yeah, but Zidane had a pretty mediocre Euro 2004. And it doesn't address other issues that plague France - the inability to find an efficient strike partnership, inconsistent defending and Barthez's bouts of insanity/brilliance. I don't know much about their wide players, save Malouda. Makelele should help the defense, but he I don't think he'll be as brilliant for France as he was for Chelsea
Ballack would be the best thing at United since Rooney (I know, we haven't signed much .. but bare with me ). IMO, Ballack is different from Giggs, Scholes, and Keano. Giggs, obviously, is a winger, and with the aquisition of Park, it could only add more pressure on him to fight for his spot. With Solskjaer making his comeback, Giggs will up his game definitely, and should only play on the wings. Scholes for the past few months has been an injury liability, and he does not control the pace of the game half as well as Ballack. To say Scholes should be ahead of Ballack in any squad would be an insult (IMHO). And I support Paul Scholes a whole lot. Keane is aging, and inevitably he will lose the power he had in midfield, and that's where Ballack comes in. At 10m Pounds, he could easily be a steal. He is a one man wrecking crew. He attacks, defends, flops, scores penalties, free-kicks, midfield bombs. And he has one of the best attacking headers in Football History. When I say he flops, it really is true. Not Manu Ginbobili flopping, but the man will dive at the occasional time. But what World-Class player doesn't? He passes extremely well, and scores more often than a midfielder should. He can hold midfield, and play the playmaking role. That raises the question of why other teams haven't tried getting him. For all that he does, he has a bigger ego than Keane. Definitely. The man thinks of himself higher than anybody on the pitch. Some say he is not a team player, which isn't that true, but he does opt to shoot. That being said, when he passes it is brilliant, at Bayern he's being kinda lazy as well. Sort of like T-Mac. Wasn't rated that highly when Orlando was dropping games like flies. But when inspired, it's amazing. He captains Germany, and Bayern (well atleast when Kahn is not there). And when you are Captain over Oliver Kahn in his prime (easily one of the best, if not THE best goalkeeper at that time), you have some sort of leadership ability. At 29, he is NOT aging, he is entering his prime years. He has had no major injury set-backs, and is a lot like Maldini in some sorts. At 36, Maldini is easily a top 10 defender in Itlay, captains Milan, and still has the ability to hold possesion. Ballack, even though a midfielder, can do the same. At 28, he might be aging, but when under the right management (Can't get much better than Alex Ferguson), he will blossom (IMO). If you watch when he's really trying, whenever he plays for Germany, it really is something to watch. In the Semis at WC02, Ballack had gotten his second Yellow of the tournament, meaning he wouldn't play in the final if Germany had gotten that far. However, he did end up to score the winning goal. Confederations Cup. Fighting for the Third place title, Germany vs. Mexico, tied 3-3 and Ballack wins the game on a brilliant Free-Kick. All of this is just my opinion. Man, that was long again .. you people have me ranting ..
There's no doubting his ability, as I said before, he is absolute class. And it's not just the 10 million, it's the HUGE wages you will be paying him well into his 30s. This is something that most fans tend to forget, for example we'll be saving over 10 million over the next four years by selling Phil, Ballack will be making more than double what Neville was on). IMO, it's not in our best interest to spend alot of money now, when we'll have to replace him in 3-4 years time. With the Glazers at the helm we need to be careful in the way we spend our money. You can't compare midfielders to defenders. World class defenders often play into the late 30s, it just doesn't happen that way with midfielders. Ballack has already reached his peak, and as with almost all midfielders will begin to decline once he hits 30, it happens to the best of them. We don't need a short term replacement for Keano, who is likely playing his final season at United. We need someone who can take over and play with Rooney and Ronaldo for years to come, someone whose best days are in front of him, not behind.
Oh no... I just read that Kuja is joining the team as a defenseman. Watch out for him; he's a troublemaker.
