World Cup 2006
 

Is anybody here planning on going? Or at least planning on trying? I really want to go, and I believe tickets go on sale in February, but is anybody else planning on looking into it? I'm sure its hella expensive tho.

I want to go, since it's only over in Germany. I'd love to see Ireland play at a World Cup, but I'd go even if they don't make it.

Well if a miricle happens and Scotland make it then hell yeah I'll go.

I will be watching from my house.

BTW: This is a good site for finding standings and schedules pretty quick.

http://www.eifl.org.uk/wc2006/

I would want to go if I Sven Goran Erikson could promise me a few things:

Lampard will start in midfield
Terry will start at Centre Back
David James is at home in England
David Beckham will only start if Wright-Phillips is injured, and if he does play he cannot take any free kick's or penalties.

Otherwise it's not worth the journey and I'll just watch it from home, I like England but Chelsea is where it's at. I would much rather get a ticket to next months match Vs Barca at the Camp Nou then go to watch England play.

If Ireland make it me and a few lads are definitly going if they don't a few are but I'm not sure if I will

I'd go for the football. I'd love to see Ireland, but I love football and the World Cup would be the ultimate in football experience.

I talked to yianni about this briefly, not even gonna think about going to Germany until after the Qualifiers, and only if Australia qualifies.

Fucking trip of a lifetime though

Australia won't qualify. You're shit. I'd love if the European teams could play Australia in a play-off. If Ireland drew you lot, I'd ejaculate with joy.

I remember Iran knocked you lot out.

Don't australia lose to shit like Urugauy and Paragauy in every world cup play off. What a joke they are.

I wouldn't underestimate Australia though, they did beat England in a VERY meaningful friendly match where England played their strongest team for 90 minutes :roll:

Australia has had immense problems getting players back for friendlies, lack of practice together as a team, basically all these problems in the past. This was due to the pathetic administrations of the past. Now the current administration is FINALLY organising more games and things are looking the goods. This is the best opportunity we have to qualify for the World Cup. If we don't do it this time around then I will conceed we're crap, cos we HAVE to do it this time.

And that Iran game was bullshit, we drew 1-1 away to them, then drew 2-2 at home where one of their goals was ridiculously offside. But that's football. I'd also love it if we could play European teams instead of the South Americans, remember it was a full strength England team for the first half of that friendly and last I remember the scoreline at halftime was 0-2. ;)

No, but they get dicked around by FIFA with this ridiculous Oceania playoff with another region. As far back as I can remember, it was Europe in 1989, South America in 1993, Asia in 1997, South America in 2001 and now South America again. Tell me if you played only 2 meaningful games over 4 years you'd be adequately prepared? If Australia had the same preperation as other countries in world football AND THEN had the two play-off games more often than not we'd do much better than we have done. Although we haven't qualified we've still done ok

- 1993 the playoff was with Argentina, 1-1 draw in Sydney and 1-0 loss in Argentina
- 1997 against Iran, 1-1 draw in Iran then 2-2 in Melbourne (offside goal though :mad: )
- 2001 against Uruguay, 1-0 win in Melbourne, 3-0 loss in Montevideo

Even Argentina fucken lost in Uruguay in the qualifiers, it's a tough joint to go to especially when you've played fuck all games in preperation. Having said that, like I said to ECG in my previous post, this time around there are no excuses whatsoever. The preperation is 50 times better than usual, we've had experience now playing in South America, the team gets together more regularly, if they don't do it this time around then they'll never bloody do it.

PS if they make it then I'll go for sure. Hope Greece makes it too.

Sorry it took me three posts to get to my fucking point. :D

But one half solves nothing, we were never going to do anything in the second half with a bunch of ammatuers, not that I am going to get into the debate again as it's allmost of your Convicts (mainly Wee Gooner) mention.

I hope Greece make it too, after being in Greece for the final and semi-final, I like them. They will be my second team.

Yeah, England are shite. Their tactic is to start a riot when you go 1-0 up against them.

At least that is their tactic against Ireland. Ten years ago that was, now. I remember being all excited about it as a young nipper, then all those English fuckers ruined everything.

Fear not ECG, the days of the English hooligans is almost over, the Chelsea headhunters area dying breed, I will do my best to revive them and stir up trouble, but we are a dying breed. West Aam and Millwall have our only naughty boys now.

