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That match was legitimately unsportsmanlike play from Germany. To thoroughly annihilate the host team like that when it’s elimination and point differential no

That match was legitimately unsportsmanlike play from Germany. To thoroughly annihilate the host team like that when it’s elimination and point differential no longer matters; they should have eased off at 4-0 and played a defensive game.

neurostimulant 6y ago
I think it's more unsportsmanlike to not play to the best of one's ability, especially in an international event like this.
rowanG077 6y ago
Interesting. I feel completely the opposite. Pulling your punches in a competition that matters is one of the greatest insults I can think of.
- eru 6y ago
  According to Wikipedia, aversion to 'running up the score' might be an American thing. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Running_up_the_score https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Running_up_the_score > Running up the score occurs when a competitor continues to play in such a way as to score additional points after the outcome of the game is no longer in significant question and the team is all but assured of winning. In the United States and Canada, it is considered poor sportsmanship to run up the score in most circumstances > The term and the concept are not common elsewhere in the world. > In professional soccer, the concept of "running up the score" is mostly unheard of; Pulling your punches in the football world cup would indeed have been seen as the ultimate insult.
  - bscphil 6y ago
    I wonder if this could have something to do with the popularity (well, the existence) of American Football. It's a very physical contact sport. Obviously, when a team is losing badly and the other is continuing to run up the score, emotions can run wild, and so there's a stronger possibility of unnecessary injuries. Maybe it's felt to be better to just "take a knee and run out the clock", where possible. If you compare with baseball, I don't know that I've ever heard of a strong aversion to running up the score. Maybe you're not exactly sending out your substitute batter in the top of the ninth when you're up 10, but I've never seen a team give up and not put in a reasonable effort. Wildly disparate scores seem pretty common in basketball as well. Even in college (American) football, scores of like 70-0 are not that uncommon. You only really quit trying in football when you can run out the clock, or you pull your starting players to prevent injuries.
    - ghaff 6y ago
      Even in American football, there aren't really a lot of benchwarmers who are just there as backup. The backup quarterback obviously and teams do indeed sometimes put the backup in during the fourth quarter if they have a big lead. Though I doubt that would happen often in a playoff game. (And, yes, teams will manage the clock towards the end of the game but that's far more about playing it safe than having an aversion to running up the score.)
      - bscphil 6y ago
        You're right, perhaps I should have been even more assertive that "not running up the score" isn't that big a thing even in American sports. I think a clear case of this though is when a team has the ball with the lead and less than 2 minutes to go, and the other team has no timeouts, it's customary to just take a knee ("victory formation") rather than going on a drive and trying to score again.
        ghaff 6y ago
        That's not about not running up the score though. That's about doing the absolutely safest thing to run out the clock. Teams will do that even if they have a small lead because it's almost foolproof. (I'm sure some quarterback has fumbled though.)
  - kwhitefoot 6y ago
    Watch cricket instead. If one team has an unassailable lead the match is over. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Test_cricket#Play https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Test_cricket#Play, https://cricketershub.com/how-to-win-cricket-match/ https://cricketershub.com/how-to-win-cricket-match/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scoring_(cricket)#Winning_scores https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scoring_(cricket)#Winning_scor...
Lapsa 6y ago
BRA71L!!!
ghaff 6y ago
You do see teams come back from unlikely deficits in sports every now and then. Not common of course but it does happen. And it tends to happen when the leading team decides to obviously just play defensively.
GuB-42 6y ago
It is not unsportsmanlike to play to the best of your ability, especially not during a world cup. However, it may not have been the best strategy. It was a semifinal, the final was next. If you are dominating, it makes sense to calm down a bit to avoid wearing out your players and limit the risk of injury. Germany still won the cup, so we can't really criticize.
Humdeee 6y ago
It would be considered far more insulting if Germany took their foot off the pedal and eased off offensively. The media would have a (bigger) field day with that. As well, this is professional sports, not gym class. Even in international hockey: Canada, USA, Russia will thump teams 20-0 sometimes. There is no way any member of any team, coaching staff or otherwise, to ease off.
- kd5bjo 6y ago
  It's not uncommon for coaches to put the second- or third-tier players in when it's going to be a blowout, though: It preserves the starters for the next match and gives the others in-game experience, both of which are good for the team's development.
ajmurmann 6y ago
I actually heard the exact opposite argument being made that it was not sportsman like by Germany to allow Brazil that one goal against them, since it looked like they stopped caring or allowed it out of pitty

neurostimulant 6y ago

I think it's more unsportsmanlike to not play to the best of one's ability, especially in an international event like this.

