Pool Standings: Round 5 - The Finals

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The cup has been raised, and the champions celebrate their spoils!

Hearty congratulations go to Night Rider for an epic battle of wits and stamina that saw him ride a pool-high 26 correct picks to the century mark. The team stuck in second place made a powerful last-minute move to climb to the top of the tables and secure victory. Claret & Blue, the front-runner for so long, chose to live and die with his England pick. Tonight we honor and respect the "win or go home" play that, sadly, saw him go home.

In his stead Real Marin re-emerged as prize winners; a fervent support of La Furia Roja carried them into the winner's circle. And the no longer Clueless in Denver outsmarted an experienced stable of soccer buffs and swiped an England jersey for her wardrobe.

It was great fun, and we salute the Spaniards for their difficult double, capturing consecutive Euro and World Cup hardware. But the real winners were the young Haitian footballers who so greatly need a reason to play. We look forward to many great tournaments to come, and we'll hope jv is re-energized for another blogscapade during next season's Champions League. Let's all take a moment to recognize all of the hard work he and lizzie put in to making this such a special session of the Friends Pool. I'm blowing my vuvuzela right now. Hear it?

See you next time!

¡¡Campeones Del Mundo!!

Spain lifts its first ever World Cup.

Netherlands 0-1 Spain
In a hyper-tense and chippy final Spain produced the one decisive move in extra time that was needed to secure the World Cup. Andres Iniesta capped off a great tournament by controlling and burying a nifty pass from Cesc Fabregas on the right side of the box. The goal handed Spain its first ever World Cup title and, having already won Euro 2008, cemented its place in the history books. It was a tightly, and many would say brutally contested match, but aside from the most die-hard Dutch fans, it is widely agreed that the best side won.

As the most important single sporting event in the world, with over 700 million viewers, the match is being picked over with a fine-toothed comb. With a record 15 yellow cards there is universal agreement that the final was nothing close to beautiful and that Dutch holding midfielder (and noted hatchet man) Nigel De Jong should have been sent off in the first half for his outrageous kung-fu kick spikes-up into the chest of Xabi Alonso. Van Bommel also could have been sent off in the first half for a nasty tackle on Iniesta. It is suggested that referee Howard Webb didn't want to have undue influence on the result by sending someone off that early, and to be fair, the Dutch made it very difficult for him. The Spanish are also being cited for diving, which certainly happened but was a natural consequence of Holland's dirty tactics. One only need look at the Spain v. Germany semifinal to know that there's a different and much more noble way to play a WC match.

As for those who say Spain's tiki-taka possession game of short passes has become tiresome to watch, I say this is because, after two years of international dominance, every one of their opponents is shifting into a highly defensive mode. No one is even attempting to play with them lest they be sliced and diced in the back. The only team to take an offensive approach to Spain in the WC was Chile and they ended up losing 2-0... and it could've been more. Spain's prowess is no longer a surprise and the result is these suffocating matches. In my eyes this does nothing to take away from their offensive brilliance and defensively they didn't allow a goal in the seven matches following their 1-0 loss to the Swiss. To those who say Germany are more exciting to watch because of the goals, I say maybe, but I'd like to see how many goals they would score if teams played them as defensively as the opposition played Spain. Remember that Germany lost 1-0 to Serbia.

Regardless, big time congratulations to Spain and their long suffering fans! They absolutely deserve to be world champs for the next four years. With the emergence of Germany and the newly hardened Dutch, Euro 2012 promises to be another great tournament... but until then...

¡Viva Espana!

Germany takes Third

Germany's Tomas Müller finishes his first World Cup brilliantly.

Uruguay 2-3 Germany
True to its history, the Consolation (or Third Place) Match was a refreshingly wide-open and high scoring affair. The match has arguably the least amount of pressure on it of all the WC matches and the result was a much more free-flowing football display. Young German phenom Thomas Müller showed just how much Germany missed him against Spain by opening the scoring. Uruguayan captain Diego Forlan finished his world class WC performance with another amazing strike. Forlan just missed an opportunity to equalize on the last action of the game when his free kick rattled off the crossbar. Congrats to Germany and Uruguay as they both provided some of the most memorable footballing moments of the tournament!

Holland v. Spain... All in the Family?

