Itâs not really a surprise, Kim Jong had been Ill for a long time.
Shame on all those who speak[font=times new roman] Il [/font]of the dead here.
I for one am grateful he lived to see North Korea lift the 2010 World Cup.
At least he saw his country become the best football team in the world before he died
There were many conclusions drawn from Englandâs 1-0 victory over Spain at Wembley Stadium in a âmeaninglessâ international friendly. Spanish manager Vicente del Bosque played all his big guns, but no amount of huffing and puffing could ruffle Scott Parkerâs feathers and Frank Lampard secured the win. Seeing as Spain are the defending European and World Cup Champions, that makes England the best team in the world right?
Well no, it doesnât. North Korea are now the best team in the world.
My reasoning isnât simply because this was a friendly and therefore has no actual significance and Fabio Cappello used this as a dress-rehearsal to see how a team without Wayne Rooney would fare. But Spain has been beaten before since their initial triumph in the 2008 tournament and have therefore lost their âchampionsâ moniker.
After Fernando Torres out-muscled Philip Lahm and chipped Jens Lehmann in Vienna, Spain claimed their first major international trophy since 1964. La Furia Roja then went on an epic unbeaten run that took them through World Cup qualification and into the tournament in South Africa. They were heavy favorites, but it was here that the first stumbling block emerged.
Following a hard-fought contest on the night of June 16th 2010, Spain (by my reckoning) officially relinquished their title as the best team of Europe to none other than tournament co-hosts Switzerland. Gelson Fernandes tucked away a rare Swiss chance, and Ottmar Hitzfieldâs side defended their way to a famous 1-0 victory.
Unfortunately for the worldâs most neutral nation, their status as best side in Europe lasted a paltry five days before they were defeated 1-0 by Chile. Now at this point, the title of âBest Team in Europeâ becomes somewhat stretched because as it turns out, Chile is about as far from Europe as you can get. But we really donât have to worry about this as the Spanish, visibly upset at having their crown taken away, defeated the South Americanâs 2-1 on June 25th.
This match set a particular president as Marco Bielsaâs Chilean team were renowned for their highly-energetic, pressing tactics. They effectively took the game to the Spaniards, and it was due to a poor goalkeeping decision that David Villa scored before AndrĂŠs Iniesta put in a deserved winner. Chile attempted to match Spain with their version of intense football and failed.
[size=4]Lesson learned: you canât out-Spain Spain.[/size]
[size=4]Iker Casillas led his side to the World Cup trophy and the Iberians were now European and World Champions, the best team in soccer, etc. In official competition, they have not been beaten since so many would assume that they are the worldâs best, when in fact they have long since lost claim to that title.[/size]
[size=4]On September 7th 2010, Spain flew to Argentina to take on a side that had comes to terms with their humiliating World Cup exit at the hands of Germany and turfed Diego Maradona. Esteban Cambiasso was re-instated into a midfield that matched Spainâs, and Lionel Messi finally scored a long-awaited goal for his country. Argentina ran out 4-1 winners, out-playing the Spaniards and showing off a cutting edge that saw four goals on only seven shots.[/size]
[size=4]At long last, Argentina were on top of the soccer world where they feel they belong. The team were looking to keep this status going into the 2011 Copa America, but alas it was not to be and Uruguay handily defeated them in their own backyard regardless.[/size]
[size=4]October 8th 2010 was the fateful date, as the South Americans made a trip to Japan to take on Samurai Blue in the Kirin Cup. I have to admit I didnât watch this match, but from the Official Match Report[/url], I can say it was riveting stuff and Shinji Okazaki (who has since moved to [url=âhttp://bleacherreport.com/vfb-stuttgartâ]VfB Stuttgart) scored the only goal of the match.[/size]
Japan would end up holding on to this title for over a year, holding off the likes of Vietnam and Uzbekistan in close contests in the autumn of 2011.
[size=4][size=4]Unfortunately all things must come to an end, and so it was that Japan faced North Korea in World Cup, qualifying on November 15, 2011 in Pyongyang, in front of 50,000 well-behaved fans. There is significant background here as this bitter rivalry is based on animosity between the two nations, Japan having occupied much of the Korean peninsula for the first half of the 20th century.[/size][/size]
[size=4][size=4]Supreme Leader Kim Jong Il had the last laugh however, as midfield workhorse Nam-Chol Pak headed past Japanese goalkeeper Shusaku Nishikawa. The game ended 1-0 and North Korea now (unofficially) holds the title of Worldâs Best Team, despite having already been mathematically eliminated from Brazil 2014 before the match had been played.[/size][/size]
[size=4][size=4]So there you have it. Englandâs 1-0 win on Saturday can be dismissed as an overly-defensive display against a side which are average at best.
[/size][/size]
Pride of Milan.
Sleep well my friend
heartbreaking stuff-
Whats a pride of milan?
Alice Glenn former TD and MEP went to her immortal rest as well over the weekend.
Ah no, sorry to hear that DB.
Mick Wallace
:rolleyes:
Mick is Turinese, he wouldnât associate himself with that other place.
He was a fighter. At least you can take consolation from that.
RIP Pride of Rome.
[u8X76NRiQLQ[/media]b=av2e"]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8X76NRiQLQ
b=av2e]([media=youtube)
even though I am sad for Dancing Baby and his cronies to have lost a lot of money on this horse, I cant help feeling relieved that when I tried to become part of his syndicate that bought Pride of Milan he told me it was a closed shop and my money wasnt welcome. I suppose I should now be grateful that he was such a cock about it.
Ar Dheis De go raibh a anam
cant see anything about that swedish chancer, zlatan, being brown bread
Walter says that North Korea reminded him of Ireland in the 50s and 60s, a very military regime.
[quote=âMac, post: 547678â]
:rolleyes:
Mick is Turinese, he wouldnât associate himself with that other place.
[/quote]Apologies I stand corrected
Walter has happy memories of North Korea as he won a couple of medals in a martial arts competition there in 2007.
Canât believe I didnât pick Jack Klugman for 2012
[font=Georgia][size=4]Stormin Norman Schwarzkopf has died[/size][/font]