Soccer really sucks, doesn't it?

[Barnabas]

Because europeans are metrosexuals

The first time I went to Europe, I was apalled by the ammount of perfume and clothes ads on TV, I felt like Ayatollah Khomeini


edit: lol

[Al B. Sure!]

That's part of the problem with the sport then, if the biggest tournament can't represent its best play.

Well, I don't know if you can say that fairly about basketball. The talent level across the NBA is extremely high and the US team is composed of unquestionably the top 12 best players in the world (well maybe 10 since there's usually a good role player like Tayshuan Prince or Kirk Hinrich in the mix). They still usually dominate but teams like Argentina, Spain, and Lithuania typically give them some difficulty.

But the problem of them only really coming together during the Olympics and the FIBA World Championship means that they're never a great TEAM. Just a bunch of superstars who can win off each player's individual talents. I imagine the international teams are similar, especially if their stars like Yao, the Gasol brothers, and Ginobili, etc. can only get some time in with the team during the NBA off-season.

I don't know how hockey apparently gets around that problem, though I suspect they don't, despite what you say.

Is soccer like that? Do the international teams play with each other much? Or are they like the all-stars of each country's internal leagues?

[Al B. Sure!]

Luck is more important in Football/soccer than in most other sports, so an inferior team who plays very defensive, to get a tie and not lose, can get lucky and win against a much better team.

See MikeH was equating this with competitiveness. He even pulled up some research that compared the expected outcome of a game between teams with disparate records with the actual between different sports and concluded that soccer and baseball were the most competitive sports while football and basketball were the least.

I think you're right about that. There's a lot of luck factor in generally low-scoring games or games without variable scoring (as in touchdowns/field goals or 2pt/3pt shots)... I can imagine in American football, there's times when an incredibly lucky catch or a lucky missed tackle or something results in a touchdown... but stuff like that is assumed to happen from time to time and because there's more scoring (and different ways to score) in football, it's not damning to a team that gives up a big lucky play. They can come back and win. It doesn't seem like the same can be said about soccer.

Interesting. I thought it suspicious that soccer and baseball were considered so much more competitive than football and basketball, especially when you consider things like the NFL having a salary cap and free agency, ensuring that NFL teams have access to the same pool of players (compare to the Yankees, Red Sox, and Mets who have several times more money than practically all of the league combined)

[Al B. Sure!]

I like it because every time the World Cup happens, all of the soccer players take off their clothes for various magazines. I don't know why, but I'm not complaining.

Asher, when I was debating Serb about soccer players actually having a bit of muscle and built more like sprinters than marathon runners, I started google image searching soccer players... I was surprised by how they all had so many pictures of them with their shirts off. Really strange.

[Drake Tungsten]

[Al B. Sure!]

Thank you, Drake. Those are soccer players right?

Now what, Serb? Who doesn't looks like steroided-up sprinters? Huh, you Russian punk? I don't see any Haile Gebrelassie look alikes there!

[Drake Tungsten]

Those are soccer players right?

It's the third Google image search result for "Italian soccer team".

[Al B. Sure!]

That's exactly what I'm talking about! Google anything about soccer and it's so much man action!

[Wezil]

Yes, if he's striking this pose while doing it...



Damn right I'd say what a homo!

[Asher]

Well, I don't know if you can say that fairly about basketball. The talent level across the NBA is extremely high and the US team is composed of unquestionably the top 12 best players in the world (well maybe 10 since there's usually a good role player like Tayshuan Prince or Kirk Hinrich in the mix). They still usually dominate but teams like Argentina, Spain, and Lithuania typically give them some difficulty.

But the problem of them only really coming together during the Olympics and the FIBA World Championship means that they're never a great TEAM. Just a bunch of superstars who can win off each player's individual talents. I imagine the international teams are similar, especially if their stars like Yao, the Gasol brothers, and Ginobili, etc. can only get some time in with the team during the NBA off-season.

I don't know how hockey apparently gets around that problem, though I suspect they don't, despite what you say.

Is soccer like that? Do the international teams play with each other much? Or are they like the all-stars of each country's internal leagues?

there are a bunch of elite teams in hockey that have tremendous talent:

Canada
Russia
USA
Sweden
Czech Republic
Finland

in that order

[a.kitman]

The World Cup, particularly this one, does not reflect the game as it is played properly at a decent club level. In many respects, the WC is for people who aren't actually interested in football except for once every four years when they jump up and down supporting their national team. Anyone fortunate enough to support a decent club side doesn't really give a toss about international football.

There are few teams in the world capable of giving such a pox-ridden display of ineptitude and incompetence as England did tonight.

stop crying you fool. the world cup is amazing and is where the true superstars are born. if you ask any footballer that isnt a money grabbing hoe they will all tell you they rather win the WC then CL.

Also this tournament have been good so far. already been some big upsets and all the teams that are looking to go thru are showing alot of battle spirits. and guess what, that seems to be what england is missing.

people who cant appreciate a tie are retarded. the usa-slovenian tie is a good example of a entertaining tie. and of course there is going to be some dull matches, hockey got just as many, there got to be downs to be ups.

i noticed you where talking about true football fans in a earlier post. well what true fan gives up on there team during the hard times. get your ****ing act together you and the french fans are a ****ing disgrace.

[Barnabas]

Thank you, Drake. Those are soccer players right?

Now what, Serb? Who doesn't looks like steroided-up sprinters? Huh, you Russian punk? I don't see any Haile Gebrelassie look alikes there!

They are toned but lean, they don't look like they use steroids

Cristiano Ronaldo does look like he could use steroids (there are dozens of thousands of picture of him shirtless) but usually steroid users have more disharmonic looking bodies than him

[Al B. Sure!]

Barnabas:

Serb was the one throwing out allegations of steroid use among sprinters. He called them steroid thugs.

My point was there was no difference between the body type of those soccer players and...



I think it's pretty clear soccer players have a physical affinity to sprinters and don't resemble marathoners at all. Serb seems to think otherwise.

[Asher]

This is stupid.

They're somewhere inbetween. They're mid-distance runners with additional leg strength.

Problem solved.

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

Nope. Most positions also need upper-body strength to win the ball and fend off other players.