Holland's most famous footballer, Johan Cruyff, at FC Barcelona

While the most important story line of today's final is that neither side have won a World Cup, a compelling side story is that, in terms of the football family tree, this year's edition of Spain is a direct descendant of the widely-admired attacking sides of 1970's Holland.

In the late 60's at the famous Amsterdamn club Ajax, coach Rinus Michels and budding superstar Johan Cruyff developed the 'Total Football' style of play they revealed to the world in the form of the much celebrated Holland side of 1974. Leaving Ajax, they both migrated this system to FC Barcelona as coach and player in the 70's and Cruyff further cemented it as the club style as coach of the Barca 'Dream Team' sides of 1988-96. Since then Barcelona have had two other Dutch coaches (Louis van Gaal and Frank Rijkaard) and their current coach, Pep Guardiola was the captain of Cruyff's Dream Teams. In a very real way, Barcelona have carried on and evolved Dutch Total Football into the 21st century. Add to this that of the starting XI of today's Spain seven play club football at Barcelona and you will see why Spain are widely considered to play more Dutch style than the Dutch.

Regardless of who wins there will be irony. If Holland wins: the tactical style of Michels and Cruyff will for a third time falter at the final hurdle but this time against their motherland. If Spain wins: Holland will have lost to a country who beat them with the tactics that put Dutch football on the map.

And if you're still trying to figure out who plays more Dutch, Spain or Holland, you need not go further than Johann Cruyff himself. When asked who he tips to win today's final he explained that in Spain he "sees the most of me" and that the Spanish play the better brand of football. I guess football bloodlines can run deeper than actual bloodlines when it comes to one's legacy.

Searching for Something

Did anyone else do a Google search this morning?

Haiti Hearts the World Cup

Ever-resourceful Haitians find a way to follow their beloved Brazil during WC 2010

One of the best sideshows of WC 2010 has been the passion it stirs in fans. For utter exuberance, it's hard to rival Haitians -- a country whose team hasn't qualified for the tournament in 36 years. All of Haiti, it seems, roots for the Seleção, thanks to a long-standing friendship between the countries and Brazil's critical role in peace-keeping efforts. Check out this video from 2004, when the Brazilian national team played a "Game for Peace" organized by the Brazil-led UN mission in Port-au-Prince when the country was torn in pieces over the Aristide coup. Does soccer diplomacy get any better?

As the country struggles to rebuild after the devastating earthquake, foutbòl has taken on even greater meaning. The WC games have been broadcast live on every TV channel and the UN set up 17 large-screen TVs in tent camps and public areas. Not surprisingly, Brazil was the first country to donate to the relief effort.

Happily, half the pool's spoils are headed to L'Athletique D'Haiti, a sports and education program that works with 1,500 youth and their families in the Cité de Soleil slum of Port-au-Prince. In addition to soccer training, the students receive meals and a basic education. The program was founded by Boby Duval, a former soccer star, political prisoner and human rights activist. After the earthquake, more than 2,000 people took refuge in tents on LADH's fields.

Thanks, WC 2010 Poolers, for your contributions. Win or lose, we're all contributing in a small way to the rebuilding efforts and the joy of fellow soccer fans in Haiti.

Round 5: Consolation Match (Sat. 7/10/10, 11:30AM PT)

Uruguay

v.

Germany

Round 5: Final (Sun. 7/11/10, 11:30AM PT)

Netherlands

v.

Spain

Pool Standings: Round 4 - Semifinals

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Only two picks this time around, but the Netherlands were a near unanimous winner; little changed in the first game. But the Spain/Germany tussle proved to be a real table-turner. Ten teams selected the Spaniards; ten teams favored the German boys (one team just couldn't decide). The four teams at the head of the standings went Spain...which meant a skyrocket ride to new heights, or a close little crew of about ten teams awaiting the final two games.

The young Germans were finally undone, though, and the Claret & Blue, Night Rider and Clueless in Denver still top the charts with 80-plus points each. Nine other teams are hanging around, looking up from the 70's and hoping for some poor picks from the leaders. We shall see.

The final will be worth a whopping eight points; the consolation carries five. Don't count out Cantona...Cosmos...or KC/DC...there's still much action ahead.

Good luck to all.

Firsts all around. For Africa, Netherlands or Spain. Well played all!

Semifinals Results: Day 2

Carles Puyol wills in the winner.