rowanG077 6y ago

Interesting. I feel completely the opposite. Pulling your punches in a competition that matters is one of the greatest insults I can think of.

eru 6y ago
According to Wikipedia, aversion to 'running up the score' might be an American thing. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Running_up_the_score https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Running_up_the_score > Running up the score occurs when a competitor continues to play in such a way as to score additional points after the outcome of the game is no longer in significant question and the team is all but assured of winning. In the United States and Canada, it is considered poor sportsmanship to run up the score in most circumstances > The term and the concept are not common elsewhere in the world. > In professional soccer, the concept of "running up the score" is mostly unheard of; Pulling your punches in the football world cup would indeed have been seen as the ultimate insult.
- bscphil 6y ago
  I wonder if this could have something to do with the popularity (well, the existence) of American Football. It's a very physical contact sport. Obviously, when a team is losing badly and the other is continuing to run up the score, emotions can run wild, and so there's a stronger possibility of unnecessary injuries. Maybe it's felt to be better to just "take a knee and run out the clock", where possible. If you compare with baseball, I don't know that I've ever heard of a strong aversion to running up the score. Maybe you're not exactly sending out your substitute batter in the top of the ninth when you're up 10, but I've never seen a team give up and not put in a reasonable effort. Wildly disparate scores seem pretty common in basketball as well. Even in college (American) football, scores of like 70-0 are not that uncommon. You only really quit trying in football when you can run out the clock, or you pull your starting players to prevent injuries.
  - ghaff 6y ago
    Even in American football, there aren't really a lot of benchwarmers who are just there as backup. The backup quarterback obviously and teams do indeed sometimes put the backup in during the fourth quarter if they have a big lead. Though I doubt that would happen often in a playoff game. (And, yes, teams will manage the clock towards the end of the game but that's far more about playing it safe than having an aversion to running up the score.)
    - bscphil 6y ago
      You're right, perhaps I should have been even more assertive that "not running up the score" isn't that big a thing even in American sports. I think a clear case of this though is when a team has the ball with the lead and less than 2 minutes to go, and the other team has no timeouts, it's customary to just take a knee ("victory formation") rather than going on a drive and trying to score again.
      - ghaff 6y ago
        That's not about not running up the score though. That's about doing the absolutely safest thing to run out the clock. Teams will do that even if they have a small lead because it's almost foolproof. (I'm sure some quarterback has fumbled though.)
- kwhitefoot 6y ago
  Watch cricket instead. If one team has an unassailable lead the match is over. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Test_cricket#Play https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Test_cricket#Play, https://cricketershub.com/how-to-win-cricket-match/ https://cricketershub.com/how-to-win-cricket-match/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scoring_(cricket)#Winning_scores https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scoring_(cricket)#Winning_scor...

Lapsa 6y ago

BRA71L!!!

ghaff 6y ago

You do see teams come back from unlikely deficits in sports every now and then. Not common of course but it does happen. And it tends to happen when the leading team decides to obviously just play defensively.

GuB-42 6y ago

It is not unsportsmanlike to play to the best of your ability, especially not during a world cup. However, it may not have been the best strategy. It was a semifinal, the final was next. If you are dominating, it makes sense to calm down a bit to avoid wearing out your players and limit the risk of injury. Germany still won the cup, so we can't really criticize.

Humdeee 6y ago

It would be considered far more insulting if Germany took their foot off the pedal and eased off offensively. The media would have a (bigger) field day with that. As well, this is professional sports, not gym class. Even in international hockey: Canada, USA, Russia will thump teams 20-0 sometimes. There is no way any member of any team, coaching staff or otherwise, to ease off.

kd5bjo 6y ago
It's not uncommon for coaches to put the second- or third-tier players in when it's going to be a blowout, though: It preserves the starters for the next match and gives the others in-game experience, both of which are good for the team's development.

ajmurmann 6y ago

I actually heard the exact opposite argument being made that it was not sportsman like by Germany to allow Brazil that one goal against them, since it looked like they stopped caring or allowed it out of pitty