Who do You want to win the World Cup?

[whyohwhy]

Not who will win the World Cup but who you want to win the World Cup

[whyohwhy]

Tis the Czechs for me

[pagey]

The United States of America.

[therock67]

Germany for me - leaving aside any financial incentive I've always had a soft spot for them for no apparent reason, everyone else always seems to hate them.

Would have voted for Sweden if they weren't under AN Other. You do know you can have way more options in a poll when you are creating it? There is a button to add extra options so you can have 15/20 options or whatever - saves you putting 3 countries on the same line.

[whyohwhy]

admin said:

Germany for me - leaving aside any financial incentive I've always had a soft spot for them for no apparent reason, everyone else always seems to hate them.

Would have voted for Sweden if they weren't under AN Other. You do know you can have way more options in a poll when you are creating it? There is a button to add extra options so you can have 15/20 options or whatever - saves you putting 3 countries on the same line.

i did, forgot about the swedes actually

[iamthelaw]

Would love to see Spain do it, not because I've money on them, but because their fans have endured so many false dawns up till now.

If they had qualified, I'd vote for Hungary, to make up for '54.

[eamo]

Tough one this - I would like to see Spain or Argentina or even Brazil - a good team.

I think there should be a option that says 'Anybody but England'. I would have voted for that

[therock67]

iamthelaw said:

Would love to see Spain do it, not because I've money on them, but because their fans have endured so many false dawns up till now.

Spain's fans are the very reason I hope they don't win it. Pack of racist, facist, Real Madrid supporting pricks. Catalonians and Basques won't be supporting Spain.

[whyohwhy]

admin said:

iamthelaw said:

Would love to see Spain do it, not because I've money on them, but because their fans have endured so many false dawns up till now.

Spain's fans are the very reason I hope they don't win it. Pack of racist, facist, Real Madrid supporting pricks. Catalonians and Basques won't be supporting Spain.

Ditto the Italians

[briantinnion]

England. They always support us so why can't we be big enough to support them?

[iamthelaw]

admin said:

iamthelaw said:

Would love to see Spain do it, not because I've money on them, but because their fans have endured so many false dawns up till now.

Spain's fans are the very reason I hope they don't win it. Pack of racist, facist, Real Madrid supporting pricks. Catalonians and Basques won't be supporting Spain.

Per [ftp]www.sirc.org[/ftp]
"Germany has one of the worst reputations in Europe for far-right influence amongst its fans, with frequent displays of Hitler salutes, particularly at international matches. Professor Volker Rittner of the Sports Sociology Institute in Cologne, however, believes that these are no more than provocative displays designed to get the fans into the papers, but some reports of right-wing activity in Germany have been disturbing. In 1990 there were reports of skinheads barracking the small number of black players in the Bundesliga and in 1992 similar reports were made of neo-nazi groups in Germany using football matches as occasions to plan and organise attacks against local ethnic communities and East European refugees. An analysis of the political attitudes of German fans revealed that 20% feel close to neo-nazis. Whilst it is not clear how active these fans would be, this is nonetheless a disturbing figure."

When I say "fans", I include all those watching at home on TV as well as those who managed to get tickets. If one is to rule out countries on the basis of the racist/fascist feelings and actions of a minority of fans, one would have to include not only Spain, but also England, Italy, Poland, France and Germany.

[therock67]

briantinnion said:

England. They always support us so why can't we be big enough to support them?

1. No they don't
2. See the 1,966 reasons.... thread

[steamboatsam]

briantinnion said:

England. They always support us so why can't we be big enough to support them?

i think another thread has a few reasons why we wouldn't be overy enthused about tem winning.

i'd be happy enough with Brazil, the Argies (that would really sicken England), Spain, Holland or even the italians winning it, as long as we get a few cracking games and a couple of major upsets. A quality riot would be good too

[therock67]

iamthelaw said:

admin said:

Spain's fans are the very reason I hope they don't win it. Pack of racist, facist, Real Madrid supporting pricks. Catalonians and Basques won't be supporting Spain.

