OzzieMandias

I am sure, i heard something on ssn a year or 2 ago that30 % of players in England are English 40 % of players in Germany are German 60% ofplayers in spain are Spanish and 70 % of players in Italy are Italian. And what's the percentage of foreigners at Real and Barça, given that most of the Spanish team comes from those two clubs?

Yay! I was supposed to go into my job today, but luckily I now don't have to. Dozens of Germans being patronising or making cracks about dodgy goals successfully avoided.

That's nothing I had Germans patting me on the back after every goal. I had that too. By the fourth goal I was ready to lamp one of them, which would have been a bit of a faux pas given that he'd generously supplied the beamer we were all watching it on. I also had to get home among all the jubliant, horn-tooting traffic leaving the "fan mile" in the Tiergarten, where a reported half a million people watched the game.

So does Rooney now go and live in a caravan and grow a beard?

This. The whole system needs looking at. Whoever manages England needs to be part of the overall picture, and what they have to do next is to bring through the young players who will eventually form the core of a new national team. What I'd hope for is some long-term plan that isn't merely focused on qualifying for and doing well at Euro 2012, but uses the next few years to build some stronger foundations. We certainly need someone with a bit more vision than Howard fucking Wilkinson to do the kind of restructuring job Gerard Houllier did in France -- so successful that France began churning out technically excellent players (many of whom ended up in the Prem, though not all of national team quality; we had a few ourselves) and won WC98 and Euro 2000. What I doubt is that the FA, hopped up on Premier League profits and infected with good old British short-termism, is up to the task. Whether Capello stays or goes should basically be part of a much bigger question. Agree, agree, agree. But it's not likely, as you've said. Capello, Hodgson, Redknapp, Mourinho or whoever it is is not the important question. It's tearing up our grass roots that is the key thing here. BIL's spot on when he says we need to eliminate this mentality of "you're taller/stronger/faster, you're automatically a much better player" and instead learn to catch up with the leading nations and focus on technical ability. This is what needs to be taught from a young age. And at the national team level, I reckon we should drop all the old lags and start blooding some younger players -- even if they're not really yet good enough. We need a manager who is willing to risk sacrificing winning the next game for the sake of developing the next squad. We shouldn't be thinking, "pick Lampard [or whoever] because we need to win this one, even though he'll be finished at this level in a year or two." This lot are fucking finished, as far as the future of the national team goes.

This. The whole system needs looking at. Whoever manages England needs to be part of the overall picture, and what they have to do next is to bring through the young players who will eventually form the core of a new national team. What I'd hope for is some long-term plan that isn't merely focused on qualifying for and doing well at Euro 2012, but uses the next few years to build some stronger foundations. We certainly need someone with a bit more vision than Howard fucking Wilkinson to do the kind of restructuring job Gerard Houllier did in France -- so successful that France began churning out technically excellent players (many of whom ended up in the Prem, though not all of national team quality; we had a few ourselves) and won WC98 and Euro 2000. What I doubt is that the FA, hopped up on Premier League profits and infected with good old British short-termism, is up to the task. Whether Capello stays or goes should basically be part of a much bigger question.

Dunga argues that TV makes the past (ie Brazil's past) look better than it was... http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/feedarticle/9146730

The attitute here has been unreal, nearly all the Germans I know just start first with a patronising smile and then go onto explain how they will win cause they are mentally stronger etc...Really looking forward to this. Most of the Germans I know are merely nervous, like I am.

I think it was actually supposed to members of a group called the Vanilla Fudge, and took place at the Edgewater Inn in Seattle.

Irrelevant. Even in rich countries the best players grow up poor. Rich people are fat. Not any more. In the developed world, the poor are fat and the rich are skinny.

Looking forward to all the links about how America instantly loses its skin-deep interest in the World Cup.

Get the the fuck in.

He probably wouldn't have started anyway.

I bet Schweinsteiger will play too.

Excellent positioning there.

I'm kind of glad we're not playing Ghana because it would feel bad to turf out the only surviving African team. They have more of a chance against the Septics, which is obviously good for the whole tournament.

You're doomed, in that case.

It's not the faith that's the problem - it's more the same old tired clichés that get brought up about either '66 or the War. Over here (Germany) they're also still going on about '66 and the "cheating third goal". They don't talk about the war much, though.

Del Bosque looks so Spanish it makes me laugh. He ought to be playing Don Quixote.

Was thinking the same thing. But if we win it'll be nice and quiet.

Oh Aye Nailed on 0-0 Do either teams need a result or can they both go through with a draw regardless of the other match? Spain need to win in case Switzerland beat Honduras.

Christ. That's just ludicrous. I mean, you must practise up to a point, but the Germans aren't masters of pens because they have better technique than anyone else. Aye, it's partly a mental thing. But for deffo the Germans practice penalties.

It definitely makes sense for everyone to practice penalties. I remember 1998, when David Batty, after the miss that sent us out, admitted he'd never even taken one before.

Been thinking much the same thing.