scouser 4 Posted July 1, 2002 Share Posted July 1, 2002 Well it's all over now folks for another 4 years. What a month it's been, I've had a reet blast and it'll be sad to not have footy on the box much from now on. All in all, I thought it was a very entertaining tournament. Sad to see some of the powerhouses go out so early, but they just didn't seem to deserve to stay on. Link to post Share on other sites
big-will 7 Posted July 1, 2002 Share Posted July 1, 2002 That Ronaldinho fella is good to watch - well most of Brazil are good to watch for the most part. It will be strange to not have the soccer on the tv all the time. Link to post Share on other sites
rach 1 Posted July 1, 2002 Share Posted July 1, 2002 Some stats for ya: Matches 64 Wins 48 Draws 16 Goals 161 Average goals per match 2.52 Goals in first half 69 Goals in second half 89 Goals in extra time 3 Penalty shootouts 2 Fastest goal Hakan Sukur (Turkey) 11 seconds v South Korea Most goals scored by team Brazil 18 Most goals scored by player Ronaldo (Brazil) 8 Highest score Germany 8 Saudi Arabia 0 Red cards 17 Yellow cards 257 Link to post Share on other sites
oo 1 Posted July 1, 2002 Share Posted July 1, 2002 It's sad that it's over. Roppongi will seem ever so quiet again now! Link to post Share on other sites
Gifoo 0 Posted July 1, 2002 Share Posted July 1, 2002 ROppongi fun then during the Cup, oo? Tell us more. Link to post Share on other sites
xxx 2 Posted July 1, 2002 Share Posted July 1, 2002 Good stuff and a decent result. Roppongi was rockin, especially on the days japan were playing and still in the competition Link to post Share on other sites
blinkin'ek 0 Posted July 1, 2002 Share Posted July 1, 2002 Loved it, and sad that it's over. Link to post Share on other sites
nagoid 4 Posted July 1, 2002 Share Posted July 1, 2002 Whats the next big tournament, Euro 2004? Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted July 2, 2002 Share Posted July 2, 2002 Love the official song. A masterpiece. Buy it now. Link to post Share on other sites
akibun 0 Posted July 2, 2002 Share Posted July 2, 2002 What a great month. I am SO SAD that it has finished. Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted July 2, 2002 Share Posted July 2, 2002 While it was fantastic to be in the country that co-hosted the World Cup, I'm not sure how much of a success it was. The success of Korea, Japan, and in my own case England were great to watch and the atmosphere has been marvellous, but I think the tournament could have been better. According to figures released today, there were only 30,000 extra visitors to Japan during the World Cup period. After England (11,000 up), Mexico (9,000 up) and Ireland (4,000 up) that doesn't leave very many fans from anywhere else. Most of the tickets sold overseas were bought by people in Japan or found their way here one way or another. With the low number of gaijin coming and lots of hooligan hype to terrify the locals into avoiding the ones that did, all the money spent on the World Cup has done little to internationalize Japan on a macro level or to bring money in. Lots of the locals got to shout "Nippon", that's about all. As for Japan-Korea relations, no perceptible change there. I remember hearing the amount spent per game on stadia. It was astronomical. Something like 20 stadia were built for a total of only 64 games. The Urawa Reds now have a gorgeous stadium to play in in Saitama, but it's going to look rather sad with 15,000 or less in. It's also a fair hike out of Tokyo, so I'm not sure how many people will want to go there to see J-League games. Yo Vangelis Not one of your better numbers there, bearded one, but thanks for keeping the Jon Anderson screech off it. I prefer the ones from the 70s with you rocking the Rhodes. "Let it Happen" and all those pre-Cafe-del-Mar Cafe del Mar tunes. Link to post Share on other sites
scouser 4 Posted July 2, 2002 Author Share Posted July 2, 2002 I agree with you there NoFakie for the most part. Especially on the "it could have been better" concerning the quality of the football. I loved it, but there werent really any heavy duty classics, or any spectacular teams. Still cant believe its over. Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted July 2, 2002 Share Posted July 2, 2002 As for the football itself, Ronaldo aside the stars of the show were the defenders and especially the keepers. More great saves than great goals on the whole. That one by the Nigerian keeper that stopped the Paul Scholes piledriver was amazing. In the big matches, Kahn's stop in the first half against Korea and Marcos' save from the Neuville free kick were also superb. With ordinary goalkeeping, all three would have been in as great goals. The other day on NHK, they pulled up an official stat that said Beckham lost the ball every single time he was tackled (23 times). He obviously wasn't 100%, which is a shame for him, but also for the other players who did a lot better but didn't get any attention from the media. Link to post Share on other sites
scouser 4 Posted July 2, 2002 Author Share Posted July 2, 2002 Beckam admitted he wasnt 100% when he got home, but he does have worth even in a less than 100% condition. Other people who deserve a mention are Ferdinand, who was well ace, and yes the Nigerian and the US keepers. Great keeping. The big thing for the England team now is who will replace Seaman, if indeed its necessary before Euro 2004? And when are they gonna give a certain Joe Cole some chance to show his stuff? Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted July 2, 2002 Share Posted July 2, 2002 One more thing, I didn't watch SkyPerfect, but some of the camerawork on the regular channels left a lot to be desired. Most annoying were the six or seven shots you'd get of star players on the bench after they'd been subbed, most of them WHILE THE BALL WAS STILL IN PLAY. If Owen/Beckham/Totti/Raul/Ronaldo etc. are not on the pitch, they don't matter. Several quick free kicks were completely missed because the directors were concerned about the star players and not the action. I think it was an anti-hooliganism measure, but most controversial incidents were not replayed on the big screen in the stadia. Considering they're the parts everyone wants to see close up, this was a strange move. When watching at home, we could have done with more replays for non-goals, and a common occurrence on the subchannel was to hear the BBC commentators referring to replays that were not shown by the Japanese directors. None of the penalties in the shootouts were replayed, as far as I can remember. On the whole though, NHK with their "dungeon" set and the BBC commentaries did a lot better than the other channels, especially the one that gave us Sanma, a flop of a baseball player (Nagashima's son), a former tennis pro as analysts. Best TV comment: before Spain-Ireland one of the Japanese commentators said a single goal wouldn't be enough for Spain. Worst TV comment: (by ex-Verdi striker Takeda, I think) "Seaman is as popular as Owen or Beckham in England. Like Beckham, many men copy his hairstyle." Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted July 3, 2002 Share Posted July 3, 2002 The world cup inspired me to start playing football again. I checked out football boots today. They haven't changed much. Link to post Share on other sites
blinkin'ek 0 Posted July 3, 2002 Share Posted July 3, 2002 Quote: Seaman is as popular as Owen or Beckham in England. Like Beckham, many men copy his hairstyle A frightening thought. Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts