**Official World Cup 2014 Thread** | Page 6 | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

**Official World Cup 2014 Thread**

Who will win the 2014 World Cup?

  • Brazil

    Votes: 6 31.6%

  • Argentina

    Votes: 2 10.5%

  • Germany

    Votes: 2 10.5%

  • Spain

    Votes: 4 21.1%

  • Uruguay

    Votes: 1 5.3%

  • Colombia

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • France

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Italy

    Votes: 1 5.3%

  • England

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Netherlands

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • United States

    Votes: 1 5.3%

  • Other (explain below)

    Votes: 2 10.5%
  • Total voters
    19
  • Poll closed .
Chile

Goalies

1 - Claudio Bravo
12 - Cristopher Toselli
23 - Johnny Herrera

Defenders

2 - Eugenio Mena
3 - Miiko Albornoz
13 - Jose Rojas
17 - Gary Medel
18 - Gonzalo Jara

Midfielders

4 - Mauricio Isla
5 - Francisco Silva
6 - Carlos Carmona
8 - Arturo Vidal
10 - Jorge Valdivia
15 - Jean Beausejour
16 - Felipe Gutierrez
19 - Jose Fuenzalida
20 - Charles Aranguiz
21 - Marcelo Diaz

Strikers

7 - Alexis Sanchez
9 - Mauricio Pinilla
11 - Eduardo Vargas
14 - Fabian Orellana
22 - Esteban Paredes


on the pitch: 3-5-2

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------1 Bravo--------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------12 Toselli-------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------23 Herrera------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------17 Medel--------------------2 Pena------------------18 Jara-------------------------
--------------------13 Rojas---------------------------------------------3 Albornoz----------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----4 Isla-------------16 Gutierrez-------------8 Vidal-------------21 Diaz----------15 Beausejour---
-19 Fuenzalida-------20 Aranguiz----------10 Valdivia------------5 Silva------------22 Paredes-----
------------------------------------------------6 Carmona-------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------11 Vargas---------------------------------------------7 Sanchez---------------------
--------------------14 Orellana---------------------------------------------9 Pinilla-----------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Yeah Belgium wasn't in the poll here so that's why I was calling them a dark horse. I lived there in the 1970's when Eddie Merckx was winning the Tour de France bike race five straight. That's about the only sport they have been good in. I root for them since my Mom was born and raised in Brussels. I also lived in Italy for four years so I like the Azzurri....I was a big Juventus fan as a kid and got to see them play against Verona and Milan many times. Looking forward to the World Cup.
 
Hey Greasy - just a question - where are you getting the formation/lineup info from? If you're making it all up yourself, that's pretty impressive.
 
For those of you making your picks let me remind you (if you don't already know) of one crucial statistic. No European team has ever won a World Cup in the Americas. I think this trend will hold, and it will be a South American team winning this one. Will it be Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia?....I don't know, but the conditions and history certainly do not favor the Europeans.
 
WestPhish said:
For those of you making your picks let me remind you (if you don't already know) of one crucial statistic. No European team has ever won a World Cup in the Americas. I think this trend will hold, and it will be a South American team winning this one. Will it be Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia?....I don't know, but the conditions and history certainly do not favor the Europeans.
Click to expand...

That trend will have to break sooner or later... lol
 
greasyObnoxious said:
Chile

Goalies

1 - Claudio Bravo
12 - Cristopher Toselli
23 - Johnny Herrera

Defenders

2 - Eugenio Mena
3 - Miiko Albornoz
13 - Jose Rojas
17 - Gary Medel
18 - Gonzalo Jara

Midfielders

4 - Mauricio Isla
5 - Francisco Silva
6 - Carlos Carmona
8 - Arturo Vidal
10 - Jorge Valdivia
15 - Jean Beausejour
16 - Felipe Gutierrez
19 - Jose Fuenzalida
20 - Charles Aranguiz
21 - Marcelo Diaz