Per [ftp]www.sirc.org[/ftp]
"Germany has one of the worst reputations in Europe for far-right influence amongst its fans, with frequent displays of Hitler salutes, particularly at international matches. Professor Volker Rittner of the Sports Sociology Institute in Cologne, however, believes that these are no more than provocative displays designed to get the fans into the papers, but some reports of right-wing activity in Germany have been disturbing. In 1990 there were reports of skinheads barracking the small number of black players in the Bundesliga and in 1992 similar reports were made of neo-nazi groups in Germany using football matches as occasions to plan and organise attacks against local ethnic communities and East European refugees. An analysis of the political attitudes of German fans revealed that 20% feel close to neo-nazis. Whilst it is not clear how active these fans would be, this is nonetheless a disturbing figure."

When I say "fans", I include all those watching at home on TV as well as those who managed to get tickets. If one is to rule out countries on the basis of the racist/fascist feelings and actions of a minority of fans, one would have to include not only Spain, but also England, Italy, Poland, France and Germany.

Fair enough but you're talking about domestic soccer there as opposed to the national team. There are scumbags in the support of teams like Hamburg SV and a lot of the eastern teams, however I'm not aware of many instances involving the national side. I found Germans to be highly politicised: there are neo-nazis, but there are also huge numbers of anti-fascists and neo-nazi haters. For example there is an awful lot of anti-Nazi graffiti in Germany: they're not just opposed to racism, they actively campaign and protest against it.

Besides, there are issues of national identity in Spain with regard to the Basques and the Catalonians. Due to oppression and civil-war legacies there isn't a great Spanish national spirit in these areas.

[lyonsee]

Don't really mind - just want to see a good tournie with plenty of memorable moments. Anybody doing anything for the opener this afternoon?

[whyohwhy]

lyonsee said:

Don't really mind - just want to see a good tournie with plenty of memorable moments. Anybody doing anything for the opener this afternoon?

the boozer

[bandage]

The English don't necessarily always support us. Rod Liddle in the Sunday Times the weekend after Brian Kerr/Switzerland put us out:

'This has occasioned in me a deep sense of grief, but one which I hope, in time, I will come to terms with. No Robbie Keane cheekily sliding to the ground pretending to shoot an arrow into the crowd; no Kenny Cunningham hacking chunks of flesh off anybody within 50 metres. No heroic defeat to Togo in the last minute of the last game of the group stage. But never mind, huh? No use crying over spilt milk, etc.
Can anybody explain to me why every news and broadcasting organisation treats the Republic as if it were one of the home nations — when, as the angry ghosts of Eamon De Valera and Michael Collins would attest, it most certainly is not? The Irish are afforded exactly the same coverage as Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — three countries which, last time I looked, still had at least nominal membership of the United Kingdom.
Is it vestigial imperialism on the part of sports journalists? Is it assumed that the south’s decision to break away is a mere temporary aberrance, which will one day be corrected and that they didn’t mean it really? Is it perhaps an attempt to take account of the historic friendship that exists between our two countries — or, as the Irish might put it, 1,000 years of Bruddish Uppression? Or is it a form of benevolent condescension — we all adore the Irish, with their cheerful too-rye-aye fiddle-based jigs and love of something they refer to as “the craic”? It cannot be geographical proximity, because the French and the Belgians are closer to the mainland and we couldn’t give a monkey’s about them.
Nor can it be a respect for their footballing prowess: the Republic’s team has all the skill and guile and subtlety of Blackburn Rovers on a bad day. And it’s not the fact that lots of Irish people live in England, otherwise we would pay similar attention to the sporting aspirations of, say, Pakistan or Nigeria. Or, more recently, Poland and Kosovo.
It’s true that a lot of England supporters — all of the ones I know, at least — were certainly very interested in the score from Lansdowne Road last week: they were cheering on the Swiss with almost as much fervour as they were cheering on the national side. But then, Motty didn’t interrupt his commentary of the England versus Poland game to say: “. . . and it’s absolutely terrific news from Dublin, where the P addies are on their way out of the World Cup”.
He instead sounded thoroughly upset. Perhaps he was being deeply ironic, although of all the many qualities one associates with John Motson, a facility for gentle irony does not usually figure among them. Frankly, it’s all a bit of a mystery to me.'

[bandage]

Forgot to say I don't really care who wins it. Great skill, goals and tactical innovations are what I'm looking forward to. Bring it on.

[whyohwhy]

Rod Liddle is a fucking twat, was delighted when Dunphy slandered and slagged him in his Roy Keane rant.