European Championship Water Polo: Malaga 4-13.7.2008

if the refs need to step up and help out then they better do it 😁

Roger Allen3 said:8:7. Looks like they just threw money away for nothing. Was it really worth it?

Whatever. It was obvious during the game that we were much stronger. They just had to pull back a bit so we didn't end up winning by too much.

On the flip side, our posts and crossbars probably saved us just as many goals.
We’re down 4-2, and after ten minutes, we haven't even managed a single real attack. Meanwhile, they've already rattled the crossbar three times in a row. How is that even possible?
We got lucky that the Italians burned through their energy pressing us in the second and fourth quarters. That gave us enough breathing room to scrape out a three-point lead in the third. After that, it was nothing but pure damage control and praying for a miracle.

Fortune favors the bold. 😁

Alright, I think Bolton is exaggerating just a little bit here. 😁 It’s not like the Italians beat themselves; our defense is playing at an elite level—honestly, maybe the best in the world right now—but we still haven't figured out how to score.

I'm not convinced our defense is actually any better than our offense. It’s not like we’re raining down a hundred shots per game while the other team struggles to even get a look at our goal.

Man, our guys just keep bouncing back game after game. They take a 3-0 lead every single time and then let it slip, but honestly? We're gonna cruise to a win tomorrow.

Jerry Roberts said:Alright, I think rapidbison42 might be exaggerating just a touch 😁 it isn't quite like the Italians beat themselves; our guys are putting on an incredible defensive clinic, truly world-class stuff that might even be the best we've seen from any team lately... but the offense is still struggling to find its rhythm.

Honestly, it feels like he was watching a completely different game

When you look at the score, they missed two absolute sitter shots, and then Vicanov managed to slot home two goals that weren't exactly masterpieces, and suddenly it’s an even match? That’s just the reality of this level of play, I suppose. Is it really that hard for someone who hasn't competed at this elite tier to grasp how quickly things can shift?

Just business as usual. 😁

So, I just finished watching the replay of the whole game. You know how many times the strikers hit the woodwork, rapidbison42? 2

And you want to know how many times our guys actually hit their goal? 4 😁

It's not like our keeper was doing much to stop them from scoring, either.

Oh please, according to rapidbison42, he’s had ten Hall of Famers on his team throughout history while everyone else is just a total loser...

The pool was absolutely overflowing with losers today... you just have to get used to it. It’s a bit annoying at first, but eventually, it actually becomes kind of charming 😁 after every single game, people start gossiping about who the losers are, regardless of the sport. Loser, loser, loser... I can just picture rapidbison42 acting like Hercules 🙂

To sum it up, we absolutely crushed them. If the Italians had actually shown up with a full roster, it would have been a complete blowout.
We’re playing great.

Roger Allen3 said:Sure, so rapidbison42 thinks ten players in sports history are legends while everyone else is just a loser...

The pool was full of losers today. You get used to it. It’s annoying at first, but eventually, it becomes almost charming 😁 how after every single game, people start obsessing over who lost. Loser, loser, loser. I guess rapidbison42 sees himself as Hercules or something. 🙂

Show me one single post where I actually used the word "loser."
Go ahead. Just one.

They aren't losers, but man, something just feels off to me... having those massive dead zones in the game, where we go ten minutes without a single shot on goal, is brutal. That’s when it hurts most because we're playing without any real bite. I look at kids like Jokovica or Buslja, and it seems like they're trying too hard to play "methodical" at certain points 🙄 instead of just causing absolute chaos and getting aggressive. Seriously, what does a 22-year-old know about "playing with composure"?

Some things are just genuinely confusing to me.

The defense is definitely solid—Buric and Buslje are doing a great job there. The crossing is decent (though Hinic feels a little soft to my eyes, if I'm being honest), but the attacking wingers? They're a disaster. Boskovic manages somehow, but the rest of them act like they're invisible. You barely notice Vrdoljak or Barac once or twice a match, usually just when they score that one goal or miss a sitter.
The wingers are pretty much hit-or-miss. Sure, they'll bag a couple of goals, but the stuff Djogas misses is honestly a joke. He tries these flashy moves sometimes—what is he actually thinking?

