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It was a very poor PK and he did not look confident at the same - surprised he took it. I've kicked a penalty in the very same way in college (final of the tourney actually ) it's about planting the other foot too close to the football, so you can't really hit it square. Ronaldo for example keeps hsi feet very much apart all the way from the start of the run (for FKs and PKs). @fernando, yup jose had to play more defensively to shut the floodgates... All players had to do a bit more defensively and something's gotta give. Our CMs were not good enough - better once Matic joined, but still lacking. I think it's still goind to be difficult to to change the style of play wit hthe current crop of players though; how deep the D line likes to play, etc.

Sometimes I think people on this forum never actually played football... No man... a bite doesn't hurt at all compared to anything you may go through in a remotely competitive football match.

I'm not hiding behind anything. This isn't about me - I don't bite people (unless required and I have a strict policy about females only). Of course it's excessive! It's also ridiculous and he deserves a ban. There is no hurt! We have to agree to disagree, because I for one agree that what he's done is not comparable to a dangerous tackle: the dangerous tackle is, by definition, dangerous, while what he has done isn't. What we disagree about is how important the intent is. And that there is intent behind Suarez' actions - there is no intent there only slight insanity. What could Suarez possible gain by biting Chiellini? Woudl that incapacitate Chiellini in any way? Show Chiellini that Suarez really really wanted to win it? Reckon he kinda knew that already.

insanity is not that simple - not black and white. Check how the law deals with it - "not simple" is an understatement. I don't have the answers, but I'm not so sure that the punishment given is adequate. The solution to deal with the "slightly" insane isn't to throw them in jail, especially when they not dangerous. Is Suarez dangerous? How so?

I am not mixing them, I'm using both as information. Make up your mind... is he insane or does he show intent?! Because by law, intention demands sanity. The intent of the tackle does not matter as much as people make it out to be - in the rules: players can and will be shown red cards due to excessive force regardless of intent. Same reason if your hand touches the football inside the box it's a handball even without intention (esp if changes direction etc). You lunge at a player with both feet, studs up, you may get a red regardless whether you touch the football or not. So, based on your logic, we are (severely) punishing Suarez for being insane? Isn't making the same mistake over and over again (costing him a lot) proving that he has no control over it? That it is NOT about intent?!

Completely understandable and no denying that. I'm not discussing the need of punishment, but how proportional it is when severity of the act is considered. There are far worst things that happen on the pitch than a bite, however ridiculous and abnormal that may be. Wasn't Brazil Leonardo, a model professional until then, who destroyed the face of an USA player in 94 WC with a thrown elbow? He got 4 games ban. Chiellini and Ivanovic smile and shake their heads, but that's about it.

Just for the record, I don't really understand why "a normal situation" is better than an abnormal as a rule. People get shot every day... School shooting are becoming normal in the US.. just as an example, even if a horrific one. The most important aspect is the consequence of the act. Myself, many professional players, and coaches believe the act itself, although silly, even ridiculous, and fully deserved of suspension, is no worse than many other things that happen on the pitch, and are considered "normal." Ask any player in a match whether they'd rather let Suarez have a bite at them , or pick up a serious injury and I reckon they'd all pick the former.

disagree, esp after the match when people can watch video replays with cool heads. these types of tackles are as intentional as it gets: (replay shows the over-the-ball intention) http://blog.foxsoccer.com/post/50096207473/kweuke-delivers-brutal-leg-breaking-tackle Roy Keane, Witsel, Shawcross... yes, it's a moment of madness, but it's still intentional: in that brief moment they want to injure the other player.

Because it is not an easy one... One one hand it's a ridiculous thing, he's done before, and he is a role model (yeah right!). If we go that route then many will have to be banned for life (Balotelli). On the other hand, is Chiellini unable to play? What was the actual long-term effects caused by the sick act. He did not break a leg, or went over the ball to hurt the player: it was something very silly and that's why we have all these jokes over the internet. He certainly deserves a ban, but I still find it ironic that he gets 4 months, while players who literally and intentionally break the leg/knee/ankle of a colleague get a couple/handful of matches.

niggling... thanks! Don't know, seen strange things with players going from hot to cold for no apparent reason. completely agree. Many players have to improve, otherwise we will have another silverless season.

