Has this been a good world cup so far in your opinion guys?
I've enjoyed it. Some of the technical play has been spoilt by the talk of the ball - even if the ball itself doesn't have any problems, we saw a lot of players refraining from making long passes/ through balls because they didnt trust the flight and weight of the ball and instead made the easy pass. That's not to say the ball is at fault, it's just that when everyone talks about the ball being different, you have to expect the players to be cautious with it.
As for the matches, all the european teams bar Spain/ Germany have been disappointing. They've all been very regimented and organised but haven't been able to produce anything extra-ordinary - as can be seen by the constant shouting from the sidelines by the coaches, it seems as if the coaches want to plan everything down to the last detail and conduct the matches like war campaigns. Such tactics will get you wins but it's not the beautiful game. (Read Holland and the now knocked out Portugal.)
I still maintain that Brazil are not as good as they are beng made out to be. Their midfield trio of Gilberto/ Melo/ Elano (or Alves) is hardly the best available and if it wasn't for Kaka they wouldn't have anything special in the last third. Yes, that does mean I don't rate Robinho very highly. The only reason Brazil are getting through is because they're playing a very european game and it's hardly surprising that they haven't had as many of the neutral fans as normal.
Spain and Germany though are the teams that are really being inventive. Spain, especially, every time I have seen them have conducted themselves magnificently. With so many yellow and red cards being thrown around by the refs it is some statistic to know that Spain only have one yellow card after 4 matches. They've also played the game as it should be played, with quick, incisive passing and brilliant movement off the ball in every direction. For Germany, though Ozil is taking all the plaudits, I think Khedira has been the real star and Ballack shouldn't displace him by default at all. He's been brilliantly composed on the ball and has made the most intelligent runs into the box I've seen all tournament.
(and yes, I've watched every single game
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Topic: The Official World Cup Thread