comes with it. Furthermore there have been other players that have put more into our game with hardly no recognition.

Day 7: a Goal, a Win and Positive Football

The relief this morning amongst the Greeks was unbelievable. To have finally scored a goal, picked up some points and demonstrate that these players do know how to string a few passes together when they REALLY need to was satisfying. It took a Nigerian (Sani Kaita) to have a brain explosion and some spectacular theatrics from Torosidis that left the Super Eagles playing with ten men which finally saw the Greeks spark into life with positive passes (27 shots on goal), tactics and belief. The BBC described the game as one of the most exciting so far....bloody hell.

After continuous torment (poor tactics and team selection) in previous matches, the Greek Mates contingent abandoned faith that the team would achieve a result - reverse psychology no doubt the order of the day. Well done Haakie and Yoni for having belief, unless of course it was a type error. Overall, it was a low scoring day of results that also saw Supremo George K sneak into the lead again.

Victory for the Greeks and perhaps hope for the next match....against Argentina


IF YOU like football the way it should be played, pray that Argentina win the World Cup. Not England. Not The Netherlands. Germany, on the basis of their dissection of the Socceroos, maybe. Spain, perhaps. Brazil, by reputation more than deed.


Diego celebrating Argentina's thumping win against South Korea

George K 30
Luke 29
Rayment 29
Yoni 29
Mihail 27
Gav 27
NicO 26
Andy 25
Jeremy 25
Beelitz 25
Benny G 24
Mr Lenny Man 24
Harry Potter 23
Joe S 23
Motto 23
Slavco 23
Do Chi 22
Leedham 22
Turczynski 22
Haakie 19
Blairos 19
Jonovsky 18
Stylianos 17
Nestor 16
Duncan 15
Javier 14
Tony 13

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Day 6: Choking Spanish & Mates Hanging out at the Bottom

It simply cannot be a World Cup without a team Choking at the first herdle of the tournament, and who better to live up to the "choking" expectation tag than our Mediterranean Mates and European Champions, Spain. No player predicted a Swiss Chocolate victory this morning and rightly so, with all the pre-game hype directed towards the Spanish.

Speaking of failing to live up to our pre tournament hype, let's briefly focus our attention down the ass end of the table (and note that the South Africa v Uruguay Match results have not been included in today's table) because at this rate in which these Mates are tipping we won’t be mentioning their names too often.

The upset of the tournament so far, as Switzerland down favourites Spain 1-0


At the conclusion of Round 1 Matches, we've got some massive names in World Football (I've got to hype us up lads) sitting at the bottom side of the ladder. While Turcynski (06 Runner-Up) and Haakie have managed to sneak away from the bottom, we've still got our pre-tournament favourites Jonovsky and Duncan plus previous former Supremos Nestor and Stylianos keeping Tony and Javier company. Keep trying Mates, there is a long way to go.

At the top Luke, Rayment, Mihail and Andy have kept a consistent tempo to match Supremo George K who is nailing scores to devastating effect, while Gav and Yoni need some of these (Scores) predictions to match their superior Game (20pts) tally.


Round 1

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

A case of the two Craigs as Foster Blows His Top...again

Cannot believe that we missed this earlier but in the aftermath of Australia's loss to Germany, Craig Foster went bonkers at Verbeek's post game response. Next to Foster is Liverpool great Craig Johnston sitting in disbelief at the ranting that unfolds. Worth a watch if you have nothing better to do - just turn off the music right side bottom corner.

Day 5: New Faces Take the Lead

Pulling their weight despite negative expectations Ji Yun Nam (North Korea) & Winston Reid (NZ)

What a fantastic day for teams which most people had written off before one of those funny designer German balls had been kicked. I don't know any North Korean but, congratulation goes to Blairos who must be completely stocked today for NZ's awesome effort.

From the tipping side of things well they've both been hovering around since the tournament kicked off, so no one can deny Luke and Rayment their moment of glory, hitting first and second respectfully.

Luke 25
Rayment 23
Gav 21
George K 21
Mihail 21
Yoni 21
NicO 20
Benny G 20
Joe S 19
Beelitz 19
Do Chi 18
Leedham 18
Andy 18
Mr Lenny Man 18
Harry Potter 17
Motto 17
Slavco 17
Turczynski 16
Jeremy 16
Blairos 15
Stylianos 13
Duncan 13
Nestor 12
Haakie 12
Jonovsky 12
Tony 11
Javier 8

Legends Getting Nasty

''What I saw of the English in their 1-1 draw against the USA had very little to do with football. It looked to me as if the English have gone backwards into the bad old days of kick and rush." FRANZ Beckenbauer


"Maradona accepted the (Argentine) job as he needed work and needed the money" Pele



Germany have a long history of success to draw on

HENRY WINTER writes:

IT IS a cultural thing. The Germans think more deeply about football, prepare more intelligently and assiduously, and have a player development and league structure that helps Joachim Loew better prepare the national team. The English system works against Fabio Capello.

It is obvious.

In the wake of England's desultory draw with the USA and Germany's vibrant thrashing of Australia, it is tempting to compare and contrast. Mitigating factors must first be acknowledged, notably the different qualities of the respective opponents and the fact that Michael Ballack's injury has worked in Germany's favour, releasing the midfield handbrake. With Bastian Schweinsteiger more central, Loew's team can flood forward.

