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Post by MrHulot on Jun 25, 2015 12:45:56 GMT
Blatter's gone, good riddance! Let's hope that better days are ahead!
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Post by 50belowzero on Jun 25, 2015 13:32:56 GMT
Thanks for the answer Mr Hulot, makes sense about the defensive nature of "Golden Goal" OT's, seems to be the same reason the NHL changed their format as well. Still really enjoyed the "Golden Goal" drama, as i do in the NHL, except when the B's are involved, especially playoff time, ulcer inducing.
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Post by MrHulot on Jun 25, 2015 16:28:52 GMT
Thanks for the answer Mr Hulot, makes sense about the defensive nature of "Golden Goal" OT's, seems to be the same reason the NHL changed their format as well. Still really enjoyed the "Golden Goal" drama, as i do in the NHL, except when the B's are involved, especially playoff time, ulcer inducing. I liked the golden goal drama, too, it added some special flavor to the games. And I'm not really sure if I believe FIFA's story about the defensive nature. I remember that the rule faced a lot of opposition even before it went into effect. And egomaniacs like Septic Bladder certainly didn't want to be seen as copycats, as some people said that FIFA stole the sudden death concept from hockey and only gave it a different name.
Canadian hockey referees officiating a game between Canada and Sweden (last year's gold medal game in Sochi) and the Swedes being absolutely okay with it, that would never happen in soccer. IMHO soccer referees sometimes are so grossly incompetent, it's ridiculous. And there is so much corruption in the "beautiful game", I'm absolutely sure that some games, maybe even a lot of games are fixed.
But let's talk about something else, something that could be a good thing for soccer in the USA: LA Galaxy have signed Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard.
"Stevie G." might not be quite as pretty and glamorous as David Beckham, but on the pitch he has a lot more to offer than Posh Spice's husband. Beckham really was just a one-trick pony, a great right foot for free kicks and corner kicks, but not much else. Gerrard led his team to one of the most stunning comebacks in soccer history in the 2005 UEFA champions league final against AC Milan (3-0 down at half time, Liverpool tied the game in the second half and won it in the penalty shootout, with Gerrard scoring the first goal for the Reds shortly after half time), and that's just one chapter in his amazing story. In a recent poll among Liverpool fans, Gerrard was named the best player to ever wear the red shirt, ahead of soccer legends like Kenny Dalglish, Ian Rush, Kevin Keegan or Roger Hunt. If Manchester United fans had to pick their best players, Beckham wouldn't even make the top ten.
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Post by socca10 on Jun 25, 2015 16:42:20 GMT
Having said that, I always respected Becks. Over-rated? Maybe, but for a multi-millionaire, playboy, international superstar athlete, I give him props for his work ethic. He had his down moments, but he was a gamer too. Maybe gets more credit for making that kind of career with that limited amount of talent. Gerrard coming to MLS is great for a league which keeps getting better. The quality of play on the field is now generally decent, and there are some very good international-quality players in the league who aren't washed up has-beens. I just wish a team other than LA would get these guys.
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Post by 50belowzero on Jun 25, 2015 16:51:01 GMT
How about Pirlo to NYC, not bad for them, although Pirlo is getting up there in age, he's still respectable.
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Post by MrHulot on Jun 25, 2015 17:06:11 GMT
Having said that, I always respected Becks. Over-rated? Maybe, but for a multi-millionaire, playboy, international superstar athlete, I give him props for his work ethic. He had his down moments, but he was a gamer too. Maybe gets more credit for making that kind of career with that limited amount of talent.
Gerrard coming to MLS is great for a league which keeps getting better. The quality of play on the field is now generally decent, and there are some very good international-quality players in the league who aren't washed up has-beens. I just wish a team other than LA would get these guys. The limited amount of talent, work ethic, okay. Being married to a (former) pop star certainly didn't hurt. Heck, people who never even saw him play knew his (and his wife's) name. And to be fair, he didn't stay with ManU long enough to really be considered a legend there (plus he would be up against Sir Bobby Charlton, George Best, Denis Law, Ryan Giggs, Eric Cantona, just to name a few).
Yes, no more über-busts like Lothar Matthäus, thank God.
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Post by MrHulot on Jun 25, 2015 17:09:24 GMT
How about Pirlo to NYC, not bad for them, although Pirlo is getting up there in age, he's still respectable. Pirlo is a sly old fox, he will succeed on guile alone. I'll never forget his penalty kick ("the Panenka") against England in the EURO 2012. Priceless.
