I like high school and collegiate soccer as played in the USA. While Europeans and Latin Americans play with more skill, they fall on the ground too much and those fake plays really irk me. But it truly is a great sport.
fake plays? unlike american football where falling on the ground is constant are those fake plays as well?...I see these erroneous comments continually and they're the result of never having played the game, it takes very little effort to take down a player moving at speed with a ball at their feet, a well timed tap on the ankle a nudge on the knee is enough to trip someone up causing a loss of control of the ball or a stumble/fall...I know because I was good at it, fouling a player just enough to interfere with their progress without drawing a warning or ejection from the official...of course the smarter opponent may try to embellish my foul sufficiently to point out my misdeeds, over embellish and the referee won't buy it...it's part of the game and happens in every contact sport,
England have revealed their new 2013/14 home kit. It is to be worn by the team for the first time on 29th May in a friendly match against the Republic of Ireland at Wembley, which is part of the FA's 150th anniversary celebrations. It will be the first time England and the Republic of Ireland have played each other at Wembley since 1991, when Lee Dixon scored for England in a 1-1 draw. England and Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere tweeted a picture of a student from his old school wearing the shirt (below right). The round-neck shirt bears resemblance to West Germany's 1974 World Cup-winning kit, as worn by captain Franz Beckenbauer (above left). Wilshere said on his official Twitter account: "Like this kid, my England dream began here, so he was first in #theshirt." The shirt is also emblazoned with the FA's 150th anniversary badge (above). Nike have taken over from Umbro as the Football Association's kit supplier this year. The deal with Nike lasts until 2018 and brings a 60-year association with Umbro to an end. Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker, who was in the England side which lost in a penalty shootout against West Germany in the Semi-Final of the 1990 World Cup, said on his Twitter account: "Smart move by the FA and Nike to go slightly German with the strip. If you can't beat 'em..."
equally expressive but the feet are a much much more difficult to master, we're born to use our hands to manipulate objects, soccer uses the entire body except the arms and hands... I had a friend an american football fan explain to me how difficult it is to catch a ball over the shoulder in full flight to which I responded "now do the same and on a full sprint catch the ball with your head, chest, thigh or foot and then in the next step bury it the back of the net without the ball touching the ground"...
The shape of the ball and the distance your feet can extend from your body make an enormous difference as well. It is not as simply a question of "oh it is harder to do things with your feet than your hands." PS. Why must every thread about soccer descend into idiocy where people demean sports back and forth. Both types of football are incredibly skillful games and beautiful games to watch, if you understand them properly.
I agree I don't go on other sports threads to demean/troll them but I will defend my game when idiots who know nothing of the sport demean the game I love to play... and I disagree with american football being beautiful to watch, I grew up watching and playing it...attend a game in person and not a TV packaged spectacle and be prepared to be bored to death, 2-3hrs of nothing happening, and in that 2-3hrs of nothing only 12.5 minutes on average of actual playing time...they've taken a beautiful game like rugby and destroyed it with a multitude of rules and brought it to a near standstill...
£100 million is what Bale is valued at according to Real Madrid. Now, what were you saying about Persie being a better player, or even suarez?
Good for them. Andy Carrol was valued at 35 million by my beloved Liverpool. By your logic, if the value a club is willing to pay determines the actual worth of the player, then Andy Carrol is clearly superior to David Silva, Juan Mata, and Luis Suarez for that matter (who was bought for 12 million less around the same time as Carrol). He is similarly of similar quality to Sergio Aguero who was sold for around the same price. And vastly superior to David Villa, who was just sold a few months ago for 5 million euros. By the logic you are using, Bale is 20 times better than Villa correct? PS. When has Real Madrid ever overpaid for a player before?
I like to play soccer.......watching soccer on TV on the other hand is about as exciting as watching my cat poop in her litter box. And don't get me started on those (*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*) awful annoying vuvezelas sp? They are the most annoying things on the face of the earth.
