Nope, it's an effective model obviously. I'm not even getting into Barcelona in this thread because it's not the place so I'll focus on Spain.

They had to come through penalty shootouts in both of their Euro wins after being held without a goal for 120 minutes. Same thing as England just lost a shootout which has nothing to do with skill or style of play.

In their World Cup win again they went about 115 min. without scoring a single goal and had Robben been able to score on one of two 1 v. 1's with the keeper or Puyol been sent off as he rightfully should have been they wouldn't have won that either.

This after winning a gritty semi 1-0 on a late header off a corner from their center back, how English of them.

This is with their best generation of players ever and the major bonus that most of the national team plays together at the same club which is huge.

Now I'm not saying they didn't deserve those titles so don't freak out (like I know some will do). However, I'm saying the margins between winning and losing in soccer are smaller than any other sport and England's model has as good a chance to be effective as any other. The only time England really blew it in recent years is not qualifying for Euro 08 which really is inexcusable. Every recent tournament they have qualified for they have advanced to the knockout stages and generally given a good account of themselves, results wise, outside the 2nd half of a tainted Germany game in South Africa.

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Are Germany's current young talents in the same mold as past physical players like Gerd Müller and Franz Beckenbauer?

Nope and they also haven't won anything like those guys did either.

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Is Cristiano Ronaldo the same type of winger for Real Madrid as Steve McManaman?

What does this have to do with anything? You are comparing the 2nd best player in the world to an average English international.

This post was edited on 12/21/12 at 3:44 pm

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Posted by WarSlamEagle

Manchester United Fan

Member since Sep 2011

24611 posts

Posted on 12/21/12 at 3:45 pm to RandySavage

quote:
RandySavage

Those stats show that Italy dominated the match, but wasn't able to score.

They dominated possession.
They dominated shot count.
They dominated shots on goal.

Italy was clearly the better team for 120 minutes and was far more likely to break the deadlock. How hard is that to get?

This post was edited on 12/21/12 at 3:48 pm

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Posted by thenry712

Zasullia, Ukraine

Member since Nov 2008

15795 posts

Posted on 12/21/12 at 4:21 pm to RandySavage

You basically just said that the margin of victory in soccer is smaller than every other sport, yet you picked and chose certain incidents from other games without mentioning countless others. Statistics tell stories from games when the scoreline just tells you the end result.

In that 2010 Final do you not remember a certain Nigel De Jong kung-fu kick to Xabi Alonso's chest? An incident the referee later admitted should have been a red card. Do you not remember Iker Casillas making a slight touch off his heel to prevent Robben from scoring? What about Sketlenburg denying Sergio Ramos an early goal? What about Ramos missing an open header late? Or Jesus Navas denied by Heitenga?

Games are 90 minute narratives. The entire narrative doesn't come down to one incident. This is where stats tell the tale. Each stat represents an on field plot occurrence in the overall narrative.

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This after winning a gritty semi 1-0 on a late header off a corner from their center back, how English of them.

As for the semifinal against Germany, Spain's persistant use of the short corner allowed them to score late on a direct corner. Germany sent players to defend close to the ball, and it left Puyol open in the box. How very Spanish of them.

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This is much more legend than fact.

See what guys like Pele, Zidane, Xavi and Guardiola say about Scholes

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Every recent tournament they have qualified for they have advanced to the knockout stages and generally given a good account of themselves, results wise, outside the 2nd half of a tainted Germany game in South Africa.

I wouldn't say good account of themselves. England performs average in group play and the poor in knockout rounds. In four knockout stage games (accounting for 420 minutes of play) in major tournaments since 2006, England have scored 2 goals. Unless Sven, Capello and Hodgson each set the objective to play to penalties at kickoff, that's an abysmal return.

This post was edited on 12/21/12 at 4:23 pm

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