OT: World Cup Thread!

[cgf]

I can't wait for this thing to start. Germany should be an absolute joy to watch. Our midfield is just so creative and stacked with young talent, Ozil's going to be battling Hamsik for young player of the tournament, poldi is always class on the international level, Mueller is a talented young kid who'll get us some great counter attacking chance through his endless running, Schweini has really taken to the position of a more deep lying playmaker who spreads the ball around initiating the attack the way Pirlo has done for italy in the past and Khedira is a Ballack clone who doesn't yet have that great sense for the game, although he's an all around talent who can score with his head and foot, pass creatively and get the ball back. But our most dangerous player will likely be coming off of the bench as Marko Marin is more gifted with the ball than Ozil even though he doesn't have Mesut's eye for through balls, he's even quicker with craftier footwork and a nice shot himself.

This german side will create a lot of nice goal scoring chances, now the question is will the strikers finish enough of them and will the D hold up against the elite teams.

PS Why would Ozil play for Turkey? He was born and raised in Germany and has an important spot on a better team.

[Shemy]

Why would Ozil play for Turkey? He was born and raised in Germany and has an important spot on a better team.

cause hes turkish and not german?

im not saying playing for Germany is wrong of him, as you stated he was born in germany and hes a second generation turk.....

[Im Coming Home]

I'm rooting for Italy mostly, but I also root for the US. I don't think Italy has enough to repeat but I still have hope.

[cgf]

Why would Ozil play for Turkey? He was born and raised in Germany and has an important spot on a better team.

cause hes turkish and not german?

im not saying playing for Germany is wrong of him, as you stated he was born in germany and hes a second generation turk.....

He's not Turkish, he was born and raised in Germany...Let me try this, I was born in Germany and grew up here in America, we came here when I was two, am I German?..I can tell you that in my opinion I'm more American than I am German even though I must admit that I like to think of myself as a German living in America. If he had wanted to follow his parents' heritage and felt he hadn't integrated into German culture enough to represent the country I would understand, but to me that would be a more awkward than him playing for Germany.

[Shemy]

Why would Ozil play for Turkey? He was born and raised in Germany and has an important spot on a better team.

cause hes turkish and not german?

im not saying playing for Germany is wrong of him, as you stated he was born in germany and hes a second generation turk.....

He's not Turkish, he was born and raised in Germany...Let me try this, I was born in Germany and grew up here in America, we came here when I was two, am I German?..I can tell you that in my opinion I'm more American than I am German even though I must admit that I like to think of myself as a German living in America. If he had wanted to follow his parents' heritage and felt he hadn't integrated into German culture enough to represent the country I would understand, but to me that would be a more awkward than him playing for Germany.

id consider you an American citizen but of German nationality, your parents are both German, now you can consider yourself "Americanized" but you have 100 percent German blood in you, (im assuming both your parents are german)

My parents moved to the states before i was born, i was born here but I consider myself Albanian my first language was Albanian, I visit their every other summer, my fiancee is Albanian, etc....I might have adopted some ways of American culture, and have an American passport but I consider myself Albanian.....i guess it all depends on the person *shrug*....

I dont have a problem with him choosing Germany, but @ the same time if he were to choose Turkey then i dont understand why it would be consider awkward or wrong, growing up to parents of Turkish nationality im sure he knew the language, culture, his name isnt even German.......I guess the Haltinops would be a good example both were born in Germany but they opted to play for the turkish NT, same goes for the Kovac brothers of Croatia they were born in Germany but decided to play for the Croatian NT.....I guess in the end it all depends on the person(s), but am I under the opinion that place of birth/where you grow up should not be taken into consideration when you talk of nationality

[cgf]

You're equating ethnicity to nationality, I'm ethnically russian and german, but my nationality is american, I know those cultures but they aren't the ones I grew up in and have lived through. Now not everyone assimilates as well as we have so I understand guys who represent the countries of their heritage but to me it's weird. Now matter how german or russian I may be I'm still an american, a german-russian-american, but ultimately an american...except for when I'm abroad...even though I still hold a german passport, although that's primarily to make it easier to travel around europe and because I've been waiting for the past 4 years to expunge my record so I could start my citizenship application.

[Shemy]

meh i guess thats where we disagree, the whole ethnicity/nationality thing

I didnt know that if you had a American passport in comparison to a passport of country in the EU it would be harder to travel around Europe.......

WC officially starts in two hours, no host team has ever lost in the opening match, but i can honestly see SA being the first, Mexico is a dangerous side

[Da_Mane_Man]

[eviL]

ALLEZ LES BLEUS!

It's great to see true futbol gaining some steam in the states, I guess due in part to the US national team's improvement.. The World Cup is really a great time, especially in NY where there is such a diverse spectrum of people from all over the world who are pulling for someone, and many bars broadcast the game.. We're going to see a lot of people drunk by 10am in the next few weeks.. I'm EXCITED!

Who I'm rooting for:
France
USA
Portugal
Ivory Coast
Nigeria
Japan

DOWN WITH BRAZIL! DOWN WITH ITALY! ALLEZ LES BLEUS! C'est la vérité!

[cgf]

meh i guess thats where we disagree, the whole ethnicity/nationality thing

I didnt know that if you had a American passport in comparison to a passport of country in the EU it would be harder to travel around Europe.......

