World Cup and European leagues

[Joe Wally]

Just as a comparison, there are 96 professional teams in the 4 highest divisions of English football.........in a country with a population of roughly 50,000,000.

To get the same ratio, we would need 576 professional teams in the United States.  I believe we have somewhere around 40 counting MLS and USL + their 2nd division.


From a professional soccer opportunities perspective, the U.S. is way, way behind.

Can you imagine what the MLS would look like if players with the physical talents of our pro football and basketball players were in the league.  If Barry Sanders had played soccer he would have been mentioned in the same breathe as Pele and Maradona.

[etbu27]

Absolute blasphemy!
Its a bit unfair to compare a game/player that (essentially) only played in one country vs a group of individuals that were not only great athletes but they beat the WORLD with their talents.
Im not saying Barry was not GREAT but the truth is he only beat 31 teams with his talents. AND without an OL he would have been somewhat lesser.
Maradona is said to have led his team to qualify for and win at least one WORLD CUP by himself. And Pele arguably did the same. Both put thier respective countries on the permanent global map and both are recognizable names WORLDWIDE.....Barry Sanders only won 1 playoff game in his CAREER and in the only other one he played in he recorded less than 75 yards rushing. Hardly capable of mentioning in the same breath as Maradona and Pele.

However, if there was revenue and a national following and enjoyment of the sport from birth soccer in America would explode and rival the EPL in skill and worldwide success...Possibly even surpass it with our much larger stadiums and deeper pockets. 20-30 more years I think.

[Hoosier Titan]

Just a slightly OT congrats to the US women for their victory over Brazil on PKs to progress to the World Cup semis!  I have been (still am) in transit back from England, but enjoyed reading the story.

England did well to get as far as they did, although they won't be happy with their loss to France on PKs.  A few years ago, casual fans in England had no idea that there was a women's team.

FWIW, the sports shop in the Manchester Airport gives apparently equal amounts of space to Man U and Liverpool gear.  Much less to Arsenal...no Chelsea or Man City (surprisingly) to be seen.  It's not surprising that Liverpool is so well represented, as that airport is the major one for both cities; they are only ~30 miles apart.

[Joe Wally]

Absolute blasphemy!
Its a bit unfair to compare a game/player that (essentially) only played in one country vs a group of individuals that were not only great athletes but they beat the WORLD with their talents.
Im not saying Barry was not GREAT but the truth is he only beat 31 teams with his talents. AND without an OL he would have been somewhat lesser.
Maradona is said to have led his team to qualify for and win at least one WORLD CUP by himself. And Pele arguably did the same. Both put thier respective countries on the permanent global map and both are recognizable names WORLDWIDE.....Barry Sanders only won 1 playoff game in his CAREER and in the only other one he played in he recorded less than 75 yards rushing. Hardly capable of mentioning in the same breath as Maradona and Pele.

However, if there was revenue and a national following and enjoyment of the sport from birth soccer in America would explode and rival the EPL in skill and worldwide success...Possibly even surpass it with our much larger stadiums and deeper pockets. 20-30 more years I think.

Respectfully disagree.  With his physical talents, had Barry dedicated himself to futbol in the way that he dedicated himself to football....he would have been one of the best we've ever seen.

[sac]

After 10 months of recording and then watching nearly every minute of every EPL game that came on Fox Sports Soccer I decided maybe I needed an exile of sorts from all things English.

Damned if the British Open didn't happen and so I was forced back onto bbc.com


.......in short, Liverpool have been busy.  Doni, Stewart Downing, Charlie Adam and Jordan Henderson.  I have no idea what this all means, or if its good or bad, the general consensus seems to be its all been good.

Carry on with your day.

[Hoosier Titan]

After 10 months of recording and then watching nearly every minute of every EPL game that came on Fox Sports Soccer I decided maybe I needed an exile of sorts from all things English.

Damned if the British Open didn't happen and so I was forced back onto bbc.com


.......in short, Liverpool have been busy.  Doni, Stewart Downing, Charlie Adam and Jordan Henderson.  I have no idea what this all means, or if its good or bad, the general consensus seems to be its all been good.

Carry on with your day.

Last weekend some golf got rained out (we were still in England), so the Formula One BBC broadcasters had to cover a lot of extra time.  Any driver who could speak even passable English (which is most of them), the team managers, and any passing celebrities got pushed on camera. 

I think there's more to come at Liverpool.  There are still quite a few players there on high wages who need to be moved on for their own good and for the budget's sake:  Joe Cole, Poulsen,  Ngog, and Jovanovic for sure.  Konchesky has already been sold to Leicester City.  Degen and Brad Jones will probably fade from the scene.  Alberto Aquilani is back, after Juventus balked at paying the agreed-upon fee for him; I think that probably either he or Raul Meireles will move on.  Both are very good players; Meireles was a godsend in the goal-starved period under Hodgson, but with the new acquisitions and the return of Steven Gerrard, the midfield could get a bit crowded.   Emiliano Insua is back from loan and will probably stay. 

I look for a left back, a center back, and possibly a young striker still to come. 

Just a few random musings.  Withdrawal is about to hit now that I'm back in the States--but I can see all the matches, which I couldn't do in England!

Carry on.

[Joe Wally]

Charlie Adam is the real deal.  Interesting to see how he is matched with Gerrard, but Adam is the goods.

Never thought much of Stewart Downing, but I've been wrong once or twice before.

[Gray Fox]

Infamous back heel goal.

  www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcSY-MVE6ZU

[Hoosier Titan]

Last night's Copa America semifinal score:  Luiz Suarez (er, Uruguay) 2 - Peru 0.

In all fairness, Forlan's shot made the first goal happen.  The second was a brilliant example of beating the offside trap.

I know that Diego Forlan does not fit the profile of the type of player that Liverpool's new owners are looking for, but oh, what a strike force those two make!

Here are the goals:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCvNmu3R7Fc

[sac]

Last night's Copa America semifinal score:  Luiz Suarez (er, Uruguay) 2 - Peru 0.

In all fairness, Forlan's shot made the first goal happen.  The second was a brilliant example of beating the offside trap.

I know that Diego Forlan does not fit the profile of the type of player that Liverpool's new owners are looking for, but oh, what a strike force those two make!

Here are the goals:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCvNmu3R7Fc

Uruguay won the final 3-0 and Suarez scored the opening goal

[Hoosier Titan]

Uruguay won the final 3-0 and Suarez scored the opening goal

And provided the assist for the last one, and was voted Player of the Tournament!  I'm leaving for a work trip to Chile tomorrow; taking with me my autographed Luiz Suarez Liverpool water bottle!  Should be a nice conversation piece with the Chilenos.

I'm not comparing Uruguay with Barcelona, but one comment that was made about the Catalans is relevant.  Some commentator said, "In addition to admiring their control of the ball, look at how hard they work to get it back when they lose it."  Uruguay doesn't have the ball control that Barca does, but they do work incredibly hard when they lose possession.  I've never seen two strikers like Forlan and Suarez track back the way they do.  Fun to watch!  I'm reallly looking forward to the start of the EPL season.

[Hoosier Titan]

Has everyone seen Balotelli's attempted backheel?  My respect for Mancini has gone up today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JPbSWeeoR0

[frank uible]

American football/futbol=Sanders/Pele=apples/oranges.

[Ralph Turner]

Play of the day.  J League game from Japan

[BackintheDay]

great goal...haha