General Football Talk (that's soccer guys)

Originally Posted by whacked

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re:Ronaldinho, good riddance. He thrived in a time lacking in extraordinary players - individuals who can truly change the game (pre-surgery Ronaldo, a younger Zizou, or even Rivaldo fit the bill). Now, he's just another good playmaker; Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi, Cesc Fabregas can all do just as well, if not better, with much less attitude.

BTW, no comment yet on the Euro'08 drawing? France, Italy, Netherlands, and Romania in the same group is about as crazy as it ever gets, I'd think.

Il gruppo della morte....

Originally Posted by romafan

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Il gruppo della morte....

Le groupe de la mort....

Amazing draw! Can't wait to watch. Can't believe Reading beat us 3-1 yesterday. Haven't seen it yet, but I am gutted.

Originally Posted by Guy Burgess

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Amazing draw! Can't wait to watch. Can't believe Reading beat us 3-1 yesterday. Haven't seen it yet, but I am gutted.

Yeah, you got killed. It was nice seeing the team with the Americans beat the bigger club.

b

Haha, nice job losing to Middlesbrough today Arsenal

Been a good weekend all round.
The scouse b@stards losing to Reading and the Gonners ( ) getting beat by 'Boro.
Fantastic !

Seems like Fabio Capello is going to be the next coach of England. I wonder how it will work out. He seems like a very hardheaded, opinionated no-nonsense type of guy people either love or hate. He is also not known for playing 'beautiful' football but rather getting results. Your thoughts?

Well, he does get results. He wins championships everywhere he goes, although he f***** us over pretty good when he left...
Attachment 7578

Originally Posted by romafan

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Well, he does get results. He wins championships everywhere he goes, although he f***** us over pretty good when he left...

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Maybe he can take Cassano with him!

Originally Posted by millionaire75

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Maybe he can take Cassano with him!

He did (to Madrid)....

As excellent a manager as Capello's record shows him to be, a national side manager should be a native of that country.

It makes no sense to me that the manager of England is Italian. I agree with Southgate's comments that everyone involved with a national side should be from that nation; players, coaches, manager, etc. Otherwise, why have international games at all? England needs a better keeper, why not get Buffon?

Originally Posted by water

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As excellent a manager as Capello's record shows him to be, a national side manager should be a native of that country.

It makes no sense to me that the manager of England is Italian. I agree with Southgate's comments that everyone involved with a national side should be from that nation; players, coaches, manager, etc. Otherwise, why have international games at all? England needs a better keeper, why not get Buffon?


For one I think you are taking the argument to its illogical conclusion.

But I kinda agree with you. I would love it if the US could hire a US coach at any time. Right now our coach is an American and he's working out pretty well. However, we're still a developing country and our coaches do not have the experience some from Europe and South America have. Is a developing country always required to rely on their own inexperienced countrymen? Seems like a good way to keep the new-comers from joining the game.

Besides, at this point people do change nationality to play for one country over another. We have a young guy, Rossi at Parma (?), who is technically a US citizen. But his parents raised him in Italy. (One or both are American.) Which country does he "belong" to?

b

Dual citizenship is one issue (and a less toubling one, to me at least), and non-national coaches another. If a guy was born in the US of Italian parents and raised in Italy, and holds an Italian passport, I see no problem w/ him playing for Italy. Who knows, maybe Conne will play for Ireland one day....

As for non-national coaches, it is somehow unseemly that a superpower be coached by a citizen of another country. I think deep down it appears to be an admission of failure, or the inability of a national to get the job done. It must surely rankle the sensibilities of a self-respecting footballing nation, especially if the coach is from rival regional power (as is the case w/ Capello). However, the barn door was opened on this a long time ago. That being so, it is usually the case of a foreign coach 'helping' a weaker or developing nation. For the birthplace of football to take on an Italian manager will not sit well with many an Englishman. However, given their dearth of international accomplishment over the last forty years, this may be an insult many are willing to suffer....

I do not see how it is an illogical conclusion. You are a member of the national team. You are supposed to represent the best that nation has to offer, not the best that it can buy. If the players have to be from that nation, the manager should have to be as well.

I agree with Romafan regarding dual citizenship. That to me is straightforward. And I believe both of Rossi's parents are Italian and though he was born in the US moved to Italy at a young age (?) Same principle as Hargreaves, who could pick between four countries (and still did not choose his birth-nation). Related to this issue, I seem to recall someone within FIFA recently stating something needed to be done before a bunch of nations turned into rejects from the Brazilian 'B' and 'C' sides.

Regarding developing nations, my initial reaction is to say that they should develop the game internally through the hiring of able individuals to help teach their country's coaches within a structured association. The game develops at the grass-roots level, by putting the correct systems in place, not by hiring a foreign manager for the nation's senior squad. For example, if you think your country is so lacking in managerial talent hire Capello to come in as an FA consultant. Have him hold clinics, etc. In the mean time put the best you have in place as national manager and wait for better to develop. Live with the fact that, as a nation, you have done a poor job developing managers and try to fix it.

As an Englishman I am somewhat upset by the appointment of Capello. He is the best candidate for the job and the FA are right to hire him, however what upsets me is that we don't have an English manager that can do a better job, says way too much about the state of the beautiful game in England.