[WC] World Cup 2010 - General Talk Thread (55 Viewers)

juventus1897

Senior Member
Sep 19, 2006
618
The WC is going to get more exciting once we get to the knock-out stage. Teams have been overly defensive/careful thus far, but that will have to change. Or we get alot of penalty shootouts instead, but I hope not.
 

juventus1897

Senior Member
Sep 19, 2006
618
Just a little more investment is needed right now, which will gradually grow. Most of the basketball players are too tall to be football players anyway and for NFL you need different physical attributes. The kids with height between 1.70-1.80 or even 1.85, who show talent for football, can continue playing it.
Especially those with Latino origin, or Italian, Balkan, Russian origin etc.

But the popularity must grow somehow so Rossi and Subotic won't play for other NTs.
Yes gradually, but for the USA to win a tournament it would have to be one of the biggest sports in the country, otherwise they'll never get past the big teams. The competetiveness of US American athletes is great, all they need is the backing of a large part of the population and of course the investments and such which goes along with a big viewership.
 

Seven

In bocca al lupo, Fabio.
Jun 25, 2003
39,345
I agree, they are not that fun to watch. Actually most of the Brazilians i met in South Africa, were very angry at Dunga, and a lot of them don't really care how good his results are, they want sexy football as well as results.
Maybe someday they'll realize that the days where you could dance around your opponents at a WC are long gone.
They shouldn't. They're Brazil. Either they dance their way around opponents or they lose. What they don't do is build a solid team.
 

Henry

Senior Member
Sep 30, 2003
5,517
Just a little more investment is needed right now, which will gradually grow. Most of the basketball players are too tall to be football players anyway and for NFL you need different physical attributes. The kids with height between 1.70-1.80 or even 1.85, who show talent for football, can continue playing it.
Especially those with Latino origin, or Italian, Balkan, Russian origin etc.

But the popularity must grow somehow so Rossi and Subotic won't play for other NTs.

if only I had gone in to football :p American born and bred, 1.84, I would have been the real "white Pele" :alen:
 

king Ale

Senior Member
Oct 28, 2004
21,689
Just a little more investment is needed right now, which will gradually grow. Most of the basketball players are too tall to be football players anyway and for NFL you need different physical attributes. The kids with height between 1.70-1.80 or even 1.85, who show talent for football, can continue playing it.
Especially those with Latino origin, or Italian, Balkan, Russian origin etc.

But the popularity must grow somehow so Rossi and Subotic won't play for other NTs.
You really think they chose Italy and Serbia to play for because they had more popular football teams?
 

Alen

Ѕenior Аdmin
Apr 2, 2007
53,998
You really think they chose Italy and Serbia to play for because they had more popular football teams?
If the popularity grows, the investments will grow and the league will become stronger. The best young American talents won't have to leave so early and in the meantime they will start playing for the NT.

If Rossi or Subotic weren't in Europe and they played in the MLS at the time, they might have chosen the US team.
 

juventus1897

Senior Member
Sep 19, 2006
618
If the popularity grows, the investments will grow and the league will become stronger. The best young American talents won't have to leave so early and in the meantime they will start playing for the NT.

If Rossi or Subotic weren't in Europe and they played in the MLS at the time, they might have chosen the US team.
Hard to say. Both of Rossi's parents were born in Italy, so the bond might be stronger based on that and not on the sports popularity.
 

king Ale

Senior Member
Oct 28, 2004
21,689
If the popularity grows, the investments will grow and the league will become stronger. The best young American talents won't have to leave so early and in the meantime they will start playing for the NT.

If Rossi or Subotic weren't in Europe and they played in the MLS at the time, they might have chosen the US team.
You wouldn't know. Basturk was playing in Bundesliga and he could have chosen to play for Germany but he chose Turkey because he probably felt himself more connected to his Turkish roots. In our league there was an Iraqi-Iranian player who could have chosen Iran NT to play for but he chose Iraq even though our NT was more popular. Despite living in Iran, he could barely speak Farsi. He felt more connected to his Arabic roots. That's probably the case for Rossi and Subotic too.
 

Alen

Ѕenior Аdmin
Apr 2, 2007
53,998
You wouldn't know. Basturk was playing in Bundesliga and he could have chosen to play for Germany but he chose Turkey because he probably felt himself more connected to his Turkish roots. In our league there was an Iraqi-Iranian player who could have chosen Iran NT to play for but he chose Iraq even though our NT was more popular. Despite living in Iran, he could barely speak Farsi. He felt more connected to his Arabic roots. That's probably the case for Rossi and Subotic too.
Some will, many won't. The French and the German NT are a very good example of that.
 

swag

L'autista
Administrator
Sep 23, 2003
84,783
i wish someone punches maicon's face in. mother facker always has that same expression on his face. you know the one where he looks like he is going to cry.


maicon scoring a goal:...

maicon conceding a goal:...

maicon receiving the ball...

maicon taking a shit:...

maicon sleeping:...
:lol:

Fabiano got best player award :lol:
A hand of God like that, twice, deserves notice.

Maicon with Sigourney Weaver:

:lol: :lol:

Brazil-Argentina the final.
I started thinking exactly that during the match today.

I agree, they are not that fun to watch. Actually most of the Brazilians i met in South Africa, were very angry at Dunga, and a lot of them don't really care how good his results are, they want sexy football as well as results.
Sorry, but if so (and I know so) Brazilian fans are a bunch of pu**ies. Tiago can emigrate to Brazil then. He already speaks Portuguese and he's such a great ballerina to boot.
 

Bjerknes

"Top Economist"
Mar 16, 2004
116,166
Yes!!!!!!!!!!

That way stupid Blatter / Uefa / Concacaf won't have valid arguments to take Conmebol's .5th spot away
Who is discussing that? I haven't seen anybody wanting to do that besides the Europeans.

That will never happen. "Soccer" will never gain more popularity than any of the big 3 sports (or even hockey). The top athletes grow into either one of the top 3, meaning that "soccer" only gets the rest. That will never change, not in our lifetimes anyways.
8 years ago I might have agreed with you. But not anymore. It seems that even folks who haven't played much soccer growing up are starting to get involved with watching the sport, both club and international football. The pubs have been packed for US matches, with 20 to 30 year-olds making up most of the fan base. Fans of the sport seem to be increasing quite steadily.

Those who hate soccer in this country are mostly senile old men who can't accept the United States isn't the best at something. They are also primarily racists. These folks are dying off, thankfully.

it's already started to change though, football (not american football) is the biggest youth sport in the country, and that says something. It's going slowly, but gradually the country is learning that there's a reason why the whole world plays the game
Indeed.

If the popularity grows, the investments will grow and the league will become stronger. The best young American talents won't have to leave so early and in the meantime they will start playing for the NT.

If Rossi or Subotic weren't in Europe and they played in the MLS at the time, they might have chosen the US team.
We can only get better. The foundations are there for expansion of the sport, and since so many kids like to play it, it's just a matter of time. The question is whether the level of coaching is there to take us to the next level. Not so sure it is.
 

Dragon

Senior Member
Apr 24, 2003
27,407
Who is discussing that? I haven't seen anybody wanting to do that besides the Europeans.
Today the commentators said that Concacaf and Uefa are getting together to bring that as an option to Fifa. If that happens everyone would have to vote and Uefa/Concacaf together have 80 votes and they would need about 20 more to make it happen, which is the probable thing, since Conmebol only has 10 votes.
 

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