Double Dutch Greenygrey Goalies Save Falklands

Julio Cesar held on to the World Cup 2014 golden greenYgrey Number 1 goalie jersey for three weeks, as the Tour de France leader wears a yellow jersey, but his reign at the top was ended in spectacular fashion last night; like a special Stella Lagerwolf-Bruno outfit after a night on the tiles; as a great Germany team put seven goals past a depleted Brazil side without star player Neymar and best defender Silva.

César Rodriguez, cantautor. (Photo credit: Tonymadrid Photography)

Hi, it’s Martin ‘Werewolfie’ Adams, with yet another satirical comedy sports report from the Brazil 2014 World Cup. I am still inspired by darts legend Martin ‘Wolfie’ Adams.

Brazil = 1 Germany = 7

Poor Cesar didn’t stand a chance last night, as his defence crumbled under an efficient and skilful German team.

None of the goals were really the fault of Julio Cesar, although he might have been disappointed to let Schurrle’s second and Germany’s seventh in at his near post; although by that time it was of little consequence, and the Brazilian team was thoroughly dejected… and rejected by even most of their own fans.

Julio César (Photo credit: mmarftrejo)

It was a sad end to the World Cup for Brazilian fans that had lived in hope rather than belief, with their current side a pale shadow of previous great teams, which peaked with Pele in the Mexico 1970 World Cup.

Manuel Neuer took over the golden greenYgrey jersey from Cesar after the game. Neuer did not have much to do during the game, although he did make a great double save at the start of the second half, but has been consistently great during the tournament.

Neuer combines great reflexes with a confident aura in the penalty box, and even plays like an extra outfield player by sweeping up long balls behind his defence. He therefore seems like the complete keeper, and a worthy winner of the golden greenYgrey jersey.

Argentina v Netherlands

The Netherlands qualified for tonight’s other semi-final with Argentina after substituting one greenYgrey goalie for another before a penalty shoot-out with Costa Rica.

Jasper Cillesson made way for Tim Krul, who has of course has been the golden greenYgrey goalie in the English Premier League for the last couple of seasons, as featured on this blog.

Krul saved two Costa Rican penalties to send the Dutch through to a semi-final against Argentina that evokes memories of the 1978 World Cup final in Argentina, which the Argentinians won 3-1 after extra time.

The World Cup had been a magical ticker-tapes success, but Argentina unfortunately spoiled it four years later when they invaded the Falklands Islands, which were uninhabited before Britain claimed them.

If the Dutch win tonight, a final against Germany will mirror the 1974 final forty years ago this year, although Germany were still West Germany then. West Germany beat the Netherlands 2-1 in that final.

FIFA World Cup 1974 in Germany :*Graphics by Poell :*Ausgabepreis: 30 Pfennig :*First Day of Issue / Erstausgabetag: 15. Mai 1974 :*Michel-Katalog-Nr: 811 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Argentina played West Germany in two World Cup finals running in 1986 and 1990, with the South Americans winning 3-2 in ’86 (after Maradona cheated in the quarter-final v England) and WG winning 1-0 in the second (after luckily beating England on penalties in the semi-final).

No European side has ever won the World Cup in the Americas.

It seems likely that this will be the first time, although Lionel Messi and La Albiceleste will be hoping to wrestle the World Cup trophy currently held by Spain back to the mixed-up land of Gauchos, Guevara and Galtieri… which is politically and sportingly dominated by the descendants of European colonists.

Germany Learn Historic Lessons to Deny Norway and Werewolf

Hi, it’s Greenygrey. Congratulations to the paralympians who brought the Olympics 2012 Anniversary Games to an exciting conclusion; and Germany‘s women, who won the European women’s football championship for the sixth time in a row yesterday.

Commiserations to the Norwegian women, who played great football, took defeat sportingly and like their fjord-filled land, looked lovely.

Nadine Angerer‘s Historic GG? Goalie Display

Nadine Angerer saves first Norwegian penalty.

A special mention for German goalie Nadine Angerer, who made all those not wanting Germany to win a little angry.

Angerer seemed to have learned from the British example during the Blitz, and Russian example at Stalingrad, as she heroically defended the German goal. That included two penalty saves, with the second one particularly good.

While it was nearly all down to Angerer’s amazing ability, maybe just a little bit was down to her looking quite greenygrey… and werewolfish. 

Nadine Angerer and Werewolf of Oz Link 

Brisbane Roar FC (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Nadine Angerer currently plays football for the Brisbane Roar in Oz, with roar of course a lion version of a wolf and human noise; and Martin ‘Werewolfie’ Adams was of course talking in Oz time yesterday when he said he hoped for a friendly game ‘tonight’.

We hope that didn’t make you miss the afternoon kick-off in Europe; or maybe you’re glad you did if you wanted Norway to win.

Werewolf of Oz Week 

And we hope you didn’t miss the latest episode of Werewolf of Oz: Fantasy Travel by Google Maps, which was delayed because of all the sporting and comedy activity.

