Liverpool FC Forum

by **Bad Bob** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 3:18 pm

As some of you may have heard, the Under-20 World Cup kicks off this weekend in Canada, of all places!

While my schedule won't allow me to get to any games live, I will be able to follow the action on the CBC. As such, I'll do my best to catch the Brazil and Argentina games in order to have a proper look at Liverpool lads Lucas Leiva and Emiliano Insua respectively. (I may catch a few of Spain's games as well to see how former Red Antonio Barragan is getting on.) I'll do my best to post brief comments on how these lads are fairing in this thread over the next few weeks.

I think Leiva and Insua are it as far Liverpool players go (at least they are the only ones highlighted by .tv) but if there are any other Liverpool players I've missed or prospects worth looking at in this tournament, let me know and I'll try and catch some of their games as well. The complete set of teams and rosters can be found HERE

by **puroresu** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 3:21 pm

Scotland are in this. Should do well. Most players formed the Under 19 side which got to the European championship final (lost2-1 to spain) last year.

by **stmichael** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 3:21 pm

nice one. will try and find out if it's on tv anywhere over here. copa america starting aswell so should be some good games.

by **puroresu** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 3:24 pm

stmichael wrote:nice one. will try and find out if it's on tv anywhere over here. copa america starting aswell so should be some good games.

Scotland games are on BBC scotland. Not sure if they are showing other games though.

by **LFC2007** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 8:15 pm

Bad Bob is honorary scout for this world cup, get to the games ye we bugge,r!

by **Bad Bob** » Wed Jun 27, 2007 5:52 pm

Well, it took me all morning but I've sorted out some tickets for next Friday's pair of matches in Ottawa. First up will be Argentina vs. North Korea and I'm hoping Insua plays. Immediately following will be Brazil vs. USA so I should have a great opportunity to see Lucas Leiva in action live. It should be an interesting evening of football. I just hope they'll lay down some natural grass for the event. The stadium's a CFL (Canadian Football League) venue and it usually has artificial turf!

by **Bad Bob** » Sun Jul 01, 2007 5:10 am

So, Match Day 1. TBH, I missed the Brazil-Poland game (which Poland managed to win 1-0)...couldn't be arsed since Leiva's out injured.

I did tune in for the Argentina v. Czech Republic match tonight. It was exactly what you'd expect: the Argies showed bags of skill on the ball and dominated possession while the Czechs were ver organized defensively. In the end, Argentina simply lacked that little bit of magic in the final third to break the Czechs down and it ended 0-0. It was a bit like watching Arsenal at times--plenty of flair but didn't test the Czech keeper nearly enough.

So Insua played the entire match at LB. It's hard to say anything about his defensive prowess as the Czechs offered next to nothing going forward. As such, he spent most of the game aiding the Argentina attack. He's tidy on the ball but didn't do anything very spectacular with his distribution--mostly square passes to midfielders. I was disappointed by his unwillingness to overlap, as there was acres of space for him to exploit down the flank on several occasions (but maybe he's been told to hang back a bit in order to not get caught out on the counter?). He did put in a couple of lovely crosses--one of which Aguero should have done better with. So, a decent performance but nothing spectacular. I'll have more to add when I see him live on Friday (if he plays).

One final note. Aguerro does look quite a player--utterly superb on the ball and skint his markers a few times. He didn't have his shooting boots on tonight, though. Another stand-out for Argentina was Ever Banega. He's a central midfielder very much in the Fabregas mould: a playmaker who thrives in advanced positions and tight spaces. He pulled all the strings for them tonight. Still only 17 and apparently a starter already for Boca Juniors...not that we need another CM, mind!

by **LFC2007** » Sun Jul 01, 2007 4:04 pm

Bad Bob wrote:So, Match Day 1. TBH, I missed the Brazil-Poland game (which Poland managed to win 1-0)...couldn't be arsed since Leiva's out injured.

I did tune in for the Argentina v. Czech Republic match tonight. It was exactly what you'd expect: the Argies showed bags of skill on the ball and dominated possession while the Czechs were ver organized defensively. In the end, Argentina simply lacked that little bit of magic in the final third to break the Czechs down and it ended 0-0. It was a bit like watching Arsenal at times--plenty of flair but didn't test the Czech keeper nearly enough.

So Insua played the entire match at LB. It's hard to say anything about his defensive prowess as the Czechs offered next to nothing going forward. As such, he spent most of the game aiding the Argentina attack. He's tidy on the ball but didn't do anything very spectacular with his distribution--mostly square passes to midfielders. I was disappointed by his unwillingness to overlap, as there was acres of space for him to exploit down the flank on several occasions (but maybe he's been told to hang back a bit in order to not get caught out on the counter?). He did put in a couple of lovely crosses--one of which Aguero should have done better with. So, a decent performance but nothing spectacular. I'll have more to add when I see him live on Friday (if he plays).

One final note. Aguerro does look quite a player--utterly superb on the ball and skint his markers a few times. He didn't have his shooting boots on tonight, though. Another stand-out for Argentina was Ever Banega. He's a central midfielder very much in the Fabregas mould: a playmaker who thrives in advanced positions and tight spaces. He pulled all the strings for them tonight. Still only 17 and apparently a starter already for Boca Juniors...not that we need another CM, mind!

