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Extra time

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Think you're right Birchy, fatigue is starting to set in on the blogosphere... which by no means correlates to my enjoyment of the world cup - far from it. I thought the quarters were all great:

  • Holland v Brazil: A frantic match and amazing eye opener as the greatest team on earth imploded the minute they conceded a freak goal. They say dogs look like their owners, and this Brazil team quickly mimicked their emotional jack in a box coach, completely lost the plot and lost their place in the tournament. Someone made Robinho wear a Man City shirt under his Brazil jersey in the second half also.
  • Uruguay v Ghana: There's not a single player who would have not done exactly what Suarez did in this game. However, I'm just glad the media didn't pick up on the fact that my hard earned cash was on Uruguay being eliminated at the quarter final stage (yes, I had thought it would be England beating them at this stage.... hmm), as this clearly was the final burden for Ghana that they couldn't shake. Ghana did well, and great to see the SA fans really get behind them.
  • Germany v Argentina: Maradonameter 1/10. No histrionics, no tantrums, no ball juggling. And actually, no coaching either. The man forgot he was in charge and thought he was in the stands cheering the team on.....and there was little to cheer. Highlight of the performance was Sergio Aguero (sp) keying himself up for getting onto the pitch for the biggest game of his career, likely visualising scoring the 2 goals needed to get his team back in the game.... only to be bear hugged in grief by the little one, who may or may not have been in tears of sorrow, as the Germans extended their lead. Not quite the Obama "Yes we can!" motivational encouragement! Oh, and yes, the Germans look like the best team at a finals for several years.... their only question mark is can they keep it up against Spain. They do however look like they're going to make my life miserable every two years for the next decade....
  • Spain v Paraguay: As expected, although I thought Paraguay were tactically very good - but clearly limited. Spain did just enough, although Casillas is looking dodgy to me so far... intriguing semi final set up

Ok, that's me caught up. Only 3 games (excluding the 3rd place game) to go.....

Final thought..... we have Ruud Gullit as a panellist on ESPN in the US. He was beside himself after the Brazil game.... I'm hoping ESPN show highlights of his hotel room after party...I suspect it was a long one....

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