Target Cristiano Ronaldo

[Eddie]

Actually Neekoy I did respond to it. My point was that there are players from every nation that dive; however, not every nation seems to have all 11 doing it and having it occur every game as a sort of tactic. The English don't regularly dive (as I said Joe Cole being the only real diver) and if you remember when Gerrard did dive he was ripped to shreds by the media and fans (Ian Wright excepted). Somehow I don't see that happening in other countries and it is testament to the fact that we do not consider it to be part of our game.

[neekoy]

Sorry Eddie I must have missed your post

I can't say for sure Eddie, in Australia the World Cup was being ripped apart for the diving, are you saying there was no criticism in France after Henry's theatrics?

[Eddie]

You mean when he went down clutching his face after not really being touched? Not a mention. I just think for a lot of other countries diving is part of the game and they only care about it when it is against them, but don't mind winning because of it. For British sides we have the mindset of the noble victory and a tainted victory isn't one that we want. I saw an interesting interview with Maradonna recently where he said that English players were the most Noble around and that South Americans struggled to understand why they would play in such a way when it was to their own disadvantage.

[Grabbi Graeme]

Most English fans knew what to expect with Ronaldo as we see every week of the season when he plays for Man Utd, but referees get wise and all Portugal are doing is building themselves a bad reputation and when they do have a claim for a stonewall penalty the referee might not give due to how Portugal have dived in the past.

Good to see though that it's not just us who look for scapegoats when we lose , the referee got most of the blame from big Phil and Ronaldo.

The ref for me did ok but only shown 1 yellow and that was Saha who came on as a sub and sfter he was booked got some delusion that he was playing for Portugal as he kept giving the ball away.

Can't remember which pundit it was last night who said the only way that diving will be taken out the game is to red card a player for doin it and the rest will realise how costly it could be.

[Eddie]

Most English fans knew what to expect with Ronaldo as we see every week of the season when he plays for Man Utd, but referees get wise and all Portugal are doing is building themselves a bad reputation and when they do have a claim for a stonewall penalty the referee might not give due to how Portugal have dived in the past.

Good to see though that it's not just us who look for scapegoats when we lose , the referee got most of the blame from big Phil and Ronaldo.

The ref for me did ok but only shown 1 yellow and that was Saha who came on as a sub and sfter he was booked got some delusion that he was playing for Portugal as he kept giving the ball away.

Can't remember which pundit it was last night who said the only way that diving will be taken out the game is to red card a player for doin it and the rest will realise how costly it could be.

That was Shearer and I agree that Portugal suffered last night becae of the reputation that they have built for themselves in the games against the Netherlands and England.

[Oklahoma]

The reputation was built by portuguese players and the foreign press.

French players and national coach complained about it in the days before and the first player to dive in the game was Ribery. Ironic, right?

Ricardo Carvalho got a yellow card too. The ref did ok, just forgot cards for the dives and some fouls. It seems he didn't want players to miss the final (only Carvalho and Saha will).

[speeeeeeedie]

When English players dive it is looked upon with scorn for the mostpart. I reckon that if the English played like the Portuguese the fans would be happy but there would be a bit of shame about it.

As I've said before England is miles behind in the theatrical stakes. Until FIFA do something about it we will have to play catch up in order to progress.

Portugal garnered their reputation way before the England game. The group stage was a prelude, the Dutch game was a horror show, England was the zenith, and France was the fall. The fact that the crowd booed every time Ronaldo got the ball said something about the following Portugal had. Many neutrals wanted Portugal out as they weren't very appreciated for their constant tactics. I do believe that the worst single game was USA-Italy. The Italians completey bewildered the very honest Yanks. However they've picked up since then, the Portuguese did not.

What really cuts to the bone is the fact that a bad Portugal put an inept England out. They won an easy group, resorted to attrition against Holland, scored more penalites than useless England, and finally came unstuck. If they'd have played a team with any attacking nouse before the semi's they would have gone home as they never looked like scoring. Scolari deserves credit for making them organised, but you have to wonder why he's now played 2 tournaments with toothless Pauleta up front whilst having decent strikers keeping the bench warm.

I think Ronaldo has played well this WC, unfortunately everyone in England will remember his winking. If he does leave it will be a shame for the Premier League as he is a genuine talent who is only 21. Carvalho is the bigger villain in my book. His constant pulling, holding, arms wide in innocence poses grate me. He put in an awful tackle for his booking last night. It was his just dessets that he caught Henry for the pen.