#2 the issue with nagging injuries is that although they don't necessarily make you miss matches, they may hinder your performance. Which explains the difference in pace, aggressiveness, tackling, from first to second half of the season. I think CBF was a factor, but not the only one. #4 nobody is saying we should wait on Oscar. Chelsea cannot wait on any player, but that's why we've got Willian, Andre, Salah, etc. That's why City wins the EPL, because when Aguero is injured, or in bad shape, they've got Dzeko/Negredo. Or Nasri for Silva, etc.

There are 3 aspects to take into consideration: 1) He was burned out because of lack of any vacation in a while which may have led to; 2) nagging injuries which clearly prevented him from doing the things he did before 3) CBF The first two are self-explanatory, but the 3rd one is controversial; some will diss him for that (lack of commitment to Chelsea), but CBF plays hard ball normally, and I reckon they might have gone overboard considering the home soil and Brazil social situation: "give the people its circus." A minor slight from Ramires kept him away from the team for months and almost cost him his WC spot. I just noticed that it happen to most if not all Brazil players. 4) he's 22... Jose words: only "ready players" don't need to improve; the 29-year-old who get in the starting XI and play as if they've been there forever. Both Oscar and Hazard need to improve, in different ways, but they both do. We either show some patience with our own wonderkids, or we are never going to have truly great players on the squad. Good luck buying Messi...

The sad thing for me is that even if they had banned Suarez for most of the season, in which case he ends up only playing a handful of game, he would still outscore both our strikers (combined).

Jose values the defensive play of his attacking mids like no other head coach. After all he was the one who chose to sell his most creative CAM, Mata, to keep his hard working CAM, Oscar. Oscar is going nowhere as long as he is committed to what Jose wants.

Well it's really relative... David Luiz is surely overrated (yes I've said it!) if you take the 50m into account. Same with Bale, but that's hardly their fault. They didn't set their price, just played well enough to make buyers put cash on the table. A player certainly NOT overrated IMO: Matthaus... what a fantastic midfielder!

Balotelli a pundit now? Might as well be b/c he has such a hard time scoring goals.

oh come on! he made a fantastic run beating a player to connect to a pretty heavy cross. What did Ronaldo do then? Bale is the 24 who just joined the team.

Goals never dry up for the truly special players. Of course assists count too. However, if the the attacking player isn't assisting nor scoring consistently, then he's just not at that level. Right... point is that the goal was decisive by avoiding the pks. Goals change games.

He was (Di Maria), but without Bale, RM loses all the same. Scoring the goal is something "special." Nothing else counts in football.

This goes back to personal preferences and all... But you can't say he only scored the goal... without that goal, which was hardly a tap in, they lose. In a low scoring game like football, scoring a goal, especially a difficult one, is huge! Which makes the players who can do that on their own, like Messi, invaluable.

true. Robben is 30 and at the top of his game, whereas Bale is 24 and hardly there.

That's exactly how I used to think of him, until I watched last CL final. Unsurprisingly enough Ronaldo vanished and Bale was the player who made a difference. Yes, he missed an opportunity before equalizing, but kudos to him that he kept on trying. Bale is younger too and it was his first season in Spain. I don't think this is the best we are going to see from him..

He does that indeed. Back to my point: Colombia has been playing against nobody really; perhaps C is the worst group. Mexico and Croatia are better than any team in group C, aside from Colombia. That's why I think it's premature to judge James with so many different variables in play. What if he vanishes in the KO stages?

I won't discuss what I did not write/say. Now if you think Brazil and Neymar have the same freedom as James and Colombia, then I guess we just have to agree to disagree. Not to mention, like I said before, the opposition. Either Mexico is as good as you say, in which case Brazil has faced tougher opponents than Colombia has, or Mexico is at the same level of the other teams in group C. When you criticize Brazil, you criticize Mexico too.

Completely agree, but then again while a player of his quality can create something out of nothing, he can't make the rest of the team work. If other players can't follow his movement and help him the way he's helped at Barca, he just can't perform at the same level. Even at Barca his performances dropped when the team struggled. That's natural as it's a team sport.