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You are here: Home / Sports / Argentina v Iran Open Thread

Reader Interactions

184Comments

  1. 1.

    HumboldtBlue

    Considering Messi is now making the tactical decisions for his nation’s team he had better run riot and if Iran remains within one goal by halftime I will make comments here, in this section, about Iran remaining within one goal by halftime.

    There is also some excellent coverage of the tourney in many places, ESPN has Men in Blazers and their post mortem of Engerland’s crashing out is pretty funny … “they’re CONCACUFFS!”

    Also, Randinho, you must make allowances for Valdivia the Terrible who has been the spiritual force behind the Ticos glorious romp through the group stages, please ensure we hear of this when appropriate.

    Messi 3, Iran 0

  3. 3.

    Burnspbesq

    This has every chance to be the biggest blowout of the group stage. If it’s not 2-0 inside 15 minutes I will be very surprised.

  4. 4.

    Amir Khalid

    On form, I’d give Argentina the advantage. But maybe not to the extent of running riot.

  5. 5.

    Morzer

    7-0 to Argentina. I am inspired by the 6-0 prediction for France versus the Gnome-fetishists from last night.

  8. 8.

    scav

    I don’t know which looks to be more interesting, the local predictions/support/comment positionning or the mere game in Brazil.

  9. 9.

    Corner Stone

    Given the recent developments in Iraq, shouldn’t we be rooting for our new bestie Iran here?

  11. 11.

    scav

    So. my inane little comment was called FYWP Offsides or something? Is going to be an interesting sort of a day.

  14. 14.

    Amir Khalid

    Cote d’Ivoire nearly lost two players this week. Yaya and Kolo Toure’s brother Ibrahim passed away in Manchester, after a long battle with cancer according to reports. Yaya and Kolo are staying in Brazil, rather than returning to England. They’ll have missed the funeral, but Ibrahim was a professional footballer himself and would apparently have wanted them to stay with the national team at the World Cup.

  18. 18.

    Corner Stone

    @Xenos: I think they’ll have rather more success as they don’t have to appear impartial in the ongoing civil war.

  19. 19.

    Tommy

    @Corner Stone: I was kind of thinking the same thing. I am not remotely putting down Argentina, beautiful country. But I recall years ago I got an email from a not so liberal friend. A PPT with pics. Stunning pics of the landscape. Buildings. Heck the people.

    I think the subject line was something like “can you guess what country this is?” I like to think I am pretty smart, but I never would have guessed those pics were from Iran. Stunning.

    Or I will cheer for the underdog …..

  21. 21.

    Mr Stagger Lee

    Praise FSM for Univision for their streaming for us cable challenged. O/t what is this fetish about England that sports networks seem to foist on us? Yesterday’s Italy-Costa Rica game (on espn radio)was filled with comments about England. Sorry sports execs England has not won 1966, move on.

  25. 25.

    Corner Stone

    I have the sound off, who is this (I’m guessing) Iranian pimp they keep showing in the stands?

  28. 28.

    Tommy

    @Mr Stagger Lee: Yes. Yes. Yes. Back in April I got rid of cable TV. Part of it was the check I had to write each month. But more than anything I used to read. You know do other things. Got cable for the first time in my life (I am 44) seven years ago and found myself in front of the TV far too often.

    Via Roko and Hulu and Netflix I am a happy camper. Where I am a little stressed is sports. Glad Univision (and my Chromecast) gets everybody doesn’t have cable.

  36. 36.

    Morzer

    @scav:

    They is an ongoing series against Sri Lanka, followed by one against India, which is the big draw for the summer. Then they’ll go on tour overseas this winter.

  37. 37.

    Cacti

    Rooting for a total turkey of a World Cup for Messi.

    He seems like a decent fellow on an individual basis, but Argie fans are a fairly insufferable bunch.

  40. 40.

    Morzer

    @Valdivia:

    I thought you were going to formally become Valdivia The Terrible and lurk among the comment threads weaving the threads of destiny to your will.

  41. 41.

    Amir Khalid

    @Morzer:
    Cricket is, um, beneath this deity’s notice.
    ETA: Besides, there’s a Cricket World Cup and they’ve never won that.

  42. 42.

    Alex S.