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Post by 50belowzero on Jun 25, 2015 17:24:31 GMT
How about Pirlo to NYC, not bad for them, although Pirlo is getting up there in age, he's still respectable. Pirlo is a sly old fox, he will succeed on guile alone. I'll never forget his penalty kick ("the Panenka") against England in the EURO 2012. Priceless. I have to say, while not of Italian heritage and have no leanings toward their national team at all, i really love the way he runs their national team engine, he is a master at delivering the ball and on set pieces especially, imo. I just like the way he plays soccer, effortless it seems to me.
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Post by MrHulot on Jun 25, 2015 17:33:12 GMT
Pirlo is a sly old fox, he will succeed on guile alone. I'll never forget his penalty kick ("the Panenka") against England in the EURO 2012. Priceless. I have to say, while not of Italian heritage and have no leanings toward their national team at all, i really love the way he runs their national team engine, he is a master at delivering the ball and on set pieces especially, imo. I just like the way he plays soccer, effortless it seems to me. Same here, and the word "effortless" really says it all.
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Post by RichHillOntario on Jul 1, 2015 4:10:32 GMT
Having said that, I always respected Becks. Over-rated? Maybe, but for a multi-millionaire, playboy, international superstar athlete, I give him props for his work ethic. He had his down moments, but he was a gamer too. Maybe gets more credit for making that kind of career with that limited amount of talent. Gerrard coming to MLS is great for a league which keeps getting better. The quality of play on the field is now generally decent, and there are some very good international-quality players in the league who aren't washed up has-beens. I just wish a team other than LA would get these guys. I can't remember who's quote this was but in describing one of his skills "he could cross the ball and have it land on a sixpence."
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Post by MrHulot on Jul 1, 2015 14:20:14 GMT
Having said that, I always respected Becks. Over-rated? Maybe, but for a multi-millionaire, playboy, international superstar athlete, I give him props for his work ethic. He had his down moments, but he was a gamer too. Maybe gets more credit for making that kind of career with that limited amount of talent. Gerrard coming to MLS is great for a league which keeps getting better. The quality of play on the field is now generally decent, and there are some very good international-quality players in the league who aren't washed up has-beens. I just wish a team other than LA would get these guys. I can't remember who's quote this was but in describing one of his skills "he could cross the ball and have it land on a sixpence." I think I read that quote, but as far as I remember it was about his Manchester United teammate Paul Scholes - I'm not really sure, could be wrong here.
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If someone is interested in literature about soccer, here's a book I have tried to read, and I can only advise you to avoid it:
David Peace, the author of "The Damned Utd.", a book I really liked, has tried to write a book about Bill Shankly, who managed Liverpool FC from 1959 until 1974 and led the Reds from the depths of the second division to the top of English soccer. Should be a wonderful subject - Shankly was a master motivator, his quotes are legendary, here's the most famous one:
Unfortunately Peace has employed a some kind of style which is extremely hard to swallow - here's a sample:
It goes on like that forever. After a few pages you feel like you've been brainwashed. Not worth your time or money.
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Post by 50belowzero on Jul 1, 2015 15:12:48 GMT
I can't remember who's quote this was but in describing one of his skills "he could cross the ball and have it land on a sixpence." I think I read that quote, but as far as I remember it was about his Manchester United teammate Paul Scholes - I'm not really sure, could be wrong here.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If someone is interested in literature about soccer, here's a book I have tried to read, and I can only advise you to avoid it:
David Peace, the author of "The Damned Utd.", a book I really liked, has tried to write a book about Bill Shankly, who managed Liverpool FC from 1959 until 1974 and led the Reds from the depths of the second division to the top of English soccer. Should be a wonderful subject - Shankly was a master motivator, his quotes are legendary, here's the most famous one:
Unfortunately Peace has employed a some kind of style which is extremely hard to swallow - here's a sample:
It goes on like that forever. After a few pages you feel like you've been brainwashed. Not worth your time or money. In the review quote on the cover from "The Observer", they say its a masterpiece! Are your standards too low? You should try reading it in the wind, rain & mud!
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Post by MrHulot on Jul 1, 2015 15:57:22 GMT
I think I read that quote, but as far as I remember it was about his Manchester United teammate Paul Scholes - I'm not really sure, could be wrong here.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If someone is interested in literature about soccer, here's a book I have tried to read, and I can only advise you to avoid it:
David Peace, the author of "The Damned Utd.", a book I really liked, has tried to write a book about Bill Shankly, who managed Liverpool FC from 1959 until 1974 and led the Reds from the depths of the second division to the top of English soccer. Should be a wonderful subject - Shankly was a master motivator, his quotes are legendary, here's the most famous one:
Unfortunately Peace has employed a some kind of style which is extremely hard to swallow - here's a sample:
It goes on like that forever. After a few pages you feel like you've been brainwashed. Not worth your time or money. In the review quote on the cover from "The Observer", they say its a masterpiece! Are your standards too low? You should try reading it in the wind, rain & mud! Yeah, I've read some reviews which were quite positive. Maybe my standards are indeed too low, lol. I would like to get more facts and insight about someone as revered as Shankly. Too bad this book is just repetition, repetition, repetition (I stole this from another review).
