The Z Machine
Footballguy
Soccer is boring. Where are the commercials???
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***Official 2022 World Cup Thread*** (3 Viewers)
- Thread starter gianmarco
- Start date
Charlie Steiner
Footballguy
Anything out in social media yet about Messi's conversation with Van Gaal after the match? Saw some hands getting put on people and he had to be pulled away.
Desert_Power
Footballguy
Would be really hard to top today's games but this tournament has been full of surprise.
Ted Lange as your Bartender
Footballguy
I don’t disagree that we have major cultural hurdles to overcome regarding soccer being more like basketball where kids play unorganized ball and just try stuff, but is this the fault of the soccer powers that be or the fault of the kids who (seemingly) just don’t play as much in the streets/sandlots here like they do in other sports? It’s like a chicken or the egg thing.Good question. I think you summed it up below...
The kids around the world see Futbol as a way out. They play in the streets with whatever they can find.Agreed. But from just a practical standpoint I see no fix.
The US makes it a rich kid sport.
The Z Machine
Footballguy
Croatia the new Italy
Zow
Footballguy
Ja Morant is considered cool. Pulisic isn't even a household name.I don’t disagree that we have major cultural hurdles to overcome regarding soccer being more like basketball where kids play unorganized ball and just try stuff, but is this the fault of the soccer powers that be or the fault of the kids who (seemingly) just don’t play as much in the streets/sandlots here like they do in other sports? It’s like a chicken or the egg thing.Good question. I think you summed it up below...
The kids around the world see Futbol as a way out. They play in the streets with whatever they can find.Agreed. But from just a practical standpoint I see no fix.
The US makes it a rich kid sport.
Same as it was like 30 years ago.
The Gator
Footballguy
Van Gaal told him he’s no Ronaldo
The General
Footballguy
WHAT A DAY.
That was awesome.
That was awesome.
Dinsy Ejotuz
Footballguy
Just rewatched and you're right. Messi initiated it with van Gall.
Edgar Davids intervened. Pick your dance partners more wisely, Leo.
encaitar
Footballguy
Don't know what was said at the end, but LvG had made some comments about Messi leading up to this game. Basically said Messi's great with the ball, but Argentina plays with 10 men when Messi doesn't have the ball and he'd never want a player like that.
Dinsy Ejotuz
Footballguy
Messi still fired up and talking **** in his interview too. Can't see who he's talking to here though.
Dinsy Ejotuz
Footballguy
ignatiusjreilly
Footballguy
I remember years ago being floored when I realized that in the UK, soccer is considered a lower-class, blue-collar sport roughly similar to what football or basketball is here. It's the poorer kids who play it, the best players don't get much of an education, and it's not big at all in the posh prep schools, where they focus more on rugby and cricket (obviously I'm generalizing a bit here, but that's broadly true).Good question. I think you summed it up below...
The kids around the world see Futbol as a way out. They play in the streets with whatever they can find.Agreed. But from just a practical standpoint I see no fix.
The US makes it a rich kid sport.
In the US, meanwhile, there's this weird split between upper-class suburban kids and poorer immigrants
ChiefD
Footballguy
Yeah. And this is what concerns me about the US ever winning a World Cup.The kids around the world see Futbol as a way out. They play in the streets with whatever they can find.Agreed. But from just a practical standpoint I see no fix.
The US makes it a rich kid sport.
It's a passion sport. When I started playing it was mid-1970's. Where I grew up it was a lower middle class area in Kansas City. Our team was born out of the Croatian immigrant section of the city. We were sons of factory workers, laborers, office workers, etc. So we learned a lot about the passion of the game.
When we played the parents would drink slivovic on the sidelines. I remember a pig roast in the shelter at the park after a game. For our parents and grandparents us little kids playing for the neighborhood grade school was a link to their football teams back in the old country. And so we played like that.
We had Croatians, Latinos, Asian - all kids from all walks of life. But we learned the PASSION of the sport. For those that haven't played the game, this sport just gets into you. I can't adequately explain the feeling when you make a perfect pass. A perfect slide tackle. The feel of a header that hits just in the right spot to create power. And to score a goal - oh my. I have lived 53 years and I have never replicated the feeling in my life such as scoring a big goal in a soccer game. This game is like a drug in your veins that you cannot get enough of.
And today, watching those shootouts, my heart was racing. I had butterflies in my stomach. My hands were sweating. I could FEEL exactly what I felt when I was in a shootout a time or two in my career.
And you are right B Maverick - those kids around the world - it's a passion but it is LIFE. They cannot breathe without soccer. They can't function. They can't imagine life without it. And yes, it's a way out. Those boys fight and fight and fight and fight to play better than their best friends because they HAVE TO GET OUT.
We can't replicate that here. Not yet. We are getting closer. But we are still miles away. I do believe some of the men on our team have that inner fire burning. But it's not hot enough. I hope in my lifetime we can get there.
gianmarco
Footballguy
gianmarco
Footballguy
AAABatteries
Footballguy
Very possible the Dutch “earned” it but it’s still classless for me.
NewlyRetired
Footballguy
I was only half joking when I said it before.
That was a game between two top level quality teams with incredibly high stakes and a crap ton of Concacaf chaos thrown in.
FreeBaGeL
Footballguy
Argentina exuded "classless" all game long. No idea why people root for them.
NewlyRetired
Footballguy
The counter point to people who hate when coaches close up shop
NewlyRetired
Footballguy
The thing is, this is not a diva like Ronaldo. Messi is the furthest thing from a hot head. Something clearly got under his skin in this game.
Given his reputation over such a long career fans should be very careful placing all the blame on Argentina here for this chaos.
AAABatteries
Footballguy
Messi is all class - no issue with him. Would be interesting to know what happened with LvG. The Dutch come off as arrogant pricks and Louis is no exception.
CletiusMaximus
Footballguy
I remember years ago being floored when I realized that in the UK, soccer is considered a lower-class, blue-collar sport roughly similar to what football or basketball is here. It's the poorer kids who play it, the best players don't get much of an education, and it's not big at all in the posh prep schools, where they focus more on rugby and cricket (obviously I'm generalizing a bit here, but that's broadly true).Good question. I think you summed it up below...
The kids around the world see Futbol as a way out. They play in the streets with whatever they can find.Agreed. But from just a practical standpoint I see no fix.
The US makes it a rich kid sport.
In the US, meanwhile, there's this weird split between upper-class suburban kids and poorer immigrants
a well-worn cliche that seems to hold true - "Soccer is a gentleman's game played by hooligans. Rugby is a hooligan's game played by gentlemen."
AAABatteries
Footballguy
I like this video a lot better
Dinsy Ejotuz
Footballguy
Words before and during the game aside, the Dutch players accosting the Argentines as they tried to walk up during PKs was over the line. Should be an auto-red IMO.
AAABatteries
Footballguy
No issues with that - I’d go yellow though. And I literally don’t care what they did - it will always be classless IMO. Act like Messi is in the pic.
ETA - and to be clear - accosting players during PK walk up is classless too.
Charlie Steiner
Footballguy