    Iran: trying to advance with three 0-0 draws? (it’s possible if Nigeria and Bosnia draw and lose to Argentina.)

  43. 43.

    Randy Paul aka Randinho

    I’m in Belo Horizonte now, where this game is taking place. Perfect day: hig sixties, low 70’s. Clear sky plenty of sun. Great images coming into the city: truckloads of Argentine fans at Cidade de Galo, the training center for the lesser pf the two teams in Belo Horizonte, Atletico Mineiro. Will try to see if I can get to the FIFA Fan Fest tomorrow.

  44. 44.

    HumboldtBlue

    @Cacti: Argentina fans are utterly insufferable but don’t blame Messi, they have no love for him, he’s lived in Spain for the bulk of his 25 years and they don’t let him forget it.

  45. 45.

    Corner Stone

    @Alex S.: A friend and colleague lives in Argentina and she consistently tells me that international reporting makes conditions seem much worse than they are.
    She’s otherwise very intelligent and competent, so I don’t really know how to assess what’s going on there.
    Smoking hot, too, but that’s probably not relevant at the moment.

  46. 46.

    Tommy

    Watching the Univision feed I continue to think it would have been nice to go to high school in a town that wasn’t founded by Germans in like 1830. I would have taken Spanish and not German. Maybe I could remotely follow the commentary :).

  50. 50.

    SRW1

    One of the Iranian player sports a bun similar to one of the Swiss players yesterday. Is that the fashion alternative to the Mohawk among footballers this season?

  55. 55.

    raven

    I worked on an online Spanish course development team with faculty from several countries including Argentina. One of the members, a Cuban-American, said, “they are sooo vain but they talk soooo pretty”!

  58. 58.

    Tommy

    @Corner Stone: I had a co-worker from Argentina. I would argue she was the “hottest” person I’ve ever met. As you said, not sure that means anything right now, but my gosh I think it needs to be said.

  59. 59.

    Cacti

    @Morzer:

    The last t in Brazilian Portuguese has a “ch” sound. The H in Horizonte is silent.

    Bell-oh Or-ee-zon-chee is how it renders phonetically.

  65. 65.

    Cacti

    @Morzer:

    Does that make Argentinians the mean girls of Latin America?

    They certainly have the most racist fans of any of the Lat-Am countries.

  67. 67.

    Tommy

    @raven: I don’t think I have a fetish. But if I did it would be accents. I used to work with this Nigerian women. I could have listened to her read the phone book and enjoyed it.

  68. 68.

    Burnspbesq

    Right now, Argentina is making it easy for Iran. There needs to be a much higher tempo.

  71. 71.

    Morzer

    @Tommy:

    There was a time when Gabriela Sabatini set the tennis world alight. Much prettier than Sharapova and rather less inclined to screech-grunt.

  72. 72.

    HumboldtBlue

    Iran is holding its own on defense, Argentina has had some good looks and no payoff

  75. 75.

    Tommy

    Just got back from a quick run. The little local health club two blocks from my house, well they were installing solar. Oh and my favorite part, they were putting a little solar cell on their sign up the street, you know to power it. Times are a changing.

  76. 76.

    Morzer

    @raven:

    I always had the impression that Colombians were pretty interested in beauty, but I might be working from too small a sample.

  78. 78.

    SRW1

    @HumboldtBlue:

    Actually, I am considering to follow that motto for the second half if the gouchos (is that a slur?) don’t step it up. 64 games is a big plate and a man’s gotta pace himself.

  81. 81.

    HumboldtBlue

    But Arg have booted away several good balls and are able to attack down both flanks

  84. 84.

    Hill Dweller

    @Morzer: She also played a far more attractive brand of tennis. Shriekapova can’t hit a volley if her life depends on it.

  85. 85.

    Randy Paul aka Randinho

    @Cacti: I have read that in the early 19th century that the Afro-Argentinean population in Buenos Aires numbered close to 25%. More here.

  86. 86.

    Tommy

    @Morzer: Played tennis most of my life. Oh I know Gabriela Sabatini. Well not personally, but she was amazing. Beautiful women.

  89. 89.

    Morzer

    @Amir Khalid:

    I’ve never really understood why Sharapova is supposed to be attractive. I see prettier girls than her working the check-outs at the local supermarket.