Strikers

7 - Alexis Sanchez
9 - Mauricio Pinilla
11 - Eduardo Vargas
14 - Fabian Orellana
22 - Esteban Paredes


on the pitch: 3-5-2

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------1 Bravo--------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------12 Toselli-------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------23 Herrera------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------17 Medel--------------------2 Pena------------------18 Jara-------------------------
--------------------13 Rojas---------------------------------------------3 Albornoz----------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----4 Isla-------------16 Gutierrez-------------8 Vidal-------------21 Diaz----------15 Beausejour---
-19 Fuenzalida-------20 Aranguiz----------10 Valdivia------------5 Silva------------22 Paredes-----
------------------------------------------------6 Carmona-------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------11 Vargas---------------------------------------------7 Sanchez---------------------
--------------------14 Orellana---------------------------------------------9 Pinilla-----------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Click to expand...

:lol: :lol: :lol:
 
Vaark said:
Not trolling, and no doubt my consciousness-level will ramp up if the US becomes a serious player, but I don't get this sport at all. NFL or even NCAA football is a tough act for them to follow on so many different levels. :idk: While I understand fans go crazy and sometimes racist over it, I just don't understand why. IMO, it's hockey without the fluidity, tempo or physicality. But to each his own :up:
Click to expand...

Well I think the main issue here you havent been exposed to good games. Unlike the playoffs of the major American sports, soccer can be quite boring even when the stakes are high. The last two world cups, for example, did not have the consistently exciting games like the 2002 world cup or the 2008 euros. 2010 was a bit of a dud and there werent that many good games. So for a person trying to get into soccer and watching that tournament, I could see how they would get turned off to the sport.

I could watch a random NFL game and I will likely be entertained but the chance of watching a random soccer game and being entertained is much lower. The issue is that quite a few teams adopt a more defensive or possessive strategy that hinders the flow of the game. However, when a soccer game is good, there is nothing better than it. I've watched soccer games where it basically felt like the 2 minute drill in football for the full 90 minutes. Everyone is turned on, every possession counts, both teams are advancing and constantly on the attack.

For me the best world cup game in 2010 was Ghana/Uruguay, and I have no allegiance to either team. That just goes to show you how random soccer can be. Games that are really hyped up with big names and the best players are not always entertaining. But that Ghana game was more entertaining than any NFL game because there are no constant commercial breaks - its just unrelenting action.

The average NFL game is better than the average soccer game but the great soccer games are much better than great NFL games.
 
COMEBACKRICKY said:
Well I think the main issue here you havent been exposed to good games. Unlike the playoffs of the major American sports, soccer can be quite boring even when the stakes are high. The last two world cups, for example, did not have the consistently exciting games like the 2002 world cup or the 2008 euros. 2010 was a bit of a dud and there werent that many good games. So for a person trying to get into soccer and watching that tournament, I could see how they would get turned off to the sport.

I could watch a random NFL game and I will likely be entertained but the chance of watching a random soccer game and being entertained is much lower. The issue is that quite a few teams adopt a more defensive or possessive strategy that hinders the flow of the game. However, when a soccer game is good, there is nothing better than it. I've watched soccer games where it basically felt like the 2 minute drill in football for the full 90 minutes. Everyone is turned on, every possession counts, both teams are advancing and constantly on the attack.

For me the best world cup game in 2010 was Ghana/Uruguay, and I have no allegiance to either team. That just goes to show you how random soccer can be. Games that are really hyped up with big names and the best players are not always entertaining. But that Ghana game was more entertaining than any NFL game because there are no constant commercial breaks - its just unrelenting action.

The average NFL game is better than the average soccer game but the great soccer games are much better than great NFL games.
Click to expand...

This is very subjective and personally I disagree with your statement. No question there are teams that can lull you to sleep in soccer but the intensity not only in World Cup/Euro matches but inside the individual leagues can be much more entertaining than your "average" NFL game. First off, I don't care if we are talking Seattle Seahawks, the crowds in soccer and the knowledge of soccer fans FAR EXCEEDS the crowds and knowledge of football fans which leads me into rivalries . . . rivalries are much more intense in soccer than in football.

