大象传媒

Spain will never ever win the World Cup. I don't know why. They have excellent players, a decent coach and plenty of big-match experience. There's just a fatal flaw in the Spanish character that means they'll never win. They could be 5-0 ahead in the World Cup final, with three minutes to go, and still they wouldn't win. An asteroid would hit the stadium or God would intervene and send them to some strange parallel universe. It's all true.

I hope the French go through tonight. Spain look by far the stronger team and I would fancy our chances much better against France than Spain if it came down to playing either of them.

Greg S is right - it is all true!

To be fair I am not an Arsenal fan by any shape of form but I think it would be fitting for Henry to rip the spaniards apart - bang in a couple and just turn and smile to the Spanish Coach Aragones! Maybe then he might apologise for his rediculous comments! Plus spain do look very good at the moment and I would prefer to meet the french than them!

After putting matchsticks in my eyelids to subject myself to the bore that was last nights game, i had a vision. Like most, I have been slagging of England's performances. But why? I'm a romantic, believing in the beautiful game. I was a fool. Winning is all that matters on the greatest stage. Cheeky flicks, step-overs, over headed kicks and skinning four men after a 30 passing move are not what's need; passion, sweat, glory and results define greatness. It's knockout football, we can win through grit, guts and passion - if we don't get the Russian ref.

Every major tournament we hear the same thing - will this be Spain's year?

Every time they fall short.

Greg S (comment 1) has no idea why. Do you?

I believe part of the reason Spain can go all the way this year is because no-one really thinks they can! The fact that history is against them and are labelled as QF achievers and nothing more, has led to their supporters, and those of other countries, almost ridiculing their chances. Admittedly they had an easier group stage than even England, but nevertheless they have played probably the most attractive football whilst winning each game comprehensively. In Spain no-one seriously believes they can do it, although the hope is there, and this has led the team to be relaxed without the weight of expectation other nations have thrust on their teams (I wonder which one....?!). You look at their youth (combined with a fair bit of experience too....Puyol, Raul etc) compared with the disjointed French, and there should be only one winner - Spain are one of the few teams that have the requisite passion to win the tournament, and who play as a TEAM! Take note other managers.....

Id like to see Spain go through tonight just to wipe the smile off Henry's face. Dont get me wrong I think he's world class but the arrogance he shows when he scores a goal just rubs me up the wrong way. Just to jog away from the goal wagging your finger in the air like youre the only decent footballer in the world is about all I can take - youve just scored at the World Cup!! Show some passion!! Maybe I should have been born in Argentina. It doesnt really matter anyway because Brazil will be the ones coming through from tonights games.

And re England I think we just play to the oppostion and dont know how to dictate games - if the opposition is unorganised then we are, if they're attacking then we are. I think we'll beat Portugal because it's a European team with European mentality and a style we are used to and we'll play like they do - open and attacking. Cant see us going any further though..

Fletch, read the instructions on the box and dont push the cotton buds too far into the ear...

i have heard all the time about aragones and his racist comments to henry and it has made me change my mind over the winner (i know want france to stuff the spanish and to teach aragones a lesson), but what did he actually say, or is it too offensive to have on the 大象传媒? can anyone give me the gist of it?

We all hope so, but ....no one can control the luck & ref factor.

Just see the trendy in the last matches...the football playing side lose!

Hopefully that trend will end tonight

Cheers

Whoever wins out of Spain or France has to face Brazil (probably!).. what a semi-final that will be.

I know we're just scrapping through by the skin of our teeth, and that upsets always light up the world cup but I for one am pleased that the big guns are progressing this year.. If whoever lost out of spain and france could replace Ukraine (no offence to the Ukrainians out there) and Brail wins tonight then I think that the strongest 8 teams would be in the last 8 slots..
Brazil, Argentina, Germany, England, Italy, Spain, France & Portugal.

As it is the Ukrainians could still easily prove me wrong and show they are one of the strongest 8 teams.. but on paper the 8 above is the strongest and it's setting up such a good end of this tournement to have (probably) 7 of them in the last 8. Predictable some might say, but Footie is never predictable really, we're just all really really lucky to have the heavy-weights slugging it out at the end.