  93. 93.

    Randy Paul aka Randinho

    @Cacti: That was the entirety of Mexico against Brazil the other day and the second was after the 85th minute.

  95. 95.

    Tommy

    @Valdivia: I am no expert on soccer. But I think clearly Argentina is a superior team. It is my experience playing sports you often play to the level of your competition.

  97. 97.

    Morzer

    @catclub:

    Nigeria must be feeling that the rest of the world owes them a bit more respect after watching Argentina bumble around against Iran.

  98. 98.

    Amir Khalid

    @Morzer:
    She’s young, she’s tall (six foot two, so I hear), she’s blond, she’s athletic. A lot of people look no further.

  99. 99.

    Morzer

    @Tommy:

    Now that’s true. I’ve seen so many “better” teams slump down to being second-rate against mediocre opponents. Which, I suppose, is proof that the free market works. Or something.

  102. 102.

    Corner Stone

    @Valdivia: In my limited experience I’ve found Venezuelan women, on the whole, to be much the best looking.
    The problem I have is they seem to talk through their teeth, and almost breathe the words out instead of distinctive separations.
    Always enjoy interacting with them, though. Incredibly happy, fun people.
    Of course, the ones I’ve met have all been moderately well off relatively speaking.

  103. 103.

    Valdivia

    @Morzer:
    I’m reserving my terribleness for the Ticos!

    @Tommy:
    I agree that they have the better team. I do wonder if the star status of many of its players gets in the way of the team coalescing during the WC. Last time they were a hot mess.

  105. 105.

    SRW1

    @Tommy:

    There is a quote from Oliver Kahn, a former goalie in the German national team. He was once asked how he would explain the mediocre performance of his team. His reply was: “A horse only jumps as high as it has to.”

  106. 106.

    Tommy

    @Morzer: My biggest problem in sports. I always played to the level of my competition. A really good team/player will destroy a lesser opponent. I never really did.

  107. 107.

    Valdivia

    @Corner Stone: oh yes. Venezuela is famous for its beautiful women. The men though are not necessarily at the same level. Argentinian men definitely have a leg up.

  108. 108.

    Randy Paul aka Randinho

    Old joke: Argentines are Italians who speak Spanish who think they are British.

  109. 109.

    Amir Khalid

    @Valdivia:
    The longer “the better team” goes without putting the round thing inside the rectangular thing, the less sure of themselves its players will be, and the more confident the other team will get.

  111. 111.

    Corner Stone

    Even though the entire Iran team is on defense, you can’t say Arg isn’t getting it’s chances.

  112. 112.

    Morzer

    @HumboldtBlue:

    Stunning in the sense of producing feelings much like those incurred when running into a brick wall, possibly.
    Beautiful? Not so much.

    Generic blonde on her best days.

  114. 114.

    Valdivia

    @Amir Khalid: couldn’t agree more. I wonder too if the Argentinians underestimated the Iranians like the Italians clearly did yesterday with Costa Rica.

  115. 115.

    Corner Stone

    Iran seems to think they’re getting a raw deal. Playing defense for a solid hour seems to be getting to them.

  116. 116.

    HumboldtBlue

    @Valdivia: No way, it’s not like they are booting the ball wildly across the field, they have applied constant pressure and Iran will do all it can not to yield

  120. 120.

    SRW1

    It looks like the Iranians are starting to believe they might really get something out of this. The game of the gouchos looks pedestrian. I thought they had horses. (Sorry, couldn’t resist.)

  121. 121.

    Valdivia

    @HumboldtBlue: I confess I only began seeing the game late in the first half so I was talking out of my experience (prejudice?) of Argentinians usually entitled attitude about their team always being better and more deserving of being at the WC. I do think the issue is their inability to translate opportunities into actual gols.

  124. 124.

    ⚽️ Martin

    @Tommy: It’s different in individual vs team sports, I think. Various forms of racing tend to favor the person behind as they get ‘pulled’ by the person ahead. You can see yourself making ground and that motivates you to push harder. Being ahead tends to make you a bit more cautious. I imagine the same is somewhat true in sports like golf where you can’t help but focus on your opponent.

    For team sports, you usually play to your own team, not the other – at least on offense. You’re more focused on the breakaway, the pass opening, etc. You spend all of your time looking around the other team, not at them.