[Oklahoma]

Italy picked up alright. A fake penalty against Australia, an offside goal against Ukraine when it was most likely an equalizer for the Ukraine.

And calling english fans neutral when it comes to Portugal is too much of a nonsense

[McClarky]

Can someone explain what Ronaldo, or any Portugeese player for that matter, did that was so wrong against England. All of this stinks to me of the usual looking for a Johnny Foreigner scapegoat and thinly veiled jingoism. Lets face it, they were better than us and we lost, end of story.

[BuckyRover]

Can someone explain what Ronaldo, or any Portugeese player for that matter, did that was so wrong against England. All of this stinks to me of the usual looking for a Johnny Foreigner scapegoat and thinly veiled jingoism. Lets face it, they were better than us and we lost, end of story.

Since when did losing on penalties with 10 men, mean that we were beaten by a better team.

It only proves that we were more than a match for each other.

[cletus]

Christiano Ronaldo has opened his own soccer school:-

clicky! clicky!

[roversmum]

I hope he's stocked up with plenty of diving gear.

And for the record, I can't stand the sainted John Terry either , he's not above a crafty dig at someone and trying to influence the ref.

[speeeeeeedie]

Portugal weren't better than England. You can blame numerous people for the loss. It turns out that Ronaldo is not one of them. The ref sent off Rooney for stamping on Carvalho. If Rooney deliberately did it (I don't think he did) then he gets a lot of the blame. If not, the ref gets some for a bad decision. Next up are Lampard, Gerrard, and Carragher for missing penalties. After that Paul Robinson for not saving Portugal's.

Ultimately the blame lies with the lot of them. A manager stuck with playing silly systems, players not playing to their club levels, coaches not preparing the team properly. I could go on. There is no jingoism here; just bitterness at getting beat playing awful football against a team playing awful football of a different brand.

Oklahoma, read this board, we have non-English on here slating the Portuguese for starters. What about the French?

Edited July 6, 2006 by speeeeeeedie

[Shevchenko]

Next up are Lampard, Gerrard, and Carragher for missing penalties.

Lampard also gets the blame for being generally bloody awful throughout the tournament.

As for slating the portuguese, I agree with everything said against them. They have been disgraceful and not just against England. But they haven't been the only ones cheating. Personally, I'm getting fed up with the whole thing and it's ruining the game for me. During the last few years there's been more and more cheating going on and this tournament has been totally ruined by it for me. It's not just diving, it's general unsporting behaviour like faking injuries, influencing the referee and generally acting like pansies.

I'm sick of it.

Look at the Tour de France....I know, say what you want about drugs and all, but the guys who are clean...THEY are true sportsmen. Look at Stuart O'Grady. He crashed a few days ago and fractured a disc in his back. Did he quit? No, he's still going. Look at footballers. A little kick and they are down, rolling about in "pain". Well sod them, stop playing the ball out so they can get "attention" and yellow card ANY player who goes down in "pain" only to come back a minute later perfectly fine.

Cheats, the lot of them.

[Oklahoma]

Oklahoma, read this board, we have non-English on here slating the Portuguese for starters. What about the French?

I know portuguese players aren't saints and I disaprove of the diving and cheating that some of them do. It goes down to our league, where they are not punished enough, I think.

But, someone actually managed to do some statistics on the WC. And guess what? Portugal are not the biggest divers, nor the ones who fake more injuries or the ones that cause more tantrums. (and I'm only comapring with the teams in the semis, didn't bother to make an average to compare to the others).

We got the reputation, after foreign press, managers and players spending all the time moaning before and after games. And when it is done before, we all know that it is to take advantage of the situation.

Funny how Portugal has the reputation and it was Argentina and Germany that started a fight after the end of the game. And Italy actually passed to the quarter finals by cheating and the worst was De Rossi.

Statistics so far

Look at footballers. A little kick and they are down, rolling about in "pain". Well sod them, stop playing the ball out so they can get "attention" and yellow card ANY player who goes down in "pain" only to come back a minute later perfectly fine.

Cheats, the lot of them.