I’ve got some bad and good news for all Werewolf of Oz diehards. The bad news is that the next episode won’t appear until tomorrow, but the good news is that we’re going to follow it with the next three episodes on the following three days; to the end of the Kerang-Kerrang time-travel story.

Link for Amazon book and kindle.

So please relax your position on the edge of the seat Werewolf of Ozzers, and return tomorrow for the next bumper thrilling episode of WoO.

Women’s Euro Football Final and Olympics 2012 Anniversary Games

Hi, it’s Martin ‘Werewolfie’ Adams, comedy satire sports correspondent at the Greenygrey. Yes, it’s really me today. I was of course cited as the correspondent responsible for yesterday’s blog, when it was really ol’ Wolf Whitzer.

Newsroom Time Pressures

Our news editing team are under severe time pressures, trying to finish the job as quickly as possible to enjoy more time in the sun, so it is understandable.

Although the newsroom got all the science and reference links right, they also let ‘several’ appear twice in the last paragraph.

We have now rectified those mistakes, so on with the sport…

European Women’s Football Championships

Tonight sees the Germany v Norway women’s football championships final. At Greenygrey sports we are of course adamantly Norwegian, um, I mean neutral… like Sweden in World War Two, but that didn’t stop Germany invading… sorry, about that, no more Basil Fawlty World War Two references impressions (the YouTube video is embedded at the end though, in the knowledge that most Germans find it very funny).

We’re hoping for a friendly game providing a good example of women’s football tonight, and it looks set for a great spectacle within the gorgeously greenygrey Friends stadium in Solna, Stockholm; as shown in Sally Nugent‘s report this morning:

Sally Nugent reports from Stockholm’s Friends Arena.

Olympics 2012 Anniversary Games

There was another great greenygrey scene at the London U.K. Olympics 2012 Anniversary Games on Friday night, as the sunset brought the best out of the greenygrey:

 

Olympics 2012 Anniversary Games.

A star of Team GG in Olympics 2012, Usain Bolt, made a dramatic greenygrey entrance to the stadium:

Usain Bolt’s greenygrey entrance at Olympics 2012 Annivesary Games.

Later, there was a great debut Team GG performance by Nick Symmonds, as he won the 800m:

Women’s European Championships Round-Up: Germany v Norway Final

Hi, it’s Martin ‘Werewolfie’ Adams, comedy satire sports correspondent at the Greenygrey with a not so funny round-up from the women’s European Championships (not reflecting a lack of humour in women). Congratulations to the Norway women, who qualified for Sunday’s European Championships final last night with a penalty-kicks win over the plucky Danes.

Eidfjord war memorial

Eidfjord Norway Photos 

It is now left to the Norwegians to provide resistance to German domination of the competition.

Maybe they can take inspiration from the World War Two Norwegian resistance, who are remembered in one of Marc Latham’s Eidfjord photos from the t25y.wordpress.com website.

Not that the German women are like the World War Two German men who invaded Scandinavia. And a lot of them were just normal people really; just caught up in the whirlwind that had gripped their political system.

German Confidence Helps them Win 

Heidi Klum modeling at The Heart Truth Fashion Show 2008 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Although the German women have dominated the competition by winning the last five championships, and seven of the last eight, with only a Norway victory interrupting the sequence, the Germans were under strength in this competition, with several players out injured.

So the Germans did well to defeat the Swedish hosts 1-0 in the other semi-final, with the occasion seeming to get to the Swedish players; along with a dubious refereeing decision disallowing their goal when they did get the ball in the German net.

To try and avoid a John Inverdalism, in the perilous territory of men reporting women’s sports, we have used a photo of German model Heidi Klum above, rather than any of the German women’s football team; that’s not to say there aren’t any ‘lookers’ on the German team, it’s just to avoid allegations of ‘sexism’ or ‘favouritism’.

We Love Scandinavian Women  

English: Map showing two of the common definitions of “Scandinavia”; a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe: the most common usage: the three monarchies; Denmark, Norway and Sweden an extended usage: including Finland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Sweden has provided an excellent championships, with the crowd support reflecting their position as one of the top gender equality countries in the world.

Norway is just ahead of Sweden in the 2012 rankings (third and fourth), while Germany is surprisingly down in thirteenth. Iceland and Finland are the top two. Ireland and New Zealand are fifth and sixth, before the other Scandinavia country, Denmark.

The U.K. is down in 18th, surprisingly one place above Cuba, which I thought would be higher with their socialist system. Another surprise to me is that the U.S.A. is down in 22nd.

 

Euro 2012 ends in Glorious Defeat for Greenygrey

Hi, it’s Martin ‘Werewolfie’ Adams. As you probably remember, our very own Cinderella Werewolf got all excited about going to the Euro 2012 Final yesterday, but in the end it turned into a disappointment, with Greenygrey hardly visible on Italian coach, Prandelli. This probably caused Italy to lose 4-0 to Spain.

Prandelli Raises Greenygrey Hopes

After we thought the Greenygrey’s hopes of going to the Euro 2012 final had ended with the German goalie kit, the BBC kindly showed us there was still hope, with this collage of Prandelli and German coach, Loew:

Prandelli won this greenygrey contest; probably because he managed to combine green and grey: grey majority and green on the Italian flag.