You sound so enthralled Bob!

by **Bad Bob** » Sun Jul 01, 2007 4:21 pm

LFC2007 wrote:
Bad Bob wrote:So, Match Day 1. TBH, I missed the Brazil-Poland game (which Poland managed to win 1-0)...couldn't be arsed since Leiva's out injured.

I did tune in for the Argentina v. Czech Republic match tonight. It was exactly what you'd expect: the Argies showed bags of skill on the ball and dominated possession while the Czechs were ver organized defensively. In the end, Argentina simply lacked that little bit of magic in the final third to break the Czechs down and it ended 0-0. It was a bit like watching Arsenal at times--plenty of flair but didn't test the Czech keeper nearly enough.

So Insua played the entire match at LB. It's hard to say anything about his defensive prowess as the Czechs offered next to nothing going forward. As such, he spent most of the game aiding the Argentina attack. He's tidy on the ball but didn't do anything very spectacular with his distribution--mostly square passes to midfielders. I was disappointed by his unwillingness to overlap, as there was acres of space for him to exploit down the flank on several occasions (but maybe he's been told to hang back a bit in order to not get caught out on the counter?). He did put in a couple of lovely crosses--one of which Aguero should have done better with. So, a decent performance but nothing spectacular. I'll have more to add when I see him live on Friday (if he plays).

One final note. Aguerro does look quite a player--utterly superb on the ball and skint his markers a few times. He didn't have his shooting boots on tonight, though. Another stand-out for Argentina was Ever Banega. He's a central midfielder very much in the Fabregas mould: a playmaker who thrives in advanced positions and tight spaces. He pulled all the strings for them tonight. Still only 17 and apparently a starter already for Boca Juniors...not that we need another CM, mind!

You sound so enthralled Bob!

Just taking my foreign correspondent duties seriously, mate!

Having said that, I'll not bore you with a report on Canada v. Chile today! :sleep

by **The Specialist** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 6:12 am

Uruguay vs. Spain has been the best match, so far..

Lots of talented players on both teams, and I am personally backing Uruguay to win the comp. That is if they switch the goalkeeper, and re-think their position on trying to sit on a lead with ages to go in a game..

Spain have a left winger named Capel who looks the business. A bit one footed, but probably 5 times better than Leto. I don't know why we bothered signing him..

by **Bad Bob** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 1:10 pm

puroresu wrote:Scotland are in this. Should do well. Most players formed the Under 19 side which got to the European championship final (lost2-1 to spain) last year.

Well, on yesterday's evidence against Japan they aren't going to do that well. They were played off the park by the technically-superior Japanese. It ended 3-1 but it could have easily been 6-1 if the Japanese strikers had not drilled it at their keeper on a few occasions. Shocking defending from the Scots as well. Let's hope it was just jet lag!

by **Bad Bob** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 1:13 pm

In other news, Chile humbled their Canadian hosts 3-0 on the astroturf at the "National Soccer Stadium" in Toronto (now tell me how a showpiece stadium has astroturf?). All of this on Canada Day as well!

On a positive note, though, the CBC has wisely been using British commentators for the games rather than cr.ap Canadian play-by-play guys conscripted from lacrosse, the CFL or other dodgy Canadian sports.

by **JoeTerp** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 9:11 pm

Bad Bob wrote:
puroresu wrote:Scotland are in this. Should do well. Most players formed the Under 19 side which got to the European championship final (lost2-1 to spain) last year.

Well, on yesterday's evidence against Japan they aren't going to do that well. They were played off the park by the technically-superior Japanese. It ended 3-1 but it could have easily been 6-1 if the Japanese strikers had not drilled it at their keeper on a few occasions. Shocking defending from the Scots as well. Let's hope it was just jet lag!

I wonder why Ryan Flynn and Gary Mackay Steven aren't in the Scottish squad.

by **Bad Bob** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 9:28 pm

JoeTerp wrote:
Bad Bob wrote:
puroresu wrote:Scotland are in this. Should do well. Most players formed the Under 19 side which got to the European championship final (lost2-1 to spain) last year.

Well, on yesterday's evidence against Japan they aren't going to do that well. They were played off the park by the technically-superior Japanese. It ended 3-1 but it could have easily been 6-1 if the Japanese strikers had not drilled it at their keeper on a few occasions. Shocking defending from the Scots as well. Let's hope it was just jet lag!

I wonder why Ryan Flynn and Gary Mackay Steven aren't in the Scottish squad.

Hey Joe, is this tournament being covered down your way as well? There's been some decent football on offer so far and the goals are starting to flow after a spate of 0-0 draws. :cool:

by **puroresu** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 9:46 pm

Scotland were poor. Last year in the euro under 19 championship we lost to spain 4-0 in the 1st game and then went on to reach the final. So I hope to see an improvement.

Technically we were very poor and too many long balls. Japan were excellent and one day they will be a real force international football.

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