Germany 0-1 Spain
It was a match played as cleanly as you'll ever see. There were hardly any late or hard tackles, there was no diving, there were no elbows or slaps to the face, no shouting at the refs. Just two sides with immense talent and respect -- both for each other and the game.

Spain's precision possession game largely kept Germany at bay, but ultimately it was an act of shear will power -- a leaping header from Carles Puyol on a corner -- that decided it. As C&B has commented, this was really the WC Final. The Dutch may end up winning the tournament, but for those who've watched the bulk of the matches the high-scoring Germans and the one-touch maestro Spaniards have clearly been the best two sides in South Africa.

Semifinals Results: Day 1

Dutch captain Giovanni Van Bronckhorst unleashes an absolute scorcher to open the scoring.

Uruguay 2-3 Netherlands
Lady Luck continues to show up in oranje as the Dutch benefit from a borderline offside goal and hang on to beat a resilient Uruguay. Despite missing their potent second striker Luis Suarez, captain Nicolas Lodeiro, and fullback Jorge Fucile, the Uruguayans gave Holland everything they could handle. Forlan turned in another brilliant performance. Again the Netherlands do just enough to win and advance to the WC Final for the first time since 1978. They are 6-0-0 in the tournament yet one gets a sense they will have to raise their game if they're to beat Spain or Germany to lift the cup.

Third Prize

Thanks to a generous donation from Night Rider, third prize will be this sweet brand new 2007-09 England Home shirt, size L. The three lions will roar again!

Round 4: Semifinal (Tue. 7/06/10, 11:30 PT)

Uruguay

v.

Netherlands

Round 4: Semifinal (Wed. 7/7/10, 11:30 PT)

Germany

v.

Spain

Pool Standings: Round 3 - The Semifinals

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This round belonged to the Claret & Blue, whose four correct picks drove him into sole possession of first place in the standings. NewYorkCosmos also had a solid 4-for-4 round and made a nice move up the table. They and Crown City FC were the only teams to have gained all 16 points. Most teams lost points on either Brazil or Argentina, and 10 teams selected both to advance.

Now only the Claret & Blue and Night Rider stand above the 70-point mark, but nine other teams are holding steady near the top with between 64 and 68 points. And with semifinal matches worth six points apiece, anything can happen.

Hang on to your hoeds...we're down to the final four!

Good luck to all.

Quarterfinals Results: Day 2

Maravilla!

Paraguay 0-1 Spain
In a rollercoaster ride that saw two consecutive missed penalties, Spain break through the stingy Paraguay defense and hang on for a late game winner.

Germany look awfully good - will this be a fourth?

Quarterfinals Results: Day 2

Das Onslaught!

Argentina 0-4 Germany
So much for the much anticipated matchup of football giants. The Germans make it look easy again with their lightning quick counter attack. Argentina can't string anything together and are quite simply outclassed in every way by Die Mannschaft.Germany scores 4 goals for the third time in WC2010.

Grudge Match

Argentina attacks Germany after losing the penalty shootout in 2006.

There's a long and contentious history between these two soccer powers. They played each other for the title in 1986 and 1990 (which they split). And the infamous fight after penalties in the last WC is still fresh in the players' minds. The smack talk has been going back and forth leading up to this match. Should be a cracker.

Uruguay wins in 1930, 1950 - 2010?

Quarterfinals Results: Day 1

You couldn't script it worse for Ghana.

Uruguay 1-1 Ghana (4-2 penalties)
With a chance to win it on a penalty at the very end of extra time, Asamoah Gyan bangs it off the crossbar. The Black Stars proceed to miss two penalties in the shootout and Uruguay goes through. Heartbreak in Africa.

The Oranje!!!

Quarterfinals Results: Day 1

SHOCKER: Julio Cesar's mishandling of a Wesley Sneidjer cross leads to an own goal that hands the momentum decisively to the Dutch.

Netherlands 2-1 Brazil

WC2010 Ear Worms

Are you wavin' flag?

Just killing some time between matches and I gotta say I'm finding the music of the World Cup pretty dang catchy. The big two have gotta be Knaan's "Wavin' Flag" and of course, the official song of the WC, Shakira's "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)".