Greenygrey at the Euro 2012 Final

Prandelli did take Greenygrey to the final (unfortunately!) but it was a much more subdued Greenygrey than in the above photo.

Prandelli chose to wear a blazer, which featured the above Italian flag; and a grey striped shirt.

The above photo might have captured the moment when Prandelli realised his mistake.

I feel like I need a rest now, but apparently the greenyblue isn’t available for Wimbledon, so we’re going to have to work overtime down there…

Cinderella Werewolf will go to Euro 2012 Final

Hi, it’s Martin ‘Werewolfie’ Adams, sports correspondent at the Greenygrey. When Germany‘s Euro 2012 campaign ended in chaos on Thursday, without a greenygrey goalie kit being worn, I declared the football championships over for the Greenygrey.

Cinderella Man to Werewolf 

But as James J. Braddock became known as the Cinderella Man after he won boxing fame at a late age, the Greenygrey will be going to the Euro 2012 final tonight after all.

That’s because with barely eight hours to spare, our dogged intrepid researchers have discovered that Cesare Prandelli is a greenygrey, as this photo reveals:

So it looks like we’ll be supporting Italy tonight, unless the Spanish bring out some even more greenygreyish garb…

Germany’s Euro 2012 ends in Chaos

Hi, it’s Martin ‘Werewolfie’ Adams. Germany failed to heed the lessons from the Greek game, when our science expert, Stephen Wolfing, hypothesised that their decision to kit their goalie, Neuer, out in bright orange instead of subdued greenygrey had resulted in a goal bonanza; including Neuer letting in two goals for the first time in the tournament.

Italy v Germany Shock Chaos

The Italy v Germany game started to form, with Germany having most of the early possession, and a few chances.

But then Italy broke into the German half, and before the brightly coloured Neuer had made a save, Balotelli seemed to spot him moving to the left, and headed the ball into the opposite corner.

WARSAW, POLAND – JUNE 28: Mario Balotelli (C) of Italy jumps with Holger Badstuber (R) of Germany to score the opening goal past Manuel Neuer of Germany during the UEFA EURO 2012 semi final match between Germany and Italy at National Stadium on June 28, 2012 in Warsaw, Poland. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

Lighthouse Goalie Kit Ends Greenygrey Hopes

Then a little while later, Balotelli beat the offside trap, and seemed to use Neuer like a footballing lighthouse, sending the ball well wide of the stationary goalie and into the top corner.

The game ended 2-1 to Italy, so the last chance of greenygrey playing a foreground part in the final seems to have been ended with off-the-field decisions, rather than the greenygrey being given the chance to shine… in a subdued way…!

But as the above photo shows, greenygrey is always a background part of football pitches and stadiums.

Euro 2012 Chaotic Chaos Theory Round-up

Hi, it’s Martin ‘Werewolfie’ Adams. It sure seems a long time ago when I last reported on Euro 2012. Why, as I remember it we were hoping for an all-greenygrey goalie quarter-final between the two Gs: Germany and Greece.

Euro 2012 Quarter-Final Chaos: Germany v Greece

Chaos in the German goal as un-greenygrey goalie beaten to the ball in rare Greek attack.

We were expecting the two greenygrey goalies to provide a very normal game, with perhaps one or two goals. But then the German goalie was kitted out in bright orange. This resulted in a six-goal thriller, with the German goalie leaving in two goals for the first time in the tournament. I was at a loss to explain how all that happened, so I asked our resident science expert, Stephen Wolfing; he thought it looked like the butterfly effect of chaos theory:

‘The butterfly effect of chaos theory proposes that a small change in one place can result in large differences to a later state, and I think that is what happened in the Germany v Greece quarter-final. Germany decided to kit their goalie out in orange, and that small change created chaos in the later game.’

Wow, thank you Stephen, for your clear and concise explanation. I had not imagined it would be so simple, and yet quite complex at the same time.

England v Italy: Did England Pay for non-Greenygrey Goalie Kit

The other quarter-final with a greenygrey interest was England v Italy; well, it was until England decided to send poor Joe Hart out in the all red kit instead of the greenygrey.

Hart seemed to be like a red rag to a bull as the Italians charged his goal time after time. And then, in the penalties, Hart was unable to save any.

Would he have done any better in greenygrey. Not even chaos theory can answer that one…!

Euro 2012: Germany set up Greenygrey Goalie Quarter-Final

Hi, it’s Martin ‘Werewolfie’ Adams, sports correspondent @ Greenygrey News. The greenygrey news sure is coming in fast this week. Not long had the dust settled after Greece’s greenygrey goalie had helped them create a massive shock with a win over Russia that took them through to the quarter-final, than Germany‘s goalie Neuer ensured that Germany would meet them there, in what could be an all-greenygrey goalie final: if they stick with the greenygrey kits.

Germany beat Denmark to reach Euro 2012 Quarter-Final

While Germany were favourites against Denmark, and the Danes scored once in a 2-1 scoreline, the German goalie Neuer nevertheless did the greenygrey goalie kit proud.