I for one am licking my lips at the 1/4 semi and final prospects. There's so many delicious combinations of results...

I kiss football.

Dear sir:think the Spain wil win.They are playing very posetive football at the moment,only if wou`t inculd Raul.He is not a regular in the Real Madrid anymore&must preper for retirment.Do`t like Henry big mouth either.He`d just talked in Eru Cup Final&are doing the same so far.
Yours SHINE Japan

Even if France goes through it will still be tough for England to beat, so why should you hope that the weakest side goes through. Your comments show that you are not confident in England鈥檚 abilities.
England Still has to beat Portugal before it can play Spain. With such unimpressive performance it is only wishful thinking to believe England can beat France or Spain (possibly Portugal). England has had an easy ride so far and the moment of truth is coming. Spain should win it to prove you wrong, because it is long overdue. Unlike you I am confident in Spain鈥檚 abilities; it all comes down to luck now.

Aragones was trying to motivate Reyes, and he called Henry "Un negro de mierda" which translates as a "black sh*t". Then he failed to apologise; then he compounded matters by saying that "a lot of his friends were black".

Spain will win tonight against one of the worst French teams in years.

I hope France beat them because i really feel this could be Spains year.
If England were to play Spain tonight they would get a spanking.
Its no coincidence that Spain are performing as they are as La Liga is without doubt the strongest league in the world.

Your Guess the Mileage link doesn't work :-(

he certainly did nt call him a dirty Nixxxxx.

Some words do not translate as well as one would like .
Negro means black , nothing else, not ni&&er or anything else.
De mierda means literally " made of shi7"

It is a term often used to describe anything that doesnt work properly ,that is broken ,
but how many people dont use the f word in english and no one takes it up the wrong way .

So please dont take Luis s comments out of context , or ... learn spanish before you translate it.

Interesting comment about la liga being the strongest league , it may be ...but its full of imports , french , english , dutch etc.

Spain麓s improvement ( if it happens ) will probably have more to do with their players doing well overseas( Fabregas ,Reyes , Alonso , Garcia etc.)

The Rev, hardly the comment from an optimistic fan..
Surely you would rather win a World Cup actually haven beaten a few teams of note first instead of 1) second-rate South-American 2)second-rate Carribean 3)second-rate English and 4) see 1). A French team which is starting to remsemble a faded film great, surviving on patchwork surgery hardly cuts it. Nobody remembers hollow victories (does anyone remember Greece 2004 or England Rugby 2003?). I hope Spain conquer France & contest the final with Argentina. Why? They are young, dynamic, able to score more than 1 goal per game & have a useful appreciation of holding possesion for more than 10 seconds. This has been a fantastic tournament so far & deserves it's champions to come striding through the front door rather than limping through the back. Leave that to the Ukranians!

It is all way the same. Spain would certainly win regard or regardless of the Aragones' apology to Henry.

We shall see the reigning starlets...

Yes eamonn is right the improvement has something to do with the players playing overseas which is a new trend with Spanish players.
You have to view teams and players performance in a different perspective, for example The United States in the recent World baseball champion ships (first ever) believed they were the best in the world because they watched their big players playing in their leagues. They were shocked when their best team was thumped by Korea and Japan in their very own game. I think younger players for England should think serious about playing abroad it surely improve the team鈥檚 performance. Any player can Score an amazing goal once in their life against a below standard team, the media makes them look like the best player ever!

I hope Spain tear France apart. The more stronger teams in the competition the better, France don't deserve to get any further, neither do England

It is all way the same. Spain would certainly win regard or regardless of the Aragones' apology to Henry.

We shall see the reigning starlets...

That is not really true.
I'm spaniard and the 'translation' is correct.But the comment has a hidden meaning.
On the other hand, Aragones was just trying to motivate Reyes by making him angry.
He is not racist, in fact he has called Senna for this world cup, and you have to know that no black person had ever played in our team before.

Heh, everybody sees us winning today against France. But as many of you have noticed, we Spaniards are absolutely beyond any hopes. We destroyed Ukrania, and they're in QFs already, something we won't achieve. France has been playing horribly, and should fall today, but won't.

This Spaniard believes we're kissing the World Cup goodbay today. I don't know, it's just that I've grown up seeing things like that happening. The National Team is great, but we'll never win. I can't even imagine it happening, and even if I was mistaken, it's Brazil in the QFs, so you know the drill.

Heh, everybody sees us winning today against France. But as many of you have noticed, we Spaniards are absolutely beyond any hopes. We destroyed Ukrania, and they're in QFs already, something we won't achieve. France has been playing horribly, and should fall today, but won't.

This Spaniard believes we're kissing the World Cup goodbay today. I don't know, it's just that I've grown up seeing things like that happening. The National Team is great, but we'll never win. I can't even imagine it happening, and even if I was mistaken, it's Brazil in the QFs, so you know the drill.

I know the Spanish have been playing better football (KSA match aside where they played with reserves) but they have dissapointed when it really counts. The Frech (very much like the English and Brazilian) have started badley but have started to play better in their last game. It could be they are aiming to peak towards the end of the Championship, so don't be suprised if they play much better today.

Concerning Jon's comments on Henry... I agree. Yes he is one of the best in the world but i think its got to his head (unlike players like Ronaldinho). I think he must believe that he deserves to win everything because he is Henry... did anyone see him after the Chamions League final... the worst reaction of a looser i have ever seen.

I hope Spain win tonight (Brazil v. Spain would be a great game), with them out of the World Cup, it won't be the same. But the French can pull it out the bag... i've seen it before.

For Footballs sake may Spain win!!! Viva Espa帽a!!!

They used to say that about France. They always fail (and most of the time they did, regardless of their talent). However, France proved the doomsayers wrong in 1998 and 2000. This is Spain's best chance so far and MAYBE they'll get lucky for once. Argentina are probably too much for them though.

One thing you can be sure of, Spain will give soccer fans what they want to see; an exciting spectacle of soccer, full of drama...win or loose!

Alas, nothing in life is guaranteed.

Except that Spain will never, ever win the World Cup.

I would to join Tom (no.4) and Andy (n.15) on contesting Aragones' racism with Henry's beautiful goals. Football would be a sort of judge making justice considering that Aragones has not apologised and just got a ridiculuos fine. Aragones simply will not apologise because he is a racist, a malaise that is quite common in Spain. Again and again I learn of complaints about the way Spaniards treat fellow Latin Americans coming to Spain like in the times of the colony: with arrogance and contempt. The ideology of the superiority of those born in Spain is still alive. It is this context of racism that shows where Aragones' insult is coming from. To see "negro de mierda" as a racist remark is correct. It is the clasic racist comment. "Negro de mierda" means "black made of shit", and this is a correct translation. No further study of Spanish is needed here to smell and confirm the racism of Aragones.

I would like to join Tom (no.4), Tim (no. 9), Greg (no.14) and Andy (n.15) on contesting Aragones' racism with Henry's beautiful goals. Football would be a sort of judge making justice considering that Aragones has not apologised and just got a ridiculuos fine. Aragones' comment is not completely strange in Spain, where it is common to encounter expressions of racism. Do you know about the racist content of the banners taken to the football games by the fans of Atletico de Madrid and Real Madrid? Again and again I learn of complaints about the way Spaniards treat fellow Latin Americans coming to Spain. It is like in the times of the colony: the Latin American are called the "sudacas" and treated with arrogance and contempt. The ideology according to which those born in Spain are superior is still alive. It is this context of racism that shows where Aragones' insult is coming from. To see "negro de mierda" as a racist remark is correct. It is the classic racist comment. My mother tongue is Spanish and I know "Negro de mierda" means "black made of shit".

Message 8, about Herny's arrogance, what should he have done, pretend to be Jesus like that muppet Inzaghi vs. the Czechs who just tapped in an easy goal? Or maybe he should suck his thumb or one of the other overused celebrations seen this world cup?

I would also like Spain to win and then to demolish the FIFA protected Brazil, but I would love if France had a great game to send off their legendary players in a proper way.

Spain are by far the better team at the moment, and I really admire them.

But I just hope to god that Henry pulls a hat-trick out of somewhere and celebrates by jogging up to a broken Aragones with a smug smirk painted on his face.