I can't believe you once gave me crap for saying supposed stupid things like T-Ho, Friedl and Keller are world class keepers and yet you show complete ignorance when it comes to WC history. Brasil has won in Europe. In 1958 in Sweden. They beat the Swedes 5 to 2 in Stockholm!! Get a clue and a soccer almanac while you're spouting off like a know it all. Germany are very good but their goalkeeping situation is still up in the air and they will be under immense pressure to win (in fact they already are). Brasil has been to the last three WC finals and there is very little doubt that they will make it to a fourth with the supreme talent they have. Brasil 2 - Germany 1. If you want to put your euros (or your sig) were your mouth is, let me know. Until then why don't you brush up on the history of the WC so you don't get use to spreading false information on the internet. I hope the USA plays germany in the first round. That's all I want is for the US to play germany and whip the crap out of them.
SJC. You have much confidence in your German team. I like that. But you go way beyond extremes here! I really doubt that Germany will do well, although that always tends to be the case with predictions regarding Germany. I guess I should give them the benefit of the doubt. I will definitely cheer you on if you play the USA though. MadMax, I'm still scared of Ireland ever since we got knocked out of the world cup by them in 2001.
http://www.soccertv.com/ireland.cfm It seems like it will be shown live on Setanta closed circuit chanel and rebroadcast on their DirecTV chanel the following Sunday. To see it live you would have to find a sports bar or some place willing to show the game. Big John's Bar would probably be the best bet, I've never been there but they seem to show a lot of international soccer.
Huh? Does Jürgen Klinsmann at Tottenham Hotspurs ring a bell...or Günter Netzer and others at Real Madrid...or Bernd Schuster at Barca and Real...Matthäus and Brehme at Inter...and on...and on...and on...even Hamann just contributed bigtime to Liverpool winning the Champions League. To answer the question, I think Ballack will stay with the best team in the world - FC Bayern. Why would he go to an inferior team...no way.
cool. if i were a HUGE soccer fan i probably could have been able to figure that out. i'm still new to the game. but my son starts playing next month
You are correct. I was mistaken on that. No need to get your mouth foaming, you are right. Calm down . I think it was the only time a team from outside Europe won the world cup in Europe, though. On the other hand, I don't think a European team has ever won it outside Europe. Anyway, I am just talking up my team here, so don't mind me .
Stack, just wondering if you can tell me more about Ali Karimi...I was in the stadium (Allianz-Arena in Munich, just amazing) when he made his debut for Bayern last Friday, and for the first time, I feel that an Iranian guy can make a breakthrough at Bayern (we had Ali Daei and Vahid Hashemian before, both nice guys and good football players, but they did not quite make it to being really successful here). This guy looks like he has real skills, and he seems to be fast, and not only that, I think he is actually making a conscious effort to adapt to the more physical style in the Bundesliga...for some reason, he seems to be really determined. I think he can be a very good addition for Bayern, even though Bayern's midfield is extremely crowded with Ballack, Ze Roberto, Deisler, Schweinsteiger (did anyone see this guy at the Confed Cup?!), Scholl, Demichelis, Hargreaves, Jeremies, etc... I found a nice interview with Ali Karimi on the FIFA website: http://www.fifa.com/en/comp/index/0,2442,109035,00.html?comp=CWC&year=2005&articleid=109035
Karimi is a huge talent. Honestly from watching all the National games and stuff with all the players we have had i would have to say hands down he is the best talent to come out of Iran in a while. He surpasses the talent of Daei, Heshaminian and Azizi. The guy is amazing with the ball and isn't afraid of contact or hard play. He will definently fair a bit better then the other two and should rise pretty quickly if he is given a chance. He definently has break away speed and has amazing control with the ball. Smart player all around. I would definently say he has the smarts of Daei and the speed of Azizi rolled into one. I am not sure how much he is going to get to play in Bayern unless he really shows them his ability (which i think he will) but when he was playing in Emirates and for the National Team he was just unstopable. He is one of those players that really commands attention and creates havoc on the pitch and that in turn gives the rest of the guys on the team lanes to run in and score at ease. I am hoping he will get a lot of time and slowly show what he can do. I honestly can say you will be happy with his signing and have an enormous talent. If you watched any of the Asia Cup last year and the national games this year he will have definently showed you some stuff to look forward to.
