Football in Finland Europe and the World

Ace · Post by **Ace** » Wed Mar 17, 2004 11:43 am

pierrot wrote:England won´t win, Italy is not better than they were 4 years ago, and it already wasnt enough back then (I would have loved to see France-Netherlands) and Spain, the eternal favorite who, on a regular base, disappoints when it gets serious. Next candidate?

France "should" win it, they have the best team on paper but remember the last world cup?

Never write off Germany for anything, Holland have more than enough capabilities to lift it as do Italy and the Czechs. England have no chance neither do Spain.

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pierrot · Post by **pierrot** » Wed Mar 17, 2004 11:55 am

Ace wrote: France "should" win it, they have the best team on paper but remember the last world cup?

Never write off Germany for anything, Holland have more than enough capabilities to lift it as do Italy and the Czechs. England have no chance neither do Spain.

yeah, I remember that one. A mixture of laisser-faire and arrogance brought them down, but it seems they have learnt their lesson when i see their games since then.
Germany has nothing to counter France, they lost 3:0 vs France in a friendly not long ago. Compare Henry and Trezeguet to Neuville and Klose and you will know why.
I hope Holland will finally manage to get any disputes out of the team. They are missing a clear leader or captain and have too many "superstars".

simon · Post by **simon** » Wed Mar 17, 2004 12:41 pm

Ace wrote:
pierrot wrote:England won´t win, Italy is not better than they were 4 years ago, and it already wasnt enough back then (I would have loved to see France-Netherlands) and Spain, the eternal favorite who, on a regular base, disappoints when it gets serious. Next candidate?
. England have no chance neither do Spain.

Why have England got no chance. Easy group n all that. If they play to their abilities then they compare to France.

France wont win it Im sure of that. Cant play well outside of France.

pierrot · Post by **pierrot** » Wed Mar 17, 2004 1:02 pm

simon wrote: Why have England got no chance. Easy group n all that. If they play to their abilities then they compare to France.

France wont win it Im sure of that. Cant play well outside of France.

I see. Interesting statement: France cant play well outside of France, thats why they won the euro 2000 in Netherlands and Belgium

They also won all their abroad games in the EC-qualification, but nevermind.
When has an english team ever played to their abilities in a tournament? before every competition you hear the UK-medias calling for their heroes and they are sure to win.
What did they win in the last 38 years, since that world cup at home? They didnt even win when the Ec was in England in 1996.

simon · Post by **simon** » Wed Mar 17, 2004 1:22 pm

pierrot wrote:
simon wrote: Why have England got no chance. Easy group n all that. If they play to their abilities then they compare to France.

France wont win it Im sure of that. Cant play well outside of France.
I see. Interesting statement: France cant play well outside of France, thats why they won the euro 2000 in Netherlands and Belgium
They also won all their abroad games in the EC-qualification, but nevermind.

Ahh yes that old chesnut, I wondered when you would throw that one at me

Mind you I still stand by what I said.

France were dead certs in the WC the other year but look what happened.

And they did have quality teams to qualify against huh. Who was it again, all footballing giants IRC Malta, Israel Cyprus, Sloviena. All countries steeped in football history

Dont make me laugh

pierrot · Post by **pierrot** » Wed Mar 17, 2004 1:41 pm

simon wrote: Ahh yes that old chesnut, I wondered when you would throw that one at me Mind you I still stand by what I said.

France were dead certs in the WC the other year but look what happened.

And they did have quality teams to qualify against huh. Who was it again, all footballing giants IRC Malta, Israel Cyprus, Sloviena. All countries steeped in football history Dont make me laugh

Sure, at least they didnt play a draw vs macedonia or loose vs australia (!) in a friendly.

The factthat France won all games simply shows that they also take the "smaller" teams serious.
And talking about easy groups, i dont think Liechtenstein, Macedonia or Slovakia are exactly the european football giants.

Take of your national-pride googles and look at the facts and answer me this simple question: what did the english team win since 1966 or how many times have they been in the finals (EC and WC), and you will give yourself the answer on why they wont win this EC.
There is a reason why england ranks 6th, even behind the czech republic, the netherlands or mexico in the fifa-worldranking.

Ace · Post by **Ace** » Wed Mar 17, 2004 2:13 pm

simon wrote:Why have England got no chance. Easy group n all that. If they play to their abilities then they compare to France.