WC officially starts in two hours, no host team has ever lost in the opening match, but i can honestly see SA being the first, Mexico is a dangerous side

See for me it's clear, there's where blood is from adn where I am from, as my blood is a part of me so are Germany and Russia but they form an American.

And EU passport lets you go through shorter customs lines, no visas needed anywhere and crossing boarders is no problem at all. It's convenient.

[cgf]

ALLEZ LES BLEUS!

It's great to see true futbol gaining some steam in the states, I guess due in part to the US national team's improvement.. The World Cup is really a great time, especially in NY where there is such a diverse spectrum of people from all over the world who are pulling for someone, and many bars broadcast the game.. We're going to see a lot of people drunk by 10am in the next few weeks.. I'm EXCITED!

Who I'm rooting for:
France
USA
Portugal
Ivory Coast
Nigeria
Japan

DOWN WITH BRAZIL! DOWN WITH ITALY! ALLEZ LES BLEUS! C'est la vérité!

Are you Franco-Portuguese? Those are two of the least likeable sides in this tournament.

[eviL]

ALLEZ LES BLEUS!

It's great to see true futbol gaining some steam in the states, I guess due in part to the US national team's improvement.. The World Cup is really a great time, especially in NY where there is such a diverse spectrum of people from all over the world who are pulling for someone, and many bars broadcast the game.. We're going to see a lot of people drunk by 10am in the next few weeks.. I'm EXCITED!

Who I'm rooting for:
France
USA
Portugal
Ivory Coast
Nigeria
Japan

DOWN WITH BRAZIL! DOWN WITH ITALY! ALLEZ LES BLEUS! C'est la vérité!

Are you Franco-Portuguese? Those are two of the least likeable sides in this tournament.

Haha, no. I have a soft spot for France due to a percentage of my background. Portugal is just a remnant for me from the Figo days, he and Zidane were my favorite international players.

[cgf]

Well I wish misery upon your teams and have both flying out in the group stages. Cheers

[knicks742]

I don't understand how one can be an american and not root for USA first. Weird.

[eviL]

Well I wish misery upon your teams and have both flying out in the group stages. Cheers

France has not played well of late, but I don't see them getting bounced 'til group of 16. Next cup, with a matured Benzema I'm sure they'll be dangerous. Portugal though will do well, I'm sure.

I would wish your team the worst, but I'm a closet Germany fan because they always trot out a great team, and they have some excellent players.. I'm a fan of the game more than anything else, so good luck.. But when Germany meets any of the teams I'm pulling for, DEATH TO YOU!

Cheers!

[cgf]

I don't understand how one can be an american and not root for USA first. Weird.

Because US soccer is terrible, the country doesn't love the sport enough to make a deep connection and soccer is one of the biggest connections I have with my country of birth, outside of my friends and family in Berlin. I mean I have fond childhood memories of summers in Berlin catching a 1 FC Union Berlin game at the end of the season and then two more at the start of the next season before I had to return for school. So in Soccer I'll always root for Germany, and I do like to think of myself as a German in America even though I know I'm more American than German, in my mannerism, my style, my allusions, my sense of humor, I think in English most of the time, in general I love this country although I have a different connection than I do to the country of my birth.

[cgf]

Well I wish misery upon your teams and have both flying out in the group stages. Cheers

France has not played well of late, but I don't see them getting bounced 'til group of 16. Next cup, with a matured Benzema I'm sure they'll be dangerous. Portugal though will do well, I'm sure.

I would wish your team the worst, but I'm a closet Germany fan because they always trot out a great team, and they have some excellent players.. I'm a fan of the game more than anything else, so good luck.. But when Germany meets any of the teams I'm pulling for, DEATH TO YOU!

Cheers!

I dunno, they've been playing so bad and shouldn't even have qualified if not for horrible refereeing on that handball against Ireland while South Africa will advance because they're hosts and both Mexico and Uruguay are playing the best they've played this decade.

[knicks742]

I don't understand how one can be an american and not root for USA first. Weird.

Because US soccer is terrible, the country doesn't love the sport enough to make a deep connection and soccer is one of the biggest connections I have with my country of birth, outside of my friends and family in Berlin. I mean I have fond childhood memories of summers in Berlin catching a 1 FC Union Berlin game at the end of the season and then two more at the start of the next season before I had to return for school. So in Soccer I'll always root for Germany, and I do like to think of myself as a German in America even though I know I'm more American than German, in my mannerism, my style, my allusions, my sense of humor, I think in English most of the time, in general I love this country although I have a different connection than I do to the country of my birth.

To me, it has nothing to do with how horrible they are or they aren't. I always want my country to win even if they only have a 1% of doing so. That's why I don't understand this whole soccer thing when people from the US cheer for another country. USA should be first, country of origin second. That's just my opinion though.

[cgf]

I still have a german passport and my first WC experience was as a kid watching the mid 90's german squad over my summers in germany. Soccer is something that just wasn't big in the US as I grew up so I got into the sport spending my summers playing in the streets/parks with my friends and watching games as I got to sip on a beer I had worked all day for with my Uncle. I've always struggled to pick between the US and Germany and with Soccer I've always just had the stronger connection to germany where the people genuinely care about the side and the team plays a great and very german game that ensures the sum is always greater than our parts.

[eviL]

re: US soccer.. The pride will come as the team improves and the country further understands the game.. Will that ever happen? Who knows.

Until then, the US needs to recognize the difference: