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There are a lot more evil idiots than evil geniuses.

Sadly, media malpractice has become standard practice.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

Republicans: slavery is when you own me. freedom is when I own you.

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

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Hey Washington Post, “Democracy Dies in Darkness” was supposed to be a warning, not a mission statement.

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75% of people clapping liked the show!

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Fear or fury? The choice is ours.

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Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

You are here: Home / Sports / Quarter-Final I: Czech Republic v Portugal

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61Comments

  3. 3.

    LGRooney

    Thanks for the reminder. In terms of national preference, I’ll take the Czechs (although, are they really so lacking in depth that they play Baros?). However, I think Ronaldo is one of the classiest players, among those with extreme talent, to come along. So, I would not be upset to see him and Portugal advance. I just think he deserves it but one man can’t carry a team.

  8. 8.

    LGRooney

    @Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again): I strongly disagree. He doesn’t dive or whinge as much as most of his fellow strikers, e.g., the main target from my Liverpool team, Suarez.

    He is more of a fighter than people give him credit for, he has one hell of a work rate, and, as we all know, can put them away – although he stuttered early in this tournament.

  9. 9.

    Leeds man

    I’m hoping the Czechs don’t bounce just yet. There’s only so many step-overs I can handle in one tournament.

  10. 10.

    LGRooney

    I hope the Czechs win just because I like the country better – never been one for warm, sunny climes (and I liked the mixed-European influence on the cuisine while I was there). I just can’t believe how many of the names on the team I have heard before – from a distant past (in terms of football careers).

    In any event, the Czechs have a secret weapon. Anyone else notice Jiracek bears an extraordinarily eerie resemblance to the European depiction of a certain Nazarene from c. 2000 years ago?

  11. 11.

    handsmile

    Any team that employs the berserk Pepe deserves defeat and ignominy.

    Setting aside my parson’s cloth for the moment, however, Portugal’s performance in the group stages has evolved to the point where it could fairly be considered an escuro cavalo [almost certainly wrong] in this tournament.

    CR7 has shaken off a troop of monkeys with his MOM performance against Holland. As perhaps the best left back at Euro2012 thus far, Fabio Coentrao has made good on a reputation not always in evidence at his club Real Madrid (Pepe’s club as well). On both sides of the ball, Portugal has demonstrated both grit and skill, replacing their customary practices of whining and maiming.

    Who knows what to expect from the Czech REpublic team today? This is the squad that lost its first match to Russia by 4-1 (meanwhile Russian players seek consolation enjoying “balalaikas ringing out” at their Crimean dachas) (Yay, UEFA geniuses!) and compiled a -1 goal differential in group play.

    Veteran playmaker Tomas Rosicky has not recovered sufficiently from injury to start and his absence may be decisive. And while statistics claim that the Czech Rep’s starting striker Milan Baros has played for all but 29 minutes in three group matches, I’ll be damned if i can remember seeing him in action once.

    One sentence verdict on Portugal v. Czech Republic: Just how good can Peter Cech be?

  13. 13.

    Amir Khalid

    Two bookings in quick succession for Portugal; Nani and Veloso. The Czech Republic are holding their own, and have kept CRonaldo quieter than he’d like.

  14. 14.

    Randinho

    @handsmile: Largely correct, although you’re using a slang term and that’s always risky (you should see the strange looks I got when I said to Germans “Ich habe meine scheisse zusammen”). My only quibble is that the noun precedes the adjective in Portuguese.

    BTW, we’re practically neighbors: I note that you live in Astoria and I’m in Jackson Heights.

  16. 16.

    Raven

    God I’m getting tired of people grabbing the backs of their heads. Is there NO other gesture in the beautiful game?

  17. 17.

    Paula

    Can’t say jack about this match, other than the fact that reading The Unbearable Lightness of Being means I have a soft spot for guys named Tomas.

    CR7: not cute in person IMHO. RM were doing some kind of exhibition match with Chivas Guadalajara in San Diego last summer and, without actually meaning to do it, I caught their tour bus. (I saw a small crowd gathering with recognizable jerseys and suspected a major team, but all their own bus driver could tell me was “I dunno, some soccer team”. Ah, America.)

  19. 19.

    Amir Khalid

    Half-time, match delicately poised, et cetera. CRonaldo’s starting to look more and more dangerous.

  21. 21.

    Amir Khalid

    @Punchy:
    No. Per FIFA’s laws of the game, profanity directed at officials in international matches must be in Klingon.

  22. 22.

    handsmile

    @Randinho: (#14)

    Hey neighbor! In fact, I left a comment for you at the end of the thread (can’t off the top of my head remember which match it was) when you first disclosed that. Will try to find it later (mostly because in it I asked for a recommendation for a Brazilian restaurant in Jackson Heights) :)

  24. 24.

    Paula

    @Raven: I dunno, I find it oddly endearing. It renders a certain amount of existentialist angst — why am I here, why do I care so much for a stupid ball going into a stupid net, why does this team matter to me so?

    And I love that even the fans of best clubs in the world are reduced to that pose.

  26. 26.

    MikeJ

    @Amir Khalid:

    Per FIFA’s laws of the game, profanity directed at officials in international matches must be in Klingon.

    That’s how they wound up with a president named Sepp Blatter.

  28. 28.

    Randinho

    @handsmile: Probably more likely to find a good Brazilian restaurant in Astoria than Jackson Heights.

    We should meet up for the final. E-mail off line at my contact info above.

  29. 29.

    SteveinSC

    Bom dia, you all. Vinho verde, of course, followed later by a Rainwater Madeira.

  31. 31.

    Bort

    Portugal! Because my wife’s family is from the Azores. And Ronaldo has such perty hair.

  33. 33.

    pseudonymous in nc

    Wouldn’t be surprised if Čech has broken his defender’s rib there.

  34. 34.

    Amir Khalid

    Half an hour to go, match still delicately poised, et cetera. A Guardian reader comments that CRonaldo is apparently transforming into his Playstation avatar.

  39. 39.

    Amir Khalid

    This could go to penalties.

    (If I say that, maybe someone will score.)
    ETA: And CRonaldo does indeed score. Yay me.

  43. 43.

    LGRooney

    @Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again): I don’t remember his diving that much from his Old Trafford days. And, I only watch Franco’s team when they play Barcelona, or in Champions League games, because there is a reasonable chance they might lose. I’m neither a fan of Portugal nor of Real Madrid (nor of ManU). Therefore, I am not much of a fan of Ronaldo but I will acknowledge talent when I see it and he’s got boatloads – not in the overhyped Beckham fashion, who was a one-trick pony and his percentages on his one trick weren’t even that high – and I don’t see him as the spoiled, arrogant, whiny, diving jackass that so many seem to do. Maybe I’m wrong, but that’s what I see.

  44. 44.

    JCJ

    @Amir Khalid:

    Whenever I am in Bangkok visiting my wife’s family I send happy balloon-juice thoughts your way figuring you are the closest Juicer (besides my daughter, but she only lurks)

  50. 50.

    Amir Khalid

    Full-time. My timely intervention #39 caused CRonaldo to score for Portugal, thus avoiding extra time and penalties. You’re welcome.

  51. 51.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    @LGRooney:

    I’ve never thought of him as particularly whiny or arrogant. I would never, ever dispute his talent. He’s got as much as anyone who’s ever played the game.

    But that’s what turns me off about the diving. He’s never needed to do it. He’s already playing at an advantage.

    BTW: We see eye-to-eye on Beckham. Amazing free kicks, but nothing else very special about him as a player.

  52. 52.

    Punchy

    What a boring-ass game. Please reduce my fear that all these games will be 1-nil snoozers like this….

  54. 54.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    Do not know how many of you tweet but @RickyGervais was watching the game on tv and watching @GaryLineker he tweeted to him that he should use all of the standard cliches “it is a game of two halves” “the boys gave 110%” etc., and Lineker did it,

    Ricky Gervais ‏@rickygervais

    “@GaryLineker:” Hahaha. You did it! You are a man of honour. I will donate £1000 to Great Ormond Street Hospital. The boy done good. Cheers

  55. 55.

    LGRooney

    @Randinho: I’ve been watching him for almost 10 years. Yes, he does dive but it is not a regular part of his game, i.e., I would not call him a diver. I might have done so in his early years at ManU but he has grown up since then. I’ve seen players who dive more often, I’ve seen players who dive more dramatically, and I’ve seen players who dive much more easily.

    Messi, with whom Ronaldo is too often compared, also dives. More often than not, if he has a chance at a goal, he will stay on his feet to see whether he can put it in the net. In the outfield, however, Messi will dive. Nonetheless, I wouldn’t call him a diver.

    Drogba is another one for whom I have incredible respect but I would call him a diver. Same with Suarez – it is an unfortunately large part of his game given his talent and the fact that he plays for my team.

  56. 56.

    handsmile

    Portugal v. Czech Republic, in brief: only a matter of time. Even briefer: inevitability.

    Great credit-and a hoist of Pilsner Urquell-to the Czech defenders (Kalec deserves team MOM, Limbersky tenacious throughout) who maintained disciplined and cooperative organization in the face of the Portuguese armada.

    As a general rule though, it is difficult to score on one’s opponent when a team fails to string consecutive passes beyond its midfield. Without Tomas Rosicky as playmaker, the Czechs were unable to execute that basic lesson. Not a boring game exactly (“Christ , when is CR7/Almeida/Nani et all gonna score?”) but two-way traffic is definitely preferable in a football match.

    So, anyone fancy an all-Iberian semifinal?

    A preemptive comment on the Germany v. Greece match. (And don’t the gods of football have a mordant sense of humor?)

    Thank goodness, Antonis Samaras was sworn into office today as the new Greek prime minister (best of luck, pal!), because some government official had to be responsible for sending Angela Merkel a crate of Greece’s best retsina.

    At kickoff tomorrow, I will either be with hypercaffeinated Greek expats at a nearby cafe or crushed among Madchen und Jungen at a German beer garden in NYC’s East Village. As disaffected as I am with the urban hellhole, living in one of the world’s cosmopoli during an international football tournament does have its advantages.

  57. 57.

    Amir Khalid

    @LGRooney:
    Manchester United legend George Best’s opinion of David Beckham:

    He cannot kick with his left foot, he cannot head a ball, he cannot tackle and he doesn’t score many goals. Apart from that he’s all right.

  58. 58.

    erik g

    @Punchy:
    Maybe they need to do a translation of the diagram(warning PDF!);)

    I must admit being an Arsenal fan w/o Thomas I’m still more for the Czechs (even with Cech) having grown up with Czechoslovakian neighbors, and though I do recognize CR7 abilities the diving of the Portuguese team leaves me cold.
    With the results is this not the second time for a potential Portuguese-Spanish matchup again?

  59. 59.

    LGRooney

    @Amir Khalid: The lack of a left foot is big for me. I can’t stand watching well-paid pros force things to their “one” foot. I am a rightie but spent a massive amount of time developing my left foot because my teams always needed people to play on the left. So, I became that person through practice to the point that my left was as strong and adept as my right. Why the hell can’t someone in an academy a/o getting paid to play do the same?

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