World Cup Footy Thread!

[Sucky_Lord]

So, what do you guys think of the sub-par efforts of the English team so far. I've heard a lot of people saying Rooney should be benched to show him he cant play shit and lazy and still get a start.

I really do think that would kill him for the rest of the cup.

[Jazcash]

Some of the refs are complete idiots. Kaka really didn't deserve that red in the slightest. The ref wasn't even watching, he just fell for the acting of the Ivory Coast lad. All the South African players just seem cheeky to me, just trying to grab whatever they can in desperation.

[KaiserJ]

even from the outset i was skeptical of sending rooney in as a starter

sure, he's a great player and scores lots of goals... but everyone is aware of this and consequently he gets double and triple covered...

i think a much better idea would have been to play defoe and crouch as starters, they both had great seasons this year... didnt score as much as rooney... BUT... combined, with defoe 18 and crouch 8, thats an identical number to rooneys 26, and the fact that defoe and crouch play together on the same club team and have had experience starting together, to me it seems like a route that's at least worth exploring (one game left, and not a hell of a lot left to lose)

let rooney sit on the bench until the 60th, then bring him in against tired defenders.

[Pxtl]

So, after the Portugal vs. NK game, how many players are headed for the gulags?

[KaiserJ]

somehow i get the impression that the north korean team are even less aware of the situation in their country than we are

in the last year or so people escaping into china from north korea have reported that the food sent as aid from the red cross and other charities have been diverted and sold on the black market; people are so hungry that they catch children; boil them in a pot and eat them. if you make any statement against the government (or even if you are suspected of doing so) then your whole family is sent to a work camp where the women are raped, the children are savaged by guard dogs, and any insubordination is punished by tying the perpetrator to the tree and having the rest of the camp throw stones at them until their skin peels off. street children are rounded up and locked in "hostels" where they are given a few spoonfuls of rice each day until they slowly die of starvation.

[Neddie]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but while atrocities do occur, if I recall correctly the general flight of able bodied citizens over the previous decades has reduced the need for domestic resources and lead to a sort of stability in treatment.

Anyway, that aside, I am not pleased with the Cup.

[Jazcash]

Yup, Portugal thoroughly signed North Korea's death papers. 7 - 0, what a beating.

[Pxtl]

Yup, Portugal thoroughly signed North Korea's death papers. 7 - 0, what a beating.

They're competing with Ivory Coast to make it out of the bracket, and their win-scores will be tied so it'll come down to point spreads. Ivory Coast will need a 9-point lead on NK in their next game in order to make it.

You can bet they're gonna try.

You know what I bet happened with Brazil? Somebody told the Brazilian guys "if you stomp them, their families will be punished" so they gave them a 2-1 game.

[KaiserJ]

its hard to say neddie; nobody really has hard numbers on the situation; it's all based on speculation, satellite analysis, and hearsay from the people who escaped

it should be noted that china does not want north koreans escaping onto their soil; escapees are sent back immediately, and chinese citizens face stiff penalties for aiding or even conversing with the refugees.

recently i watched a documentary compiled partly from footage taken via hidden camera by a north korean refugee who repeatedly crossed back into the country to bring back video evidence of what's going on there. tons of footage of markets in outlying north korean towns far from the reach of international charity and the media, where rice meant to be distributed to the starving is sold on the black market from bags marked clearly with red cross and USA insignia, while parentless, homeless children squat in the mud collecting tiny scraps of food to try to fill their bellies.

something else touched on in the documentary was the abduction of south korean citizens by the north korean army with the purpose of brainwashing and sending them back as spies. there were first hand accounts of the abductees talking about massive brainwashing operations and death camps. interestingly enough, the south korean government will not even acknowledge that this has occured, even though with a similar case involving NK abducting japanese, and then the japanese government pressuring north korea to release the prisoners successfully.

but yeah. the big problem is that it's impossible really to pin a number onto any of these issues; because north korea offers nothing in the way of an internal view to its problems; the big picture is being pieced together from the stories of individuals and is largely incomplete

kind of strange that they're allowed to go to the world cup though in light of all of this; just throwing it out there

[Jazcash]

so they gave them a 2-1 game.

Wasn't Brazil vs NK 3-1?

[Sucky_Lord]

so they gave them a 2-1 game.

Wasn't Brazil vs NK 3-1?

Nah 2-1, PRK were owning

[KDR_11k]

kind of strange that they're allowed to go to the world cup though in light of all of this; just throwing it out there

The Soviet states were highly competitive in sports, seeing them as a way of proving their country's worth. The Nazis probably did the same. Autocratic nations see the work of individuals as products of their country so they want to present those products.

[Neddie]

Cuba is another example. Notably, the German showing in the 1936 Olympics was extremely strong. Over eighty medals, I believe.

[KDR_11k]

Oh man, considering how many unjustified red cards have been given out in this World Cup I wonder if we're looking at another betting scandal in the making.

[KaiserJ]

i was thinking more along the lines of the players escaping and claiming political asylum!

it's interesting that you'd mention cuba neddie; during the gold cup i think it was last year, a large portion of their team escaped into the united states after being flown in

the north koreans are probably a lot more heavily indoctrinated though; maybe they truly love their country

KDR, you make a good point... i really do wonder how much match fixing goes on and how much is speculation; one would hope that the world cup would be on a large enough stage that it would be tough to fix a match, but then i think back a few years to serie A football when all those teams were penalized points... i would have assumed that a club as big and rich as juventus was above any fixing, but clearly not

[KDR_11k]

The refs seem to be doing some questionable work, if a betting cartel blackmailed them to manipulate the games that might look like this.

[BaNa]

refs are fucking hilarious, im suprised they dont get beatings during the game by the players they fuck with. The refs, the flute things and the ball make for a very MEH world cup.

[Erom]

I do have a hard time taking the sport seriously when acting is such a large part of it.

[Zydox]

I feel sorry for the refs...

* ppl are always complaining about them
* they don't get that much paid...
* you never hear cheers if they've done something great, but if they miss something... deaththreats and crap like that will follow...

I have no clue why anyone would be a ref...

[Sucky_Lord]

I feel sorry for the refs...

* ppl are always complaining about them
* they don't get that much paid...
* you never hear cheers if they've done something great, but if they miss something... deaththreats and crap like that will follow...

I have no clue why anyone would be a ref...

This.