Asian Cup 2007

[Dirko]

Yeah I rate Doddsy, he will be even better with the ball coming through the midfield quickly via Sarkies, Seeley, Cassio et al, instead of getting held up by the old men in Veart and Aloisi...
He can run, get the ball out to him and watch him go...needs to control his first touch a bit better though...

[redden whites]

On paper looks like a bloody good line up doesn't it .Good mix of young legs , still a few old heads down back , a bit of flair in the middle and they surely will be hungry and motivated in the hope of burying a few ghosts of the past .Not having to live up to the crap spoken before the game in the media by an attention seeker of a coach will be a huge bonus as well.

[Dirko]

On paper looks like a bloody good line up doesn't it .Good mix of young legs , still a few old heads down back , a bit of flair in the middle and they surely will be hungry and motivated in the hope of burying a few ghosts of the past .Not having to live up to the crap spoken before the game in the media by an attention seeker of a coach will be a huge bonus as well.

AMEN !!

[Dirko]

IRAQ ARE THROUGH...
The Iraqi's have knocked out the Koreans in a penalty shootout 4-3...
They are into the final to play either Japan or Saudia Arabia....

WHAT A HUGE RESULT FOR IRAQ.....

To think if Australia were good enough this is the path that we may have taken...

[MightyEagles]

Iraq v Saudi Arabia in the Final.

[Dirko]

Iraq v Saudi Arabia in the Final.

What a final...only could've been bettered if Australia was there
I though a Iran v Iraq final would've been a cracker, but this would
be right up there...

Iraq ranked 84 in the World vs Saudi Arabia ranked 62.

On rankings the Saudis should win. The Saudis have found the net 12 times compared to
the Iraqi's with 6. The Saudi's have conceded 5, the Iraqi's 2.
The Saudi's have scored in EVERY game whilst the Iraqi's have been held goaless twice...

My prediction...Saudi Arabia 2 Iraq 0.

*************************************************************************

The third place game is between traditional rivals Japan & Korea Republic...

Japan to win 2 nil...

[johntheclaret]

Just playing devils advocate here but..............................does anyone else think it is strange that Iraq have made it through to the finals, just when the counrty needs something to unite it.

News over here is that the country was united in it's celebrations after the win over Japan. Shi'ites, Sheeahs (spelling) and Kurds all put aside their sectarian differences celebrated together.

Accepted, the insurgents (who ever they are) bombed a group of revellers enjoying the moment but the fact is that all three main sects were celebrating together.

My money would be on an Iraqi cup win.

[silicone skyline]

Good point JTC, wonder what the odds are on Iraqi victory.
I also wonder what the odds are that the Iraqi goalkeeper will make it through a match without writhing on the ground in pain after minimal to no contact was made.
It's no wonder i hate the game sometimes.
How come it's just a given that they can fake an injury all the time?
Why can't the ref give some bastard a yellow card, just walk over and go "You're f...ing faking you f..ker!"

[Dirko]

Good point JTC, wonder what the odds are on Iraqi victory.
I also wonder what the odds are that the Iraqi goalkeeper will make it through a match without writhing on the ground in pain after minimal to no contact was made.
It's no wonder i hate the game sometimes.
How come it's just a given that they can fake an injury all the time?
Why can't the ref give some bastard a yellow card, just walk over and go "You're f...ing faking you f..ker!"

SS, the key here is the REF...There seems to be a difference in the refereeing between Asia and say Europe, in what they can get away with.
The Aussies got alot of yellows from arguing with the ref re crappy petulant behaviour by some of the opposition, where in Europe where the Aussies play, this sort of stuff is alot less common especially in the EPL.

FIFA have conducted a drive to punish divers etc, but as far as I am aware, have done nothing re timewasting D##KHEADS laying on the ground as if they have been shot. Drives me nuts, but that is the way the game is played in Asia, and unless Australia wise up to it we will always have card trouble from arguing etc etc...