I remember just over a decade ago Ireland were good and had an impressive World Cup Finals, too bad you were a wee nipper at the time and didn't appreciate it as much as you would today. Still a pretty shit hot match Vs the Germans (I think?) when Robbie Keane scored a good un in '02.

I remember 1994 all right. I wasn't that much of a nipper really, I was 11. I loved that World Cup, had all of my all time favourite players at it: Roberto Baggio, Georghe Hagi, Romario, Hristo Stoichkov, Paul McGrath, Roy Keane, Jurgen Klinsmann, Ruud Gullit, Henrik Larsson, Martin Dahlin, Gianfrano Zola, Diego Maradona etc.

All apart from Marco Van Basten. They even had a buck-toothed young Ronaldo on the Brazilian bench.

Look I know it's a nothing game, but the fact is that we both had decent first teams in the first half and we did well. And I'm telling you now, if Australia makes the world cup they will do well in it. The problem is getting there. We've got decent players but they can never play together until now we're getting our act together organising friendlies and shit.

:love:

I'd fancy Australia to do well if their two best players weren't such lazy pieces of shit. Viduka and Kewell are a waste of God-given talent. Two fantastic players, but gigantic wasters.

Gianfranco*

Yeah I didn't know till '98 that Ronaldo was on the bench, all I remember about the world cup was Brazil's cool 'rocking a baby' celebration, me thinking Dunga was the man, Baggio missing the penalty and that beautiful Stoichkov free kick, my dad gave me a great poster of it, the look on the faces on the German wall was terrific.

Paul McGrath, loyal? didn't he run away before a game or something equally as odd.

Paul McGrath is a raging alcoholic and a manic depressive. He's fucked up, basically.

OHHHHH, he sounds like Shane McGowan.

Also, I remember the 94 World Cup for Romario, Stoichkov, Klinsmann, Hagi and Baggio basically showing they were untouchable as world class players.

Klinsmann's flick with the left, spin, and volley it in with the right was a great goal. Hagi's long range chip into the top corner, that he definitely meant. Stoichkov and Romario banging in the goals, both my favourite players at my favourite club, Barcelona.

Oleg Salenko getting 5 goals in a game stands out, too. Daniel Amokachi and Nigeria tearing Argentina apart had me and my mates running out to my back garden to have a frantic kick-around.

Saeed-al-Owairan scored one of the best goals ever at a WC, too. Never gets the credit like Maradona's goal against England does, even though it was just as good.

The German side then was still great, too, with Sammer, Lothar Mattheus, Kohler, Andy Moeller, Tomas Hassler etc. all in their prime.

Shane MacGowan isn't a manic depressive. He just loves being drunk. Paul McGrath is bankrupt and all that shit. He is in bad shapes.

Unless you have a video or DVD of the finals, your memory is pretty superb.

When you say Barca are your favourite club, does that still apply or was it just because of the players they had at the time, because I thought you don't support anyone.

That was the WC that got me into football. I'll always remember the miss by Baggio and some dude killing that Columbian player, who scored his own goal, when he got home :nono:

Well Baggio was untouchable until he played us McGrath had him in his pocket along with most of Italy for that game. Still one of my fondest memories as a child is that game I was about 8 or 9 only but I still remember it. And are you sure about McGrath ECG? I thought he'd kicked the drink hope thats not true the blokes my hero basically.

Baggio balooning that peno was a big memory of that too.

Yeah Baggio and the Columbian guy are the big stories I remember :nono:

That and the United States did somewhat decent :o And didn't Bulgaria or something make it really far?

:drool:

Seriously.

Your Scottish?

World Cup is the only time I can stand watching football. And only if Ireland is playing.

It's pretty much all from memory. My mate has the round-up on video, but we haven't watched it since that Le Tournai thing was on years ago.

It still applies, but it was because of the players back then that I started loving them. I was a big fan of AC Milan's team, mainly because of Van Basten.

Also, I just remembered that Gullit wasn't at the 94 World Cup. He pulled a Roy Keane, had a dispute with the coach and walked out just before it started. Disappointing.

I'm not really sure how he is, actually. I remember hearing his mates had to get together some money and help him out.

Didn't know that. Shit thats fairly disapointing the blokes responsible for my love of football and Aston Villa really.

I have. One of the worst experiences (if not the worst) of my life.