Here's another sample:
On Wednesday 13 February, 1963, Aston Villa came to Anfield, Liverpool. In the snow and in the ice. That evening, forty-six thousand, three hundred and seventy-four folk came to Anfield, too. In the snow and in the ice. In the eighteenth minute, Roger Hunt scored. In the twenty-fifth minute, Ian St. John scored. In the twenty-ninth minute, St.John scored again. And in the sixty-sixth minute, Hunt scored again. And Liverpool Football Club beat Aston Villa four-nil. At home, at Anfield. In the snow and in the ice. Three days after that, Wolverhampton Wanderers came to Anfield, Liverpool. Again, in the snow and in the ice. That afternoon, fifty-three thousand, five hundred and seventeen folk came to Anfield, too. In the snow and in the ice. In the seventeenth minute, Kevin Lewis scored. In the forty-seventh minute, Ian St. John scored. In the fifty-second minute, Lewis scored again. And in the eighty-seventh minute, St.John scored again. And Liverpool Football Club beat Wolverhampton Wanderers four-one. At home, at Anfield. In the snow and in the ice. That evening, Liverpool Football Club had not lost in their last twelve games. Liverpool Football Club had won their last nine League games. Liverpool Football Club still fifth in the First Division. Liverpool Football Club still prepared. Liverpool Football Club still ready. Prepared for Burnley, ready for their replay-
You know, I think Peace only read the match reports of those seasons and then started to copy-and-paste.
Hey, I can do that, too!
"A hockey masterpiece!" (Boston Globe)
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Post by MrHulot on Jul 2, 2015 16:58:02 GMT
So on Sunday it's going to be Japan vs. USA in FIFA Women's World Cup final (7 pm Eastern). So far I have only watched highlights of the semifinals, so I can't really say much about the teams.
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Post by 50belowzero on Jul 2, 2015 17:36:40 GMT
So on Sunday it's going to be Japan vs. USA in FIFA Women's World Cup final (7 pm Eastern). So far I have only watched highlights of the semifinals, so I can't really say much about the teams. Watched both games, i knew USA would make the final even though Germany was ranked higher in the world women's rankings. USA has been playing tight D, 1 gl allowed the entire tournament, they are opportunistic and create scoring chances, they are good. The other semi was Japan/England, Japan the defending World Cup champs, England i believe has a #7 world ranking, game was tied , both gls via the PK, heading to ET, then at the 92' minute mark, with 1 min left in injury time, England scores an own gl, heartbreaking for them. I do think Japan will give the US a tougher game in the final, than England would have though.
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Post by MrHulot on Jul 2, 2015 19:55:34 GMT
So on Sunday it's going to be Japan vs. USA in FIFA Women's World Cup final (7 pm Eastern). So far I have only watched highlights of the semifinals, so I can't really say much about the teams. Watched both games, i knew USA would make the final even though Germany was ranked higher in the world women's rankings. USA has been playing tight D, 1 gl allowed the entire tournament, they are opportunistic and create scoring chances, they are good. The other semi was Japan/England, Japan the defending World Cup champs, England i believe has a #7 world ranking, game was tied , both gls via the PK, heading to ET, then at the 92' minute mark, with 1 min left in injury time, England scores an own gl, heartbreaking for them.I do think Japan will give the US a tougher game in the final, than England would have though. And what a great goal it was. No disrespek to the English team or poor Laura Bassett, but had that been a striker scoring a regular goal it probably would have been called "the goal of the tournament". What about Hope Solo's antics before Germany's penalty kick? Let's just say she was very clever. Earlier today I watched the goals, some chances and the shootout from the game between France and Germany on youtube, and IMHO the French should have won that one, but penalty kicks must have been invented by Wernher von Braun, it seems like the Germans never miss - until Solo psyched out Šašić... I hope the US will win the final.
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Post by 50belowzero on Jul 2, 2015 20:07:56 GMT
The French were the better team against Germany all game long and deserved a better fate, but that seems to happen a lot in sports. I watched the PK with Sasic but can't recall the Solo psyche out. What happened?