It happended in the ACL too, when Adelaide played Shandong, the Chinese were writhing around all over the shop as if they had, had their achilles snapped...PISSED off the crowd and PISSED off the United players, but that is their way...

No different to other codes, just other codes waste time in other manners. i.e Aussies Rules they play kick backward, chip it crap, Rugby league they hold the tackle and don't allow the player up etc

[silicone skyline]

No different to other codes, just other codes waste time in other manners. i.e Aussies Rules they play kick backward, chip it crap, Rugby league they hold the tackle and don't allow the player up etc

I agree with most of the above except the final quote.
Kicking backwards isn’t faking, it’s still playing the game. I would prefer that to making runners run out on the ground and carry a player off just for him to run back on the ground 30 seconds later.

[Dirko]

Kicking backwards isn’t faking, it’s still playing the game. I would prefer that to making runners run out on the ground and carry a player off just for him to run back on the ground 30 seconds later.

That is true, but unfortunately unless the Refs come down on it, faking is part of the game, a stupid turgid waste of time but still a timewasting commodity that Football does not need...

[johntheclaret]

Good point JTC, wonder what the odds are on Iraqi victory.
I also wonder what the odds are that the Iraqi goalkeeper will make it through a match without writhing on the ground in pain after minimal to no contact was made.
It's no wonder i hate the game sometimes.
How come it's just a given that they can fake an injury all the time?
Why can't the ref give some bastard a yellow card, just walk over and go "You're f...ing faking you f..ker!"

SS, the key here is the REF...There seems to be a difference in the refereeing between Asia and say Europe, in what they can get away with.
The Aussies got alot of yellows from arguing with the ref re crappy petulant behaviour by some of the opposition, where in Europe where the Aussies play, this sort of stuff is alot less common especially in the EPL.

FIFA have conducted a drive to punish divers etc, but as far as I am aware, have done nothing re timewasting D##KHEADS laying on the ground as if they have been shot. Drives me nuts, but that is the way the game is played in Asia, and unless Australia wise up to it we will always have card trouble from arguing etc etc...

It happended in the ACL too, when Adelaide played Shandong, the Chinese were writhing around all over the shop as if they had, had their achilles snapped...PISSED off the crowd and PISSED off the United players, but that is their way...

No different to other codes, just other codes waste time in other manners. i.e Aussies Rules they play kick backward, chip it crap, Rugby league they hold the tackle and don't allow the player up etc

I think it depends at what level you play in the UK. The EPL is a disgrace and pisses me off no end, sometimes to the point when I just switch off. Chelski is probably the worst offenders of all. It is more noticeable with the European players, and that is evident in the Spanish, Italian and Greek leagues.
CCC is less prone to these sorts of shenanigans although it is now creeping in more and more.

I perfer the Aussie Rules method of dealing with time wasting. Take the control away from the ref, and stop the clock when the ball in not actually in play.
I also like how the umps in Aussie Rules have more respect for their authority from the players. any backchat brings a 50 metre penalty. Bring that into the EPL too.

We get detailed stats on every EPL game as it happens over here and more often than not play time is only around 20 minutes per half, and the added time is rarely more than around 3 or 4 minutes. So for a 46 minute game you shell out upto $200. hows that for value for money

[Dirko]

Third place playoff Asian Cup

Japan vs Korea Republic

Korea won 6-5 in a penalty shootout...

0 all after regulation time & extra time.

This was the third straight game that the Koreans had played in a shootout (won 2 lost 1).
This was also the second for the Japanese.

Now onto the final...C'MON IRAQ !!

[Dirko]

IRAQ...CHAMPIONS OF ASIA

Defeated Saudi Arabia 1- 0 with a headed goal to Younis Mahmoud in the 71 st minute..

Congratulations to the Iraqis...

The second tournament in a row where Australia have lost to the eventual champion

[silicone skyline]

Would you rather Iraq win or lose.
Celebrations again killed people with gun fire after the win.
If they lost they would have been burning effigies instead.
If you win, people die, if you lose, they threaten to kill you, what a great sporting nation.
Take your sports seriously?