Close of play on Friday could bring a different perspective if England thump Algeria and the Germans slip up against Serbia, but certain long-standing dynamics are at play here.

England's World Cup history looks good in highlights, especially 1966, but Germany are the team for all tournaments, their players drilled physically and mentally to peak in the summer. It is in their DNA.

German understanding of how to negotiate summer obstacles is passed down from generation to generation. ''What they may have is a belief of always being there at the end,'' reflected England defender Jamie Carragher.

Franz Beckenbauer's withering comments about England contain much truth. His view that Capello will struggle to ''change much'' slightly overlooks qualifying for 2010, which England eased through, while Germany struggled. But there is a brittleness to English players, while the inheritors of Beckenbauer's rich tradition seem psychologically stronger.

German players understand their role in the team and their confidence is embodied by centre-halves bringing the ball out of defence, echoing Beckenbauer. It is little surprise to learn that the German squad over the past decade have been one of the most academically qualified, the players bringing a chess-like quality to their football. Now at speed.

Even an average side, such as the 2002 vintage, reached the Yokohama final, despite having lost 5-1 to England in qualifying, and that German team was packed with highly intelligent individuals. It is not just German brainpower versus English lung-power. Loew's men are also incredibly fit, having profited from a winter break, so that all the old English aspirations of relying on pace and power are redundant. Athletes abound in all 32 teams here and particularly in Loew's high-speed raiders.

When Carragher, Steven Gerrard and David James sat back to watch Germany take on Australia, they remarked that not all the players were household names. ''You wouldn't say the names roll off the tongue, but then when you see them in action it's very impressive,'' Carragher said. ''The manager has done a great job. He was No. 2 to Jurgen Klinsmann and had a bit of an impact at the last World Cup.''

More than that. Loew was credited with much of the success of the team reaching the semi-finals, being more of a canny strategist than Klinsmann.

Telegraph, London

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Day 4: A Blistering 10 Points

Day 4 and we wake to read and hear the Socceroos being cut to bits by the very same media that was applauding them for what was meant to happen, victory against Germany, whose last lost during the Group phase of the World Cup came way back in 1986.

For those that have jumped on the Socceroo bandwagon (none in this competition) and believe that Australia's performance (from coach to players) was "un-ANZAC" as some egg ball moronic journalists have described it, here is a quick view of Germany's World Cup record.
  • Since the Second World War, West Germany's record reads: winners ('54), semi-finalists ('58), quarter-finalists ('62), finalists ('66), third ('70), winners ('74), second round ('78), finalists ('82), finalists ('86), winners ('90). Since reunification to Germany, they have managed: quarter-finalists ('94), quarter-finalists ('98), finalists (2002) and third (2006).

On this very same day we saw the World Champions Italy salvage a "surprising" draw and Mihail pull a blinding ten point performance to sky rocket himself to equal first.

So for what they are lacking on the football field, we have a Cypriot and a Greek leading the competition with the double Irish contingent of Gav, Joe S and Yoni (Israeli) closely behind on seventeen points. Note that all the leaders are from nations not in the World Cup, with the exception of Greece who are on route to their African Safari.


Group Hug: Claudio Moreljoins his teammates in celebration after Paraguay's Antolin Alcaraz scored the opening goal against Champions Italy (1-1). Photo: Getty Images

George K 19
Mihail 19
Joe S 17
Gav 17
Yoni 17
Do Chi 16
Luke 16
Rayment 16
Andy 16
Mr Lenny Man 16
Beelitz 15
Leedham 14
Jeremy 14
Harry Potter 13
NicO 13
Benny G 13
Motto 13
Stylianos 11
Blairos 11
Nestor 10
Haakie 10
Duncan 9
Tony 9
Turczynski 9
Jonovsky 8
Slavco 8
Javier 4

Monday, June 14, 2010

Day 3: A Thumping On All Fronts

Germany score their first goal in a 4-0 thumping of Australia

We're afraid that it has been a disastrous morning not just by the Socceroos, but by some of our Mates. Surprisingly many of you picked with your hearts in the Germany v Australia match and in the case of our overnight leader, Andy (0 pts), paid a heavy price. Motto nailed the 4-0 score line and the five points went some way of rectifying his bombing out in the other two matches. Benny G topped Day 3 (9 pts) but the ruthlessness of the defending Supremo cannot be surpassed. George Ks overnight seven pointer propels him to the lead just three days into the tournament.

On the DUELS front, here is what's happening:
  • Australia 72 - Europe 73
  • Ireland 12 - France 9
  • Argentina 4 - England 10
  • Australia 11 - NZ 8 
Overall Table
  1. George K 17
  2. Luke 14
  3. Andy 14
  4. Mr Lenny Man 14
  5. Gav 12
  6. Harry Potter 11
  7. Do Chi 11
  8. NicO 11
  9. Benny G 11
  10. Rayment 11
  11. Joe S 10
  12. Yoni 10
  13. Stylianos 9
  14. Motto 9
  15. Leedham 9
  16. Mihail 9
  17. Jeremy 9
  18. Nestor 8
  19. Beelitz 8
  20. Jonovsky 8
  21. Duncan 7
  22. Blairos 6
  23. Tony 4
  24. Haakie 4
  25. Javier 4
  26. Turczynski 4
  27. Slavco 4