OK they have a slim chance, but I just dont think they have enough quality to go all the way. Calamity James in net FFS

simon · Post by **simon** » Wed Mar 17, 2004 2:21 pm

pierrot wrote: Sure, at least they didnt play a draw vs macedonia or loose vs australia (!) in a friendly.
The factthat France won all games simply shows that they also take the "smaller" teams serious.
And talking about easy groups, i dont think Liechtenstein, Macedonia or Slovakia are exactly the european football giants.
Take of your national-pride googles and look at the facts and answer me this simple question: what did the english team win since 1966 or how many times have they been in the finals (EC and WC), and you will give yourself the answer on why they wont win this EC.
There is a reason why england ranks 6th, even behind the czech republic, the netherlands or mexico in the fifa-worldranking.

Im not really an English national. I just think that maybe this time they might come good. Just like France did when the won the WC in Paris and the EC

Dont get me wrong France have a good team but I just dont think they will win it. Also a lot depends on whos is fit and who is not. If Henry is fit then all well and good but I dont rate Trezeguet at all. I would rather Annelka than Trezeguet. I think he is way over rated. Even Saha.

The opening game between France and England will be very interesting and will show a lot to see how the two teams fair.

pierrot · Post by **pierrot** » Wed Mar 17, 2004 2:34 pm

simon wrote: Im not really an English national. I just think that maybe this time they might come good. Just like France did when the won the WC in Paris and the EC

Dont get me wrong France have a good team but I just dont think they will win it. Also a lot depends on whos is fit and who is not. If Henry is fit then all well and good but I dont rate Trezeguet at all. I would rather Annelka than Trezeguet. I think he is way over rated. Even Saha.

The opening game between France and England will be very interesting and will show a lot to see how the two teams fair.

True, the fitness is important, but that goes for every team.
Trezeguet has played constantly on a very high level in a difficult league for a striker, while Anelka misses the necessary constance to play on a high level and he has some serious character-issues, because of which he failed to become a really good player (look how often he changed the clubs).
Besides as far as I know, he retired from the french national team.
And I´m also looking for that game

Ace · Post by **Ace** » Wed Mar 17, 2004 2:39 pm

Is Wiltord completely out of the equation thesedays then? He's always done well with France in the internationals.

pierrot · Post by **pierrot** » Wed Mar 17, 2004 2:46 pm

Ace wrote:Is Wiltord completely out of the equation thesedays then? He's always done well with France in the internationals.

Wiltord is still an active player int he national team. He played all friendlies last year, but not this year´s Belgium-France one.
He also played most games in the confederation cup last summer.
His main problem is that you have plenty of very good french midfielders like Zidane, Pires, Makelele or Vieira to name just the best known ones.
I like Wiltord very much, already before his goal vs Italy in 2000

tgabawm · Post by **tgabawm** » Wed Mar 17, 2004 3:13 pm

Well, I believe some of the 'smaller' teams, like Portugal, could create a kind of surprise. I personally think that England, if it starts to play good, can go far, and why not win, but they haven't got any very good result lately. France can win if they don't take for granted that they are gonna win and concentrate on the game. France now puts quite many younger players on the field, let's see how they can handle the pressure...
BTW, Pierrot, you can't really appreciate Olympique de Marseille, this is not possible...

pierrot · Post by **pierrot** » Wed Mar 17, 2004 3:42 pm

tgabawm wrote: BTW, Pierrot, you can't really appreciate Olympique de Marseille, this is not possible...

You dont "appreciate" Marseille, you either love them or hate them

Come on, no other french club offers such a "colorful" past as Marseille, especially since Tapie

tgabawm · Post by **tgabawm** » Wed Mar 17, 2004 3:47 pm

Hmm, you are talking to a PSG fan, huge fan, PSG is in my blood... How can you! Yes they have a very colorful past, but... well, OK, they are the only French club to have won the Champion's league, and there is no greater game than OM/PSG or PSG/OM... But only when we win. But I have to admit, the French league wouldn't be the same without Marseille, but only when they're bad...

pierrot · Post by **pierrot** » Wed Mar 17, 2004 3:54 pm

tgabawm wrote:Hmm, you are talking to a PSG fan, huge fan, PSG is in my blood... How can you! Yes they have a very colorful past, but... well, OK, they are the only French club to have won the Champion's league, and there is no greater game than OM/PSG or PSG/OM... But only when we win. But I have to admit, the French league wouldn't be the same without Marseille, but only when they're bad...

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