Also the Thursday Night football schedule last year was boring as all hell. The ONLY thing that makes these games worth watching is Fantasy Football. Truth be told, the NFL ratings would suffer immensely if Fantasy Football did not exist. This is why you are probably able to tune into the Bucs/Jags on a Thursday night. Nobody in their right mind is going to watch that sober or without any money or fantasy football interest. I tune into random soccer games all the time, and just getting a feel for the crowd and the style of play by the teams intrigues me.

Trust me, I was in Germany for the 2006 World Cup . . . I was outside of Wurzburg when Germany defeated Argentina in PK's in the Quarters . . . . you haven't partied until you've partied with Germans after a win like that and this is coming from someone who saw the Marlins live win Game 7 of the 1997 World Series. Crazy thing is, regular league matches are like that all of the time. It's just different.

And you hit the nail on the head with the commercials and Europeans have a hard time trying to figure out why a NFL game that is 60 minues takes over 3 hours to complete when their 90 minute soccer match takes under 2 hours. Too many timeouts in American team sports, too many commercial breaks.
 
WestPhish said:
For those of you making your picks let me remind you (if you don't already know) of one crucial statistic. No European team has ever won a World Cup in the Americas. I think this trend will hold, and it will be a South American team winning this one. Will it be Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia?....I don't know, but the conditions and history certainly do not favor the Europeans.
Click to expand...

Even Ecuador and Chile are teams that I wouldn't be sleeping on to move into the final 16. Home Field advantage in Central / South America is arguably the strongest in the world. There is nothing like it. These teams, especially Brazil, will be super tough to bounce from the tournament.
 
Kdawg954 said:
Maybe I'm out of the loop here, but I find it kind of alarming that all of the talent the German squad has in the middle, Low is probably going to have to rely on old man Miroslav Klose to be his premier striker up front. Not saying Klose is a bad option, but you'd figure there would be some young budding early 20's star that was a glove fit striker up top for the Germans. I do realize they have guys like Reus, Mueller, Ozil, Schurle and Goetze but Klose and even Mario Gomez (who I don't really care for but is a for sure striker . . . but didn't make the team to injury) seem like better fits up top. I guess knowing Low he's going to do his best to fit Podolski in that mix as well (to be fair he normally performs at a higher level on the international level).

If the Germans take that "Bayern" approach and think 70% possession is going to get it done in this World Cup, they will exit earlier than expected. They need to put some balls in back of the net and take the pressure off Neuer and that back line.
Click to expand...

Germany's weakness is not outfront. It's defense where they have problems. Germany scored the most goals in qualifying in Europe. Saying that Germany has no strikers or need strikers shows that people do not understand the German system. Any of the official midfielders can become a forward throughout the game. The game is about movement (ball and players) and passing. Mueller, Klose and Podolski accounted for 11 of Germany's 16 goals in 2010. Mueller became one of the top scorers tying Villa (Spain), Forljan (Uruguay) and Snjeider (Netherlands). Klose was right behind with 4 goals.

The top 4 will be Germany, Spain, Brazil and either Argentina or Uruguay.
Sleeper teams from Europe who could break into the top 4: Netherlands and Belgium. Though I almost feel sorry for the dutch. They always play such great soccer and never really make it to the top.
Sleeper teams from South America who could break into the top 4: Columbia and Ecuador.

At the end the WC stays in South America: Brazil over an European contender (Spain most likely). Germany will be third (over Argentina or Urugay).

To the US chances: I think we take Ghana way to lightly. They beat us in the last WC and sent us home. Could happen again. Portugal will be a bitch game. Germany will make the group and all three teams (Ghana, Portugal, US) will be in a tough battle for 2nd place. A three-way tie is on the horizon and can get quite messy.

The advantage of the US is that they play Germany last. My hopes is that Germany is already through by then and they may rest some players. We do have a chance against Germany's B-Team.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I always find myself pulling for Italy after the US is eliminated. I went to my first match there and was instantly hooked. There's nothing quite like it. The closest I've seen to that atmosphere was a Saints playoff game in the Superdome. Insanely fun experience all around. REALLY wish I had played when I was younger. My son most certainly will.
 
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