Roger Allen3 said:So, according to rapidbison42, he’s personally scouted ten legendary players throughout history who actually matter, while everyone else is just a total loser, right? Is that how we're playing it now?

I was wondering, which ten are we actually talking about? 🙏🙏

Is this just the warmup before we hit Beijing? Our offense feels a little sluggish right now, but I honestly can't blame them; I'm attributing that lack of rhythm to how intense Rudić's training sessions have been lately. Can you really be surprised when players' arms feel like they're made of lead after all that work?

Roger Allen3 said:Oh sure, according to rapidbison42, there are only ten legends in all of sports history, and everyone else is just a total loser...

The pool was basically overflowing with losers today... you just have to get used to it. It’s annoying at first, I guess, but eventually, it becomes kind of charming 😁 how after every single game, people start obsessing over the losers. No matter the sport, it's always "loser, loser, loser." Apparently, I should view rapidbison42 as some sort of Hercules.🙂

Look, he's an impulsive guy. You can't really hold it against him.

We've all been there at one point or another.

Jerry Roberts said:They aren't losers, but honestly, something feels off to me... having those massive gaps in the game where we go ten minutes without a shot is killer, especially when we're playing without Zara. I watch kids like Jokovica or Buslja, and they seem to be looking for "routine" at times 🙄 instead of just causing chaos and playing with intensity. What does a 22-year-old even know about routine?

Some things are just unclear to me personally.

The defense is definitely solid; Buric and Buslje are doing their jobs well. The crosses are decent (though Hinic feels a bit soft to me, if that's my take), but the attacking wingers are a disaster... Boskovic manages somehow, but the others are practically invisible. You barely notice Vrdoljak or Barac unless they score once or miss a single shot per game.
The wingers are hit or miss too. Sure, they score a few, but what Djogas misses is a joke. He tries these flashy moves—what is he even doing?

Let's not overthink it. Against an incomplete Italy like this, we'd be up by 3 or 5 goals. Even if they had their full squad, we should beat them easily.
The US national team is ahead of everyone else. That much is obvious.
Of course we're prepping for the Olympics, but let's at least play three games at 100% capacity.
Today was below the level of world champions. And not just today.

Jerry Roberts said:Look, he’s just an impulsive guy. You can't really blame anyone for that.

We've all been there at some point.

Impulsive? Hardly. Roger Allen3 is putting words in my mouth that I’ve only ever used when talking about tennis.
Since he’s so sure of himself: after every single match, he starts lecturing everyone about losers, regardless of the sport... loser, loser, loser... let Quotaj call me out on it. Otherwise, he can just take the red flag for trolling. 👍

Look, we actually had the upper hand there; we were arguably better by three or five goals. During that 7-4 stretch, first Mile hits the post on an open net—the keeper and Tempesti totally caught him off guard at the six-yard box—and then immediately after, Djogas misses a sitter. He’s face-to-face with the keeper and just blasts it, God knows why. I would've saved that one too.

On the flip side, right after those two misses, the Italians score. Their defender takes a long shot, the ball hits the water, clips the bar, bounces off the bar, hits Vicanov in the back, and trickles in behind him.

If we're being honest, if Mile or Theo had buried those, there’s no way these guys would have even been within one goal of us.

That said, I agree we need to put in a lot more effort in our game.

But think about this: the Greeks are playing at 120%. They're known for being that squad that gets hyper-focused when the score is tight and absolutely bites when the job is done. Meanwhile, we’re playing at half capacity, and we still can't pull anything away from the Greeks besides a draw. Today, the defenders gave it their all, while we played at half speed—maybe slightly more than half—and ended up with a positive result anyway.

Just a year and a half ago, the Greeks and Italians were beating us without breaking a sweat.

Jerry Roberts said:Well, he's an impulsive guy, you can't really blame him for that.

We all have those moments!

I'm not blaming anyone, I'm just making a comment.😁

We'll see over the next two games if they were just coasting.
Now we're left guessing. All we need now is two performances at 100%.