Am I getting old?

[Trimss]

Nah man. They wont dominate association football because their players dont play in big leagues and are dont have the physical capacity other players have.

They will get stronger and stronger but they will never be serious contenders for a WC. I like the team a lot though

Nobody considered belgium to even have the chance at winning an EC or WC 10 years ago and look where they are at now. They are gonna do big a the EC

Actually Belgium has reached the semi finals and in 2002 they were fucked by the referee who cancelled a totally normal goal against Brazil in the 1/8 i think. They were playing better too.

Belgium has had some great players and a good team before this year. And more than half of those play in big european teams which is what Im saying.. as long as they dont export their players theyre gonna struggle

[classthe_king]

All our best athletes go into Football and Basketball. And then the next best go into baseball. Soccer get's all our scrub leftovers. We'll still dominate soccer eventually though because our scrubs are gonna be better than your elite

[Trimss]

All our best athletes go into Football and Basketball. And then the next best go into baseball. Soccer get's all our scrub leftovers. We'll still dominate soccer eventually though because our scrubs are gonna be better than your elite

[SajN]

Hesky, you're failing with the gif embedding on two of the links

EDIT: finally you managed to fix it

[dead prez]

He's right though in a sense, coming from someone who used to follow olympic weightlifting (lolz I know) we get shitty third stringers as opposed to people from other countries whom practice this religiously (like in Russia o in the middlea east). Plus the drug testing is A LOT stricter in here than in other countries like Russia, China, etc (well for weightlifting anyway dunno about the other sports).

[SajN]

Hesky, you're failing with the gif embedding on two of the links

EDIT: finally you managed to fix it

I edited it quickly.

Whoa, I am backing off, man. Didn't know you were gonna get that serious, shit damn

[classthe_king]

oh yeah true, hockey is probably around the same level as baseball

and yeah that's interesting you mention the blue jackets, I was in Columbus during the playoffs and the city was really backing the team. Tons of parties for watching the games and stuff. I can't even imagine if they went further.

[Block]

Hesky brings up some good points, but BR covered everything I would have argued.

People don't like to hear it, but the US dominates every athletic competition when we actually take it serious (and it has sufficient financial backing)

If soccer had as much financial backing, here in the US, as American football does, we'd no doubt have the next Spain National team. As it sits now, Timmy is great. Dempsey is setting up to be a beast in coming years...I just wish he was younger.

We don't have every piece in place yet, but soccer is quickly gaining momentum here. This is the first WC with jurgen as the head coach. He's proving his worth. Within the next 2 or 3 WC's there will be very few doubters about where the US stands.

On a side note: we made it out of the most stacked group in the cup. Ronaldo's Portugal (which should have been a win) and the number 1 choice to win the cup, Germany.

[Block]

Everyone's got an excuse for Why the US made it out. How is it just on paper, though, if Germany and Portugal are numbers 1 and 2 to win the cup? It's a chess match.

The first half of your post completely reiterated what I had just said, lol. Except I disagree that a young star would be scouted here (US) the same as any other country...for obvious reasons already stated. The first being the lack of financial and fan support, which makes that talented young star turn his sights to be a wide receiver / QB in American football, instead.

However, with soccer gaining the momentum it's previously been lacking, there's no telling where and when the US will take off as a powerhouse in the sport. We're still extremely young. MLS has only been around a few years.

[SliK]

He's right though in a sense, coming from someone who used to follow olympic weightlifting (lolz I know) we get shitty third stringers as opposed to people from other countries whom practice this religiously (like in Russia o in the middlea east). Plus the drug testing is A LOT stricter in here than in other countries like Russia, China, etc (well for weightlifting anyway dunno about the other sports).

It's the way it is, man. Sprinting is huge in Jamaica, and it's fiercely competitive, even at grass roots level. Countries that offer a broader spectrum of sports likely aren't going to do as well as a country that is fanatic about one sport predominantly: Australia and New Zealand with Rugby, Jamaica with Sprinting, Cuba with Amateur Boxing etc.

That's why I think England is a jack of all trades, master of none when it comes to sports.

I bet Australia offers a broader range of sport than England.

[Block]

Everyone's got an excuse for Why the US made it out. How is it just on paper, though, if Germany and Portugal are numbers 1 and 2 to win the cup? It's a chess match.

Who the heck had Portugal as 2nd favourites to win the World Cup?Anyone? They barely even qualified for the tournament.

It was a tough group on paper; Germany haven't been the force people thought they would be thus far, Ghana were incredibly unlucky, and Portugal were the one man dependent squad the vast majority predicted they'd be. It isn't really excuses, it's facts. Ghana dominated the US in their match in terms of shots and possession, and they did the same against Germany, minus the possession. With a bit more luck, they could have had 6 points from those 2 matches. A 10 man Portugal side were trounced against Germany, which allowed for the gap in goal difference that sent the US through. The 1 shot they had on target throughout the entire match against Germany today can't exactly be filling them with confidence for the knock out stage, but at least they're more battle tested than the Belgium side they'll be facing on Tuesday.

Before the US vs Portugal match, after Spain was eliminated, Portugal was the number 2 pick. With Germany as number 1. This, of course, is subjective. However, many sports analysts agreed.

As for a "one man team," I disagree. Just because Ronaldo is.. well.. Ronaldo.. doesn't mean Nani should be overlooked. Or even Moutinho, for that matter.

I'm not arguing against the statistics. I said plenty of times that the US team is a WIP. But it isn't just dumb luck that brought them this far...

On a personal note, I don't believe that playing for an 'established club' really matters, in terms of credentials. Not if you can beat them...

[Trimss]

Nani had an awful season at Manchester and isn't even half the player he once was. Moutinho isn't enough either. It's not like Argentina where the team is Messi dependant while having a lot of other talented players like Di Maria/Aguero/Higuain/Lavezzi/Gago and such, it's even worse than that.

If Cristiano doesn't play, then the team doesn't play either. When he's in a good day, he'll score 3 goals and qualify his team (like against Sweden).. When he's in a bad day, no one else will play (like against Germany)

And since we knew he wasn't 100% fit because of his injuries, this was bound to happen. Now I'm not gonna lie, I expected Ghana to finish in the second place but seeing how USA played makes me happy they passed the group phase. They have a lot of passion and that's for sure, I just don't think they're individually talented enough to go further than that.

And if they win against Belgium I will eat my words and apologize to y'all.

[Kez]

okay so wow, I forgot I posted this thread. I did not expect you to all turn it into a fucking soccer debate! shit son

kez m8 how do you feel that Eng is out of the cup??

love it, means quieter nights at work for me.

you all turn into huge fags while I was gone

so you still straight then

well..

[Rollimeo]

I'm taking that as a maybe

dick pm's incoming