Soccer really sucks, doesn't it?

[MikeH]

Ivory Coast vs Portugal, in the group of death.

[MikeH]

Because when the North Koreans come last they all get shot.

[Kitschum]

I would like to see refs enforcing the rule about simulation though. The referee in the Germany game booked Ozil for diving, and a bit later he didn't dive! Great!

I agree and personally I thought Özil's was much worse than what De Rossi did. In De Rossi's case there was clearly contact while I didn't see any on Özil.

I haven't found a good clip of Özil's dive though, but here's the De Rossi incident in more detail:








Clearly he gets clipped on the left foot, which can be really painful with soccer shoes with hard cleats. He might be exaggerating to get the attention of the referee, but to me that's not as bad as faking something out of the blue. He is also not trying to get a penalty kick, because he is outside the area.

[Wezil]

Because when the North Koreans come last they all get shot.

The North Koreans are bound to suffer a questionable defeat on Tuesday due to unforeseeable circumstances and unbelievably bad luck — but their exploits will shine for all ages thanks to their valiant hearts, which beat in tune with the Dear Leader’s.

Either that or the North Korean media won’t report at all on the game against perennial World Cup favourite Brazil, say observers.

“All of the media is censored in North Korea, so a serious defeat is not going to be taken very kindly,” said Erich Weingartner, who distributed food aid from Pyongyang in the late 1990s, becoming the first Canadian to achieve resident status in North Korea.

A serious defeat is virtually guaranteed. According to the latest FIFA rankings, North Korea is ranked 105th — the lowest of any team in the World Cup. Canada, as a point of comparison, is 63rd. Brazil is first.

The numbers spell trouble for the North Korean mother party, tasked since the country drew this year’s Group of Death with explaining or erasing two likely drubbings at the feet of Brazil and Portugal to a populace used to hearing only about its superiority.

Experts were split on Monday as to exactly what tack the state would take.

“I would think it won’t be reported at all,” said Mr. Weingartner, who edits The CanKor Report, a journal focusing on North Korean issues and policy. “I think they’ll wait to see if they do any better against some other team. Except for the few North Koreans who somehow have access to South Korean media, no one will know the difference.”

Even the Ivory Coast, the group’s final member, is a heavy favourite to beat North Korea. And there is another problem, said Donald Rickerd, associate director of York University’s Asian Business and Management program. Kim Jong-Il’s propaganda machine has backed itself into a corner, having already championed the team to the point of no return.

“The team left with great fanfare — the ceremony at the airport and so forth — so [if their games aren’t reported] people will be saying to themselves, ‘What happened? Did the team just disappear?’ ”

Foreign affairs consultant Hartmuth Kroll, meanwhile, agreed today’s game will be reported — to an extent.

“It will be reported that they competed at the very highest level and did very well by citing the Dear Leader’s thoughts and only through the worst possible luck did they fail to win, probably without mentioning the score,” said Mr. Kroll, a former diplomat who led Canada’s relations with the Korean Peninsula.

In the event of victory, theoretically possible when the team faces the 27th ranked Ivory Coast on June 25, the experts agreed the state-run media would be in a frenzy

“Exultation,” said Mr. Kroll. “And all credit would go to the Dear Leader.”

North Korea’s only previous berth in the World Cup, which in 1966 produced a surprise win against Italy en route to the quarter finals, is a touchstone moment in the country’s sporting history.

International sporting events are never broadcast live in North Korea, for two reasons: the probability of a loss, which challenges the state’s narrative of blanket North Korean superiority, and the possibility of chants or signs that don’t flatter Kim Jong-Il.

There is also the matter of South Korea’s refusal to share its exclusive Korean Peninsula broadcast rights, a practice it abandoned this year after sharing in 2006. Already, reports are circulating state-run North Korea Central Broadcasting aired a bootleg replay of the tournament’s opening match.

http://news.nationalpost.com/2010/06/15/world-cup-diary-north-koreas-losses-all-just-the-worst-possible-luck/

[MikeH]

Ivory Coast are a very good side, better than their FIFA ranking and will rape them.

[Wezil]

Hope so.

I'm taking my soccer entertainment where I can find it.

[Ming]

No wonder Ming insults you.

Yep... he is well known for using insults instead of thought, reason or logic. He's just a complete asshat who insults everybody except for a few of his butt buddies. So he's fair game to insult back... All you have to do is disagree with him, and he starts with the insults, because he usually can't defend his silly ass arguments any other way.

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

In case anyone was watching the Ivory Coast v Portugal match, I apologise unreservedly.

I realise I was in no way responsible for it, but it was so irredeemably awful some bugger's got to apologise for it.

[Asher]

Let me guess...yet another ****ing tie?

[Drake Tungsten]

So, was Ivory Coast v Portugal "two proper teams playing proper football", or was it "irredeemably awful"? Or am I just exposing my American ignorance of the fact that proper football is irredeemably awful?

[MikeH]

I thought it started well, high tempo end to end and they were kicking the crap out of Ronaldo which makes any game a highlight. But it bogged down as the game went on. Too much niggle and fouling.

Teams just don't want to lose their first game.

[BeBMan]

At least Australia had the balls to lose properly

[Drake Tungsten]

I thought it started well, high tempo end to end and they were kicking the crap out of Ronaldo which makes any game a highlight.

Why do you let that tosser get away with calling himself just "Ronaldo", anyway? Ronaldo is a fat Brazilian.

[Kitschum]

I agree and personally I thought Özil's was much worse than what De Rossi did. In De Rossi's case there was clearly contact while I didn't see any on Özil.

I haven't found a good clip of Özil's dive

Quoting myself here because I went and did it myself. YouTube wouldn't take it for some reason so I had to find another host.

[BeBMan]

I'm wondering if North Korea has threatened anyone with war in case of a defeat in SA.