Wavin' Flag by Somali-Canadian K'naan went from album single, to Canadian Haitian relief song, to Coca-Cola's World Cup jingle. If you believe the marketing it's topped the charts in 11 countries. It's got bilingual versions in 15 languages. Check out the Arab version here. K'naan, I can't get your tune out of my head. It's like the perfect afro-reggae-pop (insert-your-cause-here) anthem.

And what's not to like about Shakira? As of this writing the english version of Waka Waka has 56 million views on the YouTubes. The spanish video's even better... love all the Barça player cameos. Apparently she texts with Messi.

How bout ESPN's WC theme music (4:20 in this clip... and no, I'm not talking about U2) Not sure if it's the shear repetition or because I associate it with watching matches but I'm diggin it. Apparently other people are too. Check out a little behind the scenes on it's creation here.

Yeah... how long til the Netherlands v. Brazil kickoff?

Round 3: Quarterfinals (Fri. 7/2/10, 7am PT)

Netherlands

v.

Brazil

Round 3: Quarterfinals (Fri. 7/2/10, 11:30am PT)

Uruguay

v.

Ghana

Round 3: Quarterfinals (Sat. 7/3/10, 7am PT)

Argentina

v.

Germany

Round 3: Quarterfinals (Sat. 7/3/10, 11:30am PT)

Paraguay

v.

Spain

Pool Standings: Round 2 - Round of 16

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The Round of 16 is complete, and there has been some movement in the standings. Kudos to Canarinhos, the only pool participants to correctly pick all eight matches for a total of 16 points. Five teams picked up an additional 14 points; four teams found 12.

Night Rider has taken sole possession of the lead as Real Marin dropped off slightly. Clueless in Denver appears much less clueless, sneaking into third place on seven correct selections. Together they are the only three teams who have achieved the 60-point threshhold.

The Quarterfinals begin on Friday. It is important that you all get your picks in on time. Correct picks now increase to 4 points per match, so there is greater ground to be gained and more to lose. We've already seen two teams lose out on points as a result of tardy posting, and that's not fun for anyone.

Lastly, if any teams have not yet sent in the pool fees...please send your payment to jv as soon as possible. Let's get that cash to the Haitian kiddies as soon as possible. C'mon now!

Good luck to all!

Round of 16 Results: Day 4

David Villa is lethal in front of the net for Spain.

Paraguay 0-0 Japan (5-3 penalties)
Both teams play tentatively, even fearfully, in a scoreless snoozer. Heartbreak for the Blue Samarai's Yuichi Komano as his penalty miss gifts Paraguay the win.

Spain 1-0 Portugal
A high energy match in which Spain unsurprisingly dominates possession with their master passing. The Portuguese defense is finally unlocked with a Xavi to Iniesta sequence beautifully finished by David Villa.

Round of 16 Results: Day 3

It's all laughs for Robinho and Luis Fabiano as they celebrate Brazil's third goal against an over-matched Chile.

Netherlands 2-1 Slovakia
Yet another solid but un-stylish win for the Dutch. Robben and Sneijder impress, but questions remain: how will the defense react when tested for real, does the offense have another gear we haven't seen yet? They're going to need all that and more if they're to get past the blazing Brazilians.


Brazil 3-0 Chile
Brazil show just how balanced they are with their defense-first mentality and deft counter attack. Brazil just absorb, absorb, absorb... and then *bang*... goal. Chile provided a lot of entertainment for the tournament and deserve credit for taking the game to the Samba boys. In the end though, they are simply out-classed.

Round of 16 Results: Day 2

No goal? Thanks, FIFA!

Germany 4-1 England
While the scoreline may be a bit more flattering than they deserve, Germany plays a dynamic youthful counter-attacking match against the Three Lions of England. Yet another epic chapter is added to the storied WC rivalry of England v. Germany, this time with the Germans handing the English their worst-ever WC defeat.

However, the controversy that will be discussed for decades to come was the outrageous refereeing failure to allow the Lampard goal where the entire ball was a yard and a half beyond the line. The goal would have tied the game at 2-2 -- no doubt changing the complexion of the match. It seems everyone at the stadium besides the officials could see it was a good goal. When will Sepp Blatter and FIFA remove their heads from the sand and understand that the simple technology being used in sports leagues around the world could easily correct these egregious errors? Their lack of judgment is corrupting the integrity of the competition and exposing FIFA as stubborn ponderous dinosaurs desperately clinging to the olden ways of yesteryear. I call bullshit.

