Soccer • Football • Voetbal • Futbol • Calcio 2011/2012

[Reynard369]



What about Newcastle?

What about them? They're not in the same class as any of the aforementioned teams.

 

[fwiffo]

Was just being tongue in cheek. I'm not a Geordie.

 

[venessian]

Robinho's kid...pretty cool.
[VIDEO]http://video.gazzetta.it/che-classe-piccolo-robinho/aa30948a-1135-11e1-a428-614cce74ec14[/VIDEO]

 

[El Argentino]



Robinho's kid...pretty cool.
[VIDEO]http://video.gazzetta.it/che-classe-piccolo-robinho/aa30948a-1135-11e1-a428-614cce74ec14[/VIDEO]

That is great. Thanks for posting.

 

[El Argentino]

@Venessian

I know you're just SO excited for this move to happen - "Zanetti talks up Tevez deal"

Anyone else not really understanding all the backlash against Blatter over these remarks on racism? I think Blatter is one of the dirtiest people on the planet, but I think his comments got blown way out of proportion. He came out with a statement today that he "wouldn't resign" despite all of this (as if anyone thought he'd ever consider resigning, especially after all the backroom deals came out about Qatar2022). That man will die in his office chair.

 

[venessian]



That is great. Thanks for posting.

Pretty nice, no? That kid is going to be good someday.

@Venessian I know you're just SO excited for this move to happen - "Zanetti talks up Tevez deal" Anyone else not really understanding all the backlash against Blatter over these remarks on racism? I think Blatter is one of the dirtiest people on the planet, but I think his comments got blown way out of proportion. He came out with a statement today that he "wouldn't resign" despite all of this (as if anyone thought he'd ever consider resigning, especially after all the backroom deals came out about Qatar2022). That man will die in his office chair.

Yes, I've read that. I don't like it. Also, Tevez is Cup-bound for CL, not good for Inter. There is also talk of Milan being interested. On the other hand, IF inter were to sign him, I would think that Zanetti and Cambiasso are strong enough leaders that they would have really made El Apache understand he better have his sh&t together if he wants to play there. Also, Ranieri has a stronger personality than Mancini. The guy Moratti REALLY wants, publicly now? Balotelli. Why, oh why, oh why did Moratti ever let Eto'o go to Anzhi???? (And now they want Drogba as well...but I think he rejected them.) RUSSIAN PREMIER LEAGUE Championship Group standings 1 Zenit 2 CSKA Moskva 3 Dinamo Moskva 4 Lokomotiv Moskva 5 Spartak Moskva 6 Rubin Kazan' 7 Kuban' Krasnodar 8 Anzhi Makhachkala Top scorers Goals-Games played; Player; Team 24-29; Seydou Doumbia; CSKA Moskva 16-22; Aleksandr Kerzhakov; Zenit 14-26; Lacina Traoré; Kuban 11-27; Andriy Voronin; Dinamo Moskva 11-28; Danko Lazović; Zenit 10-25; Igor Semshov; Dinamo Moskva 10-28; Kevin Kuranyi; Dinamo Moskva 9-23; Sergey Davydov; Kuban 8-24; Vágner Love; CSKA Moskva 8-25; Pavel Golyshev; Tom 8-26; Danny; Zenit 7-10; Samuel Eto'o; Anzhi Eto'o's average is great, as are Doumbia's and Kerzhakov's. I really miss Eto'o. I think Blatter is horrendous, and I think his comments were stupid and incorrect.

 

[b1os]

Oh cmon guys, no one here is playing Fifa 12 on PC?

 

[Reynard369]



Oh cmon guys, no one here is playing Fifa 12 on PC?

Who plays soccer games on the PC? Console is where it's at.

 

[Quatsch]

Any love for the MLS final last night? Watched the second half. Maybe its my imagination, but I'm going to say the quality of play was markedly better than the last MLS final I watched two years ago. Maybe our domestic league will get somewhere eventually.

 

[El Argentino]

Galaxy are a good team. I fell asleep from about 40m to 65m or so... but I do think MLS in general is getting better. It's sad though that a 36-year old Beckham is the player with the most flair in the entire league. I don't know how to describe it, but the movement just isn't the same in an MLS game (in comparison, for example, to the Valencia/Madrid game I watched earlier in the day). It's not as fluid, it doesn't appear that the ball is magnetized to the players feet, etc. Players appear slower even. Not quite sure how to describe it.

But yes, it is getting better.

 

[Sir Humphrey Appleby]



Galaxy are a good team. I fell asleep from about 40m to 65m or so... but I do think MLS in general is getting better. It's sad though that a 36-year old Beckham is the player with the most flair in the entire league. I don't know how to describe it, but the movement just isn't the same in an MLS game (in comparison, for example, to the Valencia/Madrid game I watched earlier in the day). It's not as fluid, it doesn't appear that the ball is magnetized to the players feet, etc. Players appear slower even. Not quite sure how to describe it.
But yes, it is getting better.

You mean the players are **** and not fit enough?

 

[El Argentino]



You mean the players are **** and not fit enough?

Probably. I just find it hard to believe that in a country w/ population of about 250 million, we can't form players decent enough to resemble the 50 million in the UK, or even the 40 million in Argentina.

And I do think that general fitness levels in most US sports are completely whacked. Baseball players look like they jiggle more than +size models, basketball players can't stay on the floor for more than 6 or 7 minutes at a time. (American) Football players vacillate wildly, but most are so heavy and muscle bound that they have to suck on oxygen after a big drive.

Even your casual european footballer seems generally stronger, faster, and more skilled than an american counterpart.

 

[Quatsch]



Probably. I just find it hard to believe that in a country w/ population of about 250 million, we can't form players decent enough to resemble the 50 million in the UK, or even the 40 million in Argentina.
And I do think that general fitness levels in most US sports are completely whacked. Baseball players look like they jiggle more than +size models, basketball players can't stay on the floor for more than 6 or 7 minutes at a time. (American) Football players vacillate wildly, but most are so heavy and muscle bound that they have to suck on oxygen after a big drive.
Even your casual european footballer seems generally stronger, faster, and more skilled than an american counterpart.

315 million, even!

I think things are getting better. I think soccer's popularity in this country is on the rise at all levels, but I'm not sure our sports institutions are advancing at the same pace. I'm a young guy - just a year and some change out of college and I live in an area of the country dominated by other sports, but there are far more opportunities to go out and play soccer now than there were four or five years ago.

I'm not sure I can agree about the fitness level of US athletes in a general way - I don't watch enough MLS to be able to comment on that specifically (and I'd like to know what % of MLS players are American citizens.) I think that there is a very strong emphasis on and ethic of fitness and conditioning in American sports (often at the expense of skills training) especially at the youth level. I think that looking at college athletes might be more helpful here than looking at the pros, at least for gauging American athletes as a group.

 

[Reynard369]

As far as pure athleticism, historically, American soccer players have stacked up favorably to their South America and European counterparts. The main difference is in technical ability and mental ability (their "soccer brain" for lack of a better term). MLS follows this pattern.

 

[El Argentino]



As far as pure athleticism, historically, American soccer players have stacked up favorably to their South America and European counterparts. The main difference is in technical ability and mental ability (their "soccer brain" for lack of a better term). MLS follows this pattern.

I'd agree with that. I think the fitness part of it comes to play when the game drags long and they tire mentally. They don't keep their sharpness the way better-trained minds do, and it manifests itself physically.