Do you mean how much would I pay for him if I ran say Man City, or how much do I think any club would be willing to pay for him? If the former, I would pay about 50-60 million for him tops. He is a top player. But 100 million is just insane. PS. The reason Tottenham will get a lot more for Bale than Liverpool will for Suarez, isn't because Bale is better. They are pretty comparable. The difference is that Suarez is an unlikable lunatic whose behavior can be a liability even while his play is an asset. Bale doesn't have that baggage. Otherwise Suarez would be talked about in the 55-70 million range (of course he is not worth that, but some stupid club would pay it).
I'm becoming one. I like Manchester United and Chelsea from the Premier League, but my favorite team is Real Madrid. Ronaldo is amazing.
I think we could have a pretty good team in the US this time. But I really like watching quality players like Ronaldo. And I enjoy the craziness of the Premier League. Really becoming a fan of Man U and I like Chelsea. I'll watch Liverpool because Suarez is so good when he isn't biting people. I like Bayern Munich. I'll watch Barcelona, but Real Madrid is pretty much the best club team going. I saw Ronaldo play in the International Cup in Miami, and I don't know what it was, but the camera work was brilliant in the game, and the Dolphins Stadium was packed and rocking. Ronaldo introduced me to what a truly great player looks like. He looks like Tom Cruise for Gods sake, and he makes everything look easy. But for the WC...my money is on Brazil.
We finally have a credible coach. The issue will be how much training time together they will have. If the team reverts back to the typical slow pace then they'll be luck to get out of their bracket. If Klinsmann can get the side to play at pace and retain possession and attack from the back, then team USA will give every team a run for their money. That's a lot of ifs, and flies in the face of what has always been instinctive to American footballers to slow down the game
the USA has progressed a long way up the rankings and is now respectable performer but that last step to be among the elite and stay there is a huge one... which wasn't wrong, controlling the tempo of the game to suit your side's style and to your opponents detriment...play to your strength not your opponents... if they play at light speed better than you, then you need to slow it down and take away that advantage...
not when you lack the skills to control the game. It's high time for team USA to be able to play at pace. Personally, I've flown cross country with my kids to watch Team USA matches. I've never missed a match when they came to FL. But, when you spend $80 per ticket, $40 to park, they don't let you bring in your own merchandise (they confiscate it) and you spend another $150 on trinkets and food, you want to see quality from your side. It's a $500 day To watch the backs get spun on their heels and constantly be out of position, to watch the center mids give the ball away and their best passes are to the opponents, you get to the point where you won't spend a dime to watch them. Team USA needs to show hunger and the ability to play at pace and I'll again buy their product. Until then, the local universities charge $8 to watch a match and you see a lot more desire and hunger on the pitch.
I disagree you need high skill level to play with pace, without the skill it's just wasted effort...Greece won the euro awhile back by playing a highly disciplined defensive game, it was slow methodical and boring to watch but they defeated vastly superior teams by staying within their abilities...they couldn't hope to match the skill level of the elite nations so played the only game they could, had they played high paced game they wouldn't made it out of the group stage... I hear ya, that's why I don't attend NHL games, watching it on tv works for me... that's a lack of experience, playing the best in N America is far from what the euro's face on a regular basis... that's a lack of experience as well and superior experience of the opponents in being able to show the perceived option then take away...n american problems aren't a lack of technical skill it's a lack of game smarts/experience...our players are very naive when compared to euro or s american of the same age, their players at age 12-14 often know as much as our 20yr olds ... harsh, I'd trade Nat teams with you in a second, the USA has a good squad just not a great one but that goes for the rest of the world as well, there are only about 6-10 great countries, another 20-30 good teams then everyone else, the USA is in that 2nd group that's nothing to be embarrassed about... I used to watch university hockey for the same reason, good quality entertainment for low cost...
I've never been a huge fan of soccer, although being a German immigrant (I arrived in Australia aged 4). My father played first division in Germany. Where I'm from in Australia is a Rugby League (as opposed to Rugby Union, similar but different) region , so I mainly played Rugby League. I played Rugby League for my local club from the age of eight but also played Rugby Union for my high school, in the same season. I also played Rugby Union for my university team.
This has been dead a while, but holy (*)(*)(*)(*)!! Liverpool are 4 up on Arsenal after 20 mins!! Amazing!!