That would be a world cup moment to savour.

(And, yes, Henry is arrogant, but, then, he's one of the few players on the Earth with good reason to be.)

If the tickets were complimentary, they didn't have a face value. So did you get them for nothing? You flukey beeswax - or should that be earswax?

The old cogger - good point on the ticket price - that is why he wanted more for them!

"Spain will never win the World Cup" "England will never beat Sweden"

I sincerely hope these comments are not true. History is just waiting to be made - Spain will eventually win the World Cup and England will eventually beat Sweden.

I suspect that England will eventually decide "if you can't beat them, join them" and will merge with Sweden to form the invincible nation of Swederland. Scotland will merge with Belgium to form Beltland and Wales will merge with Luxembourg to form Waxembourg.

Ahem *clears throat*

Spain 1 - France 3

As I believe I mentioned, Spain will never, ever win the World Cup. Not even if all the other teams were banned. It's also worth noting that despite a good deal of possession, I don't think Fabien Barthez had a save to make.

Im an England fan but im really diapointed that spain lost :( dont know why but i enjoyed watching spain wanted them to go all the way and Fernando Torres is fukin fit mate!

yay! happy France beat Spain and really well. Who is laughing now Mr. Aragones? perhaps now you can apologise to Henry as the motivational tactics didn't work.

he who laughs last ...

... hahahahahaha

In the end Zidane and Vieira triumphed and France are now in the quarter finals. Spain needed to make better use of the ball but they didn't despite all the possession.

Spain - Always promising, never quite having the stomach to see it through.
Lots of pretty football last night, but no real end product from the Spanish, it almost seemed as though they knew they were going to struggle against the pace of the French defenders. Spain moved the ball well, and if there's a better passer of the ball than Alonso (apart from Riquelme) I haven't seen one this tournament, but never overly progressive. It looked like the French were going for the killer pass every time, bypassing Vieira and going straight to Henry.
Well done France I say, and Aragones, well he needs to retire and keep his comments to himself, he is still accusing Henry of diving (good point though) but France scored 3 goals, so bon voyage espana.
Brazil v France should be an intriguing match, plenty of attacking in store. Let's hope England can manage to scrape past Portugal, which after all is all we need to do.

REFREE WAS ASKED TO OFFICIATE THE MATCH BETWEEN GHANA AND BRAZIL.THAT REFREE ALLOWED OFFSIDE GOALS AGAINST GHANA HE ALSO REFUSED TO WHISTLE WHEN ERIC ADDO OF GHANA WAS INJURED AND HE HAD TO BE TAKEN OFF THE PITCH IN A STRETCHER. THE REFREE GAVE SEVERAL YELLOW CARDS TO THE GHANAIANS AND A RED CARD TO THEIR COACH FOR COMPLAINING. AFRICA WAS ROBBED.

Henry dived when he got that 2 goal against Spain and this is a fact.
I am fed up with this World Cup aka Eurovison Song Contest.
Refing during this World Cup was really really really bad.

France beating spain was the climax of my world cup.It was so appropriate that Aragones should lose to team of blackmen,an arab and 2 frenchmen-It goes to show that people like him are not needed in world football and if the spanish football association are sensible, they should sack him and get tougher on those stadia that enjoy chanting on players for being black. GOD is still alive & will never allow a nation with such history win the world cup.I do not like diving and i am sure Aragones comments was responsible for what henry did and if those criticizing thierry henry are honest to themselves they should know that henrys" action was a divine bitter pill and punishment for Aragones much heftier than the meagre fine he got from the spanish F.A.

France beating spain was the climax of my world cup.It was so appropriate that Aragones should lose to team of blackmen,an arab and 2 frenchmen-It goes to show that people like him are not needed in world football and if the spanish football association are sensible, they should sack him and get tougher on those stadia that enjoy chanting on players for being black. GOD is still alive & will never allow a nation with such history win the world cup.I do not like diving and i am sure Aragones comments was responsible for what henry did and if those criticizing thierry henry are honest to themselves they should know that henrys" action was a divine bitter pill and punishment for Aragones much heftier than the meagre fine he got from the spanish F.A.