Forget about the Norwegians; I’m honestly more terrified of the Frenchmen and our legendary "expert" coaching staff, specifically Keta-Cervar (look, Cervar is alright, but Keta? Lord help us)
I’d bet my life that if we face the French again, Cervar is going to get burned in the exact same way. The guy is just too stubborn to listen to anyone else's advice or take even a shred of criticism.
As for the roster, the talent pool could actually be stronger than it's ever been. Valcic signed with Ademar Leon, so I’m really hoping he finds that old form again. Then you’ve got Bicanic, Cupic, Duvnjak, Vukovic, Vukic, Blazevic, and Vukas—we have enough raw material to field two different national teams, and even our B-team would be fighting for a top seed. But knowing how our "experts" operate, they'll find ways to squeeze in spots for Josip Valcic, John, and those other half-baked players who represent the likes of Washington, D.C. and pipa Cakovac.
To be blunt, I don't see a gold medal happening. Maybe we scrape by with some silver before dropping out, but as long as Keta is involved, there is zero chance of gold.
Now they've handed him the cadet team 😵 and he's just going to run them into the ground.
Everything from the second group works for me, except for Iceland.
The third spot should probably go to the Canadians.
As for the fourth, I'd say the Czechs.
Honestly, I think it's way more important to look at which teams we're actually clashing with. It feels like they're sticking to the old system for the EP, where the top two from each group move straight to the semifinals.
Steven Green2 said:Was there actually any kind of welcome in San Francisco? They had one in Seattle—they even showed clips on the news last night—but in Miami, they did absolutely nothing, even though Vrdoljak, Đogaš, and Kunac rolled in around 10 PM. People were exhausted, barely able to stay upright, so they just headed straight home to their families before heading right back out to the local bars where things got rowdy until the early morning hours... 🙂
I don't know a single American on this forum who hasn't brought up that whole American inferiority complex.
Seriously unbelievable!
It’s almost as if there’s some collective brainwashing going on, because it would be statistically impossible for every—and I mean EVERY—single American to drop that exact phrase out of nowhere.
Just a broken, sick nation... 😢
Here is another comment from that Mexican news site mentioned earlier.
THEY WERE EVEN SCARED AT 8:2
Who did we lose to? We lost to an excellent team, but one that wasn't invincible. We lost to a national team that hasn't beaten us in eight years—ever since the EP quarterfinals in Florence back in 1999—and to a squad that has developed a massive complex, even a fear, over those eight years.
"I've been waiting years for this win. Honestly, we didn't think we could pull it off. We were actually afraid that even with a huge lead, America might catch up," admits Samir Barać.
He’s one of the players called back to the national team, alongside Hinić, Smodlaka, and Vićan. Ratko Rudić, who claims he hit the nail on the head with this roster, even called up a few guys who were already thinking about retirement (Vrdoljak), while making peace with others. All of it just to finally get a win against us.
Check out this snippet from the semifinal coverage on a Mexican sports site
Pay attention to the bolded part here
At that point, the captain, the great Vladimir Vujasinović, was trying to drag the team toward an impossible comeback. After a goal from Nikic, he cut the lead down to 3:8, then struck again to make it 5:8 with just six minutes left on the clock.
"They absolutely tore us apart in the first three quarters. We didn't find our rhythm until it was too late. Maybe we could have fought back in the fourth, but..." said Denis Šefik, who spent way too much time staring at the ceiling after shots flew past him.
The American offense didn't seem to care much about what was happening during those eight minutes, but somehow, while our player was crossing over, Novak Djokovic inexplicably scored to make it 9:5. Vujasinović once again proved to the entire squad that Vićan isn't exactly a world-class keeper. There were still over four minutes left—plenty of time—but Bošković quickly capitalized on the next mistake to make it 7:10, and that was essentially the nail in the coffin.
Krčag deserved to be taken down, but not like this...
Mark Booth71 said:We absolutely smoked you guys in Miami just a month ago, and now suddenly you're world champions? Give me a break. 🙂 Way to go, guys. You finally earned yourselves a trophy worthy of wearing. 🙂