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Post by MrHulot on Jul 3, 2015 21:49:38 GMT
The French were the better team against Germany all game long and deserved a better fate, but that seems to happen a lot in sports. I watched the PK with Sasic but can't recall the Solo psyche out. What happened? Solo stalled Šašić, she walked around in the box, went off the pitch and drank some water, the referee was really close to booking her before she eventually took her spot on the goal line - basically wasting time to break Šašić's concentration. It was like football teams trying to freeze the opposing place kicker before a field goal attempt. Borderline unsportsmanlike conduct, but very effective. I thought it was a lot worse than Bruce Grobelaar's wobbly knees in Rome in 1984, or jumping jack Jerzy Dudek in Istanbul in 2005. It definitely worked. And I picked up something on the web, soccer fans (obviously not from Germany) calling Šašić "Sausage", I wonder if the pun is intended since Šašić plays for Frankfurt... About the better team losing the game - do you remember former England international Gary Lineker's most famous quote? ‘Football is a simple game; 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans win.' Not this time...
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Post by 50belowzero on Jul 3, 2015 22:01:55 GMT
Solo stalled Šašić, she walked around in the box, went off the pitch and drank some water, the referee was really close to booking her before she eventually took her spot on the goal line - basically wasting time to break Šašić's concentration. It was like football teams trying to freeze the opposing place kicker before a field goal attempt. Borderline unsportsmanlike conduct, but very effective. I thought it was a lot worse than Bruce Grobelaar's wobbly knees in Rome in 1984, or jumping jack Jerzy Dudek in Istanbul in 2005. It definitely worked. And I picked up something on the web, soccer fans (obviously not from Germany) calling Šašić "Sausage", I wonder if the pun is intended since Šašić plays for Frankfurt... About the better team losing the game - do you remember former England international Gary Lineker's most famous quote? ‘Football is a simple game; 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans win.'
Not this time... You know, i was watching the last World Cup final between Germany/Argentina and the announcer, who called a great game, wish i could remember his name, but anyway, he mentioned this exact quote and at the time i thought it was him who said it and he ended up being right in the end. But it was Lineker eh' ? Lineker was a fine striker as i recall for England. Didn't he lead a WC in scoring one yr? Anyway, i love that quote, the Germans don't win all the time , but they're bloody good footballers. Lineker should have added, "except against the Italians!
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Post by MrHulot on Jul 3, 2015 22:42:47 GMT
Solo stalled Šašić, she walked around in the box, went off the pitch and drank some water, the referee was really close to booking her before she eventually took her spot on the goal line - basically wasting time to break Šašić's concentration. It was like football teams trying to freeze the opposing place kicker before a field goal attempt. Borderline unsportsmanlike conduct, but very effective. I thought it was a lot worse than Bruce Grobelaar's wobbly knees in Rome in 1984, or jumping jack Jerzy Dudek in Istanbul in 2005. It definitely worked. And I picked up something on the web, soccer fans (obviously not from Germany) calling Šašić "Sausage", I wonder if the pun is intended since Šašić plays for Frankfurt... About the better team losing the game - do you remember former England international Gary Lineker's most famous quote? ‘Football is a simple game; 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans win.'
Not this time... You know, i was watching the last World Cup final between Germany/Argentina and the announcer, who called a great game, wish i could remember his name, but anyway, he mentioned this exact quote and at the time i thought it was him who said it and he ended up being right in the end. But it was Lineker eh' ? Lineker was a fine striker as i recall for England. Didn't he lead a WC in scoring one yr? Anyway, i love that quote, the Germans don't win all the time , but they're bloody good footballers. Lineker should have added, "except against the Italians!Oh yeah! I remember "the game of the century" (Italy beat West Germany 4-3 after extra time in the 1970 World Cup in Mexico in the semifinals), I watched it as an eight-year old kid. What a roller coaster! Lineker was the top goal scorer in the 1986 (hand of God) World Cup (again in Mexico), IIRC. His nickname was "Gary Goal". Great finisher, very classy fellow, and IMHO also a good commentator (they call it "pundit" in the UK). I think the West Germans had a couple of great teams in the 1970s (don't know that much about the 50s and 60s), with Maier in goal, the incomparable Beckenbauer (probably the best German footballer of all time, but also incredibly full of himself and one of the biggest crooks in FIFA - they don't call him "der Kaiser" for nothing), Netzer, Grabowski and the ultimate goal poacher Gerd Müller. Since then I regarded them as extremely effective, but nowhere near as good as their 1972 EURO squad or the 1974 World Cup side, which IMHO was not quite as good as the 1972 edition (Overath filling in for Netzer in 1974). They won a bunch of games they had no business winning (1982 World Cup semifinal against France, on penalties - as usual; the 1996 EURO semifinal vs England, again on penalties; in the 2002 World Cup against the US, when the ref made some terrible calls in favor of Germany, including not awarding a penalty kick to the US squad after Frings had clearly handled the ball on the German goal line). Current team USA head coach Jürgen Klinsmann was one of the worst divers ever in soccer, and the less being said about Lothar Matthäus (IMHO incredibly overrated), the better.