Argentina 3-1 Mexico
Once again poor refereeing affects the outcome of a WC match as they fail to call Carlos Tevez offside on the first goal of the match. Replays show he was clearly offside. Yet somehow, even after the referee conferred with his linesman, the goals stands. Terrible.

Still, the Argentines prove to have more firepower than El Tri can handle. Of particular note was Tevez's powerful strike from distance. Argentina move on to a tantalizing quarterfinal match against Germany.


Sadly, with England and Mexico's exit, Cantona and half of Eastern Influence's home countries are eliminated from the tournament. Of the pool teams only Canarinhos and Spanish Fingerboarder still have a national rooting interest. As for us, after the USA loss, Real Marin spent a couple of hours aimlessly wondering the streets of Fairfax trying to make sense of it all. Today we're in a much better mindset, watching again as enthusiastic neutrals.

Round of 16 Results: Day 1

The USA's Landon Donovan is left to ponder what might have been.

Uruguay 2-1 South Korea
Uruguay scored their first goal on a lapse by the Korean keeper who, with more conviction, could have intercepted the ground-ball cross. The Koreans responded with an equalizer and controlled much of the run of play, but in the end, it was a spectacular individual goal by vaunted striker Luis Suarez that sees Uruguay through to the quarterfinals for the first time in 40 years.

Condolences to the sizable number of South Koreans in the pool... especially Banana Island who is a native and has followed her national side closely through the two years of qualification. They really were one of the brightest sides of the tournament playing an honest, uptempo, attacking brand of football. They exit with their heads held high having represented the Asian Confederation well with their best ever performance in a WC not on home soil.

United States 1-2 Ghana
The magic for Team USA ran out in extra time against a fundamentally sound Ghana side. The US continued their unfortunate trend of conceding early, giving away the first goal to Kevin-Prince Boateng on a comedy of errors -- starting with Ricardo Clark's giveaway in the midfield and ending with Tim Howard's failure to protect the inside post. Another comeback seemed in the cards when Donovan secured the equalizer on a penalty from a foul on a Dempsey run. As the extra time began the Yanks once again conceded in the opening minutes with poor defensive play on a long ball that Black Star Asamoah Gyan superbly controlled and finished despite being almost shouldered out by Bocanegra. Ghana's advance means Africa continue to have a rooting interest in the next round.

This was a painful exit for an American side who proved to be surprisingly entertaining through the Group Stage. Ultimately they went to the comeback well one too many times. Perhaps the most telling statistic of their campaign is that in 390 minutes of play, they only held the lead for 3. In looking at what the States need to improve it's clear their back line missed a healthy Oguchi Onyewu, but they also need better play from their strikers -- the last American forward to score a World Cup goal was Brian McBride in 2002. While we always knew the US had little chance to win the tournament, it certainly felt like an appearance in the quarters was attainable. The US World Cup ends in disappointment with the team meeting, but not exceeding, expectations. However American fans have something for which to be thankful -- Landon Donovan's game winner against Algeria put an American mark on WC2010 and produced a galvanizing moment for soccer fans nationwide.

Pool Standings: Round 1 - Group Stage

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We're at the end of the Group Stage and there's a tight race for the prize. Two teams top the table: Night Rider and Real Marin have each attained 50 points through the first 48 matches. But nine other teams have accumulated 40 or more points thus far and are well within striking distance.

After a review of the first round it is clear that certain selections were tantamount. Eleven teams picked South Korea; only three of those teams have fewer than 40 points. Ten teams selected Ghana; only two have fewer than 40 points. Seven teams had both South Korea and Ghana as winners; six of those teams have at least 44 points and top the leaderboard.

Now we enter the Knockout Round. We'll see if the frontrunners can keep their momentum, or if the laggards can make up ground. Good luck!

[Editor's Note: With subsequent rounds worth increasingly more points, there is plenty of chance for teams to close the gaps.]

Round 2: Last 16 (Saturday, 6.26.10, 7 AM PT)

Uruguay

v.

South Korea

Round 2: Last 16 (Saturday, 6.26.10, 11:30 AM PT)

United States

v.

Ghana

Round 2: Last 16 (Sunday, 6.27.10, 7 AM PT)

Germany

v.

England