Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal blasted FIFA for its refusal to scrap the World Cup’s third-place game, insisting that the consolation match should be consigned to history. VanGaal’s Dutch side will be forced to play host nation Brazil in Brasilia on Saturday after losing its semifinal to Argentina, 4-2, on penalties after 120 scoreless minutes. […]
world cup 2014
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Adidas Beats Nike 2-0 in Brand World Cup Final
German sportswear giant Adidas on Wednesday declared victory over U.S. rival Nike in the battle to be the biggest global soccer brand as two of its sponsored teams, Germany and Argentina, made tothe World Cup final. In addition to supplying the uniforms of both teams on Sunday, Adidas will also supply the game ball (the […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Argentina Heads into Final as Underdog
Argentina heads into Sunday’s World Cup final as the underdog following its 4-2 win on penalties against the Netherlands after 120 scoreless minutes. Man-of-the-Match Sergio Romerosaved penalties by Ron Vlaar and Wesley Sneijder during the shootout to send Argentina through. “Penalties are a question of luck,” Romero said after the game. “I hadconfidence in myself […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
What They're Saying: Sergio Romero
”He is someone that helped me a lot when I arrived in the Netherlands, in a completely different country with different customs. I will be forever grateful to the coach for helping me out in acountry that is so different from ours.” — Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero on Dutch coach Louis vanGaal, who brought him […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Zabaleta: Bloodied, blue and a proud Argentine
[SOCIAL MEDIA ROUNDUP] Pablo Zabaleta looked worse for wear after a collision with DirkKuyt that left him bloodied, but he still managed to sport a blue wig to celebrate Argentina’s shootout win over the Netherlands. Kobe Bryant saysSunday’s Argentina-Germany final will be great. For more reaction … Proud to be Argentine … Orgulloso de serARGENTINO!!!! […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Stars missing in Argentina-Netherlands semifinal
[BRAZIL 2014] “Soccer is illogical,” said Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella between semifinals this week. And who woulddisagree? From the madness of Tuesday’s Mineirazo to Wednesday’s utter futility in Sao Paulo, we saw soccer’s extremes. Brazil-Germany finished 7-1 for the Germans, but it could have easily been, oh,12-5. On Wednesday, Argentina-Netherlands was never going to finish […]
Posted inSoccer America Confidential, Story
Dutch run out of ideas as Argentines advance
By Mike Woitalla (@MikeWoitalla) The Dutch came into the semifinal after going 120 scoreless minutes against CostaRica and needing a shootout to advance. The Argentines mustered only one goal against Belgium in their 1-0 round-of-16 win. Argentina enjoyed a home team environment and enough DutchOrange-clad fans arrived in Sao Paulo to rock Arena Corinthians. The […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
World Reaction to Brazil's Semifinal Loss
BBC Sport looked at how the world reacted to the biggest World Cup semifinal defeat in history, which some newspapers described as “shameful” and a “humiliation for thehost nation.” Some highlights: Former England striker Gary Lineker: “It was not just a defeat for the host nation, but a humiliation for the host nation. It is […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Neymar's Agent Blasts Scolari on Twitter
Following Brazil’s 7-1 mauling by Germany in the World Cup semifinal on Tuesday, Neymar’s agent Wagner Ribeiro ripped into Selecao coach Luiz Felipe Scolari onTwitter with an ironic list of “six requirements to be Brazilian coach.” “One – being Portugal Coach and winning nothing. Two – going to Chelsea and being sackedthe following day. Three […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Why Germany's Semifinal Romp is 14 Years in the Making
In an article for Bloomberg Businessweek, contributor Brendan Greeley points out that Germany’s 7-1 thrashing of Brazil in the World Cup semifinal is 14 years in the making.Following Germany’s embarrassing first-round exit at the Euro 2000 championship in the Netherlands and Belgium, the German soccer federation (DFB) launched a concerted effort to find, nurtureand develop […]