The magical spray should be banned from using so we could see who has real injuries that really hurt

Edited July 6, 2006 by Oklahoma

[blue phil]

I could't care less if it was only done once it is cheating whoever the part to blame is

BP, how can you defend Rooney against other posters calling him scum ect if in the same thread taint CR as a "greasy scumbag"?

Do you feel because of his origins he is 'greasy' or a 'scumbag'?

I was just a bit peeved at South Aussie Don assuming Rooney would be a hooligan if he wasn't a player . Maybe I came on a bit strong ....sorry , Don

Ronaldo by his actions has proved himself to be a scumbag . He is also very greasy .

[Oklahoma]

Rooney by his actions has proved himself to be a scumbag

[speeeeeeedie]

Oklahoma, I hate diving. Portugal got the worst of the stick as they progressed the furthest and at times seemed to totally rely on "the dark arts". Those stats of yours don't paint Portugal in a favourable light. I will always feel more aggrieved when England are hard done by as they are my team, just as you are standing your corner now, but some of the actions really got my goat. One incident that really wound me up was late on. A Portugal player was "injured", our keeper had the ball in his hands. He threw it out so the lad could get treatment. What did Portugal do once their player was up and running again? Give it back to the keeper? As that is where the ball was before the injury. No, they booted it the ball out for a throw in near to England's corner flag. Sportsmanship?

An old favourite that is making a comeback is when players automatically grab the ball when they fall over; the South Americans are good at this. The ref has to blow the whistle. I've yet to see one where the ref gives handball though.

Edited July 6, 2006 by speeeeeeedie

[Oklahoma]

Well, didn't see anyone here mention that Holland didn't give the ball away after the ref stopped the play for a player to receive treatment when the ball was ours. But hey, it's holland, not Portugal!

Need I remember you an episode involving Rovers a few years ago?

Why do I get the impression that, even giving the ball back, you are being picky?

[SouthAussieRover]

Need I remember you an episode involving Rovers a few years ago?

Why do I get the impression that, even giving the ball back, you are being picky?

That was different. Rovers were facing relegation if it hadn't been for Saint Sutton's action.

Btw thanks BP

[American]

Well, didn't see anyone here mention that Holland didn't give the ball away after the ref stopped the play for a player to receive treatment when the ball was ours. But hey, it's holland, not Portugal!

Need I remember you an episode involving Rovers a few years ago?

Why do I get the impression that, even giving the ball back, you are being picky?

Actually, a couple of us mentioned it at the time and thought that Deco's yellow for it was a great move.

The second yellow, however, was shear stupidity.

[Oklahoma]

Sorry, just remembered that.

It was a great move but a stupid one. He could have got red card for that. Well, he got it later anyway lol

Edited July 6, 2006 by Oklahoma

[USABlue]

Can someone explain what Ronaldo, or any Portugeese player for that matter, did that was so wrong against England. All of this stinks to me of the usual looking for a Johnny Foreigner scapegoat and thinly veiled jingoism. Lets face it, they were better than us and we lost, end of story.

I will cite the behaviour of Maniche. Contact made to his back, albeit minimal and the clown is rolling around on the ground clutching his face. All the while this is on the "sporting" Portugese show their concern for their player by guzzling drinks as fast as they can. Maniche's theatric made me nausious.

Fitting middle finger for England from FIFA by giving the "Rooney" ref the final. I reviewed the incident on tape and he was not going to do anything until Rooney gave a little push then the Ref leaped into action. Rooney is to blame he should have known to just headbutt the guy cos that was shown to be worth only a yellow card in an earlier "sporting" Portugese game.

[Oklahoma]

Well, if the ref was not going to sent off Rooney for the stamping, he would be getting it wrong.

Funny to know that C Ronaldo is the first to pressure a referee. Never saw that in EPL

[blue phil]

A little kick and they are down, rolling about in "pain". Well sod them, stop playing the ball out so they can get "attention" and yellow card ANY player who goes down in "pain" only to come back a minute later perfectly fine.

Cheats, the lot of them.

I've been of the opinion for quite a while now that if a player goes down "injured" and the opposition kick the ball into touch after 10 seconds or so , then that player should be immediately stretchered off and not be allowed to return for 5 or even 10 minutes . If he is genuinely injured then a substitution should be allowed .

This would deter the cheats and encourage them to stay on their feet or immediately get up when fouled and get on with the game . Less time to badger the ref about bookings .