  125. 125.

    Onkel Fritze

    Argentina is a big disappointment so far. With this team (and with Messi) they should really be able to come up with a few ideas how to score.

  128. 128.

    scav

    @Morzer: Like Zeus, he seems to be getting distracted by all the human wimminz. Off shimmering into his shower of gold and bull costumes instead of paying attention to the battling menfolk going into their tenth year of an away game.

  129. 129.

    HumboldtBlue

    Give the Persians credit, they have taken their counter attack chances this half

  132. 132.

    Morzer

    I wonder if Frankie Pope is busily talking smack on Skype to whoever the head mullah is in Tehran.

  133. 133.

    Morzer

    I wonder if Frankie Pope is busily talking smack on Skype to whoever the head mullah is in Tehran.

  137. 137.

    Corner Stone

    Has anyone heard from “Deuces” Mayhew since he broke the news to his (former) boss?

  139. 139.

    Amir Khalid

    @SRW1:
    I seek no human trifles, only my own amusement. Let your friend suggest something that appeals to me.

  141. 141.

    scav

    I just remembered the Persian have that Pomegranate, Walnut and Duck thing. My basic non-diety-level indifference may have just tilted.

  144. 144.

    Randy Paul aka Randinho

    I won’t deny that Colombian, Argentinean and Venezulean women are beautiful, but every day I step outside in Brazil, I feel like I’m at a modeling agency where the women have much nicer figures.

  147. 147.

    Corner Stone

    @SRW1: Ha. No, I’m on an interminable and intensely boring conference call. So, for once I am actually watching the match. And wondering how the hell a referee can keep these whiny whinebags in check and stay fair and not pull all his hair out. And then that made me think I should ask Mayhew, then I thought “Hmmm” and then I asked about him.

  152. 152.

    Onkel Fritze

    Comentator on Colombian TV just said something like: ‘55.000 people in the stadium, looking for a book to read.’

  153. 153.

    Alex S.

    Hmm, it is possible to advance with just 2 points. Team A, B and C all have to draw each other. And they all lose to team D – the goal difference decides. At the same time, it’s possible not to advance with six points. Team A beats B and C, loses to D. Team B loses all games, Team C beats B and D and loses to A. And team D beats A and B and loses to C. The goal difference decides again.

  154. 154.

    Corner Stone

    @SRW1: I generally don’t care to watch soccer so I tend to stay out of these threads. But I am dying over here.
    I’ve been thinking about just meditating until someone makes A GD DECISION PEOPLE.

  170. 170.

    scav

    They do likes their dramatic arc and uncertainties and upturns, the gods of these here series of games. Sheesh.

  172. 172.

    burnspbesq

    And 76 million Iranians are reminded that this game is a cruel, heartless bitch.

  173. 173.

    Morzer

    Iran can feel hard done by, but they made Argentina look like a distinctly second-rate team today. The more Germany see of the other teams thus far*, the more they must be feeling that this world cup is theirs for the taking.

    *With the exception of France

  174. 174.

    Amir Khalid

    @Alex S.:
    On this form, a win over Bosnia-Hercegovina isn’t that hard for ran — if, of course, I feel like allowing it.

  176. 176.

    Cacti

    Neither of South America’s two biggest guns are looking very awe-inspiring as yet (Brazil/Argentina).

  177. 177.

    Morzer

    @Cacti:

    You could argue that Costa Rica have looked at least as good as any of the Latin American teams thus far – and better than most.

  178. 178.

    Origuy

    I tend to favor blondes, but I went to the Axis of Evil Comedy show in Cupertino a few years ago, which had three Arab comedians and an Iranian, Max Jobrani. I swear, every Persian in the Bay Area was there, half of them were women, and most of those were knockouts.

  179. 179.

    Amir Khalid

    @Morzer:
    Their last group match is against England. Who might be grateful for three face-saving points even if they’re no longer of use. Or maybe I’ll just let them play to form, and let Costa Rica win.

  182. 182.

    mali muso

    Went to the gym and missed the game, but sounds like I didn’t miss much. Looking forward to the Ghana and Germany match!!! Do the Black Stars have a chance? I’ll be pulling for them.

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