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Post by RichHillOntario on Jul 3, 2015 22:46:53 GMT
I can't remember who's quote this was but in describing one of his skills "he could cross the ball and have it land on a sixpence." I think I read that quote, but as far as I remember it was about his Manchester United teammate Paul Scholes - I'm not really sure, could be wrong here.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If someone is interested in literature about soccer, here's a book I have tried to read, and I can only advise you to avoid it:
David Peace, the author of "The Damned Utd.", a book I really liked, has tried to write a book about Bill Shankly, who managed Liverpool FC from 1959 until 1974 and led the Reds from the depths of the second division to the top of English soccer. Should be a wonderful subject - Shankly was a master motivator, his quotes are legendary, here's the most famous one:
Unfortunately Peace has employed a some kind of style which is extremely hard to swallow - here's a sample:
It goes on like that forever. After a few pages you feel like you've been brainwashed. Not worth your time or money. I enjoyed the movie, Mr. Hulot. Have you seen it?
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Post by MrHulot on Jul 3, 2015 22:52:12 GMT
I think I read that quote, but as far as I remember it was about his Manchester United teammate Paul Scholes - I'm not really sure, could be wrong here.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If someone is interested in literature about soccer, here's a book I have tried to read, and I can only advise you to avoid it:
David Peace, the author of "The Damned Utd.", a book I really liked, has tried to write a book about Bill Shankly, who managed Liverpool FC from 1959 until 1974 and led the Reds from the depths of the second division to the top of English soccer. Should be a wonderful subject - Shankly was a master motivator, his quotes are legendary, here's the most famous one:
Unfortunately Peace has employed a some kind of style which is extremely hard to swallow - here's a sample:
It goes on like that forever. After a few pages you feel like you've been brainwashed. Not worth your time or money. I enjoyed the movie, Mr. Hulot. Have you seen it? "The Damned Utd"? Yes, fine flick, great performance by Michael Sheen. I wonder if they will ever make a movie about Shankly - who's good enough to play him? Jim Broadbent?
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Post by RichHillOntario on Jul 3, 2015 22:52:28 GMT
Folks might also enjoy the documentary "Once In A Lifetime:The Extraordinary Story Of The New York Cosmos." The subheading reads "Goals. Greed. Girls. And That's Just The First Half...That football club of Ghinalia, Pele, Carlos Alberto, Franz Beckenbauer were serious chick hounds. I saw them play here in Toronto vs the Toronto Metro-Croatia years ago.
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Post by RichHillOntario on Jul 3, 2015 23:00:11 GMT
I enjoyed the movie, Mr. Hulot. Have you seen it? "The Damned Utd"? Yes, fine flick, great performance by Michael Sheen. I wonder if they will ever make a movie about Shankly - who's good enough to play him? Jim Broadbent?Yes. Ray Winstone, maybe? Naw. Save him for Steve Bruce.
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Post by MrHulot on Jul 3, 2015 23:09:47 GMT
The Italians were always up to the challenge against (West) Germany, their squads built from the back end (I think it was some baldheaded, fried-chicken loving guy named Claudio Giuliani who introduced the Italians to defensive soccer, or "the Catenaccio"), great goalies (Dino Zoff, Albertosi, Buffon), great fullbacks (Facchetti, Burgnich, Maldini), great centre halves (Picchi, Baresi, Cannavaro), some very creative midfielders (Mazzola, Rivera, later Altobelli and of course the great Andrea Pirlo), and a bunch of incredibly effective strikers (Gigi Riva, Roberto Boninsegna, Paolo Rossi, Toto Schillaci, Roberto Baggio, Christian Vieri, Pippo Inzaghi, Alessandro del Piero, Francesco Totti, Marco Balotelli). I think the Italians are really Germany's kryptonite; they can play a game of "hide-and-seek" with a lot of strategical moves, fakes, etc. as good as any squad, and they can be even more effective than German sides, while they have IMHO in general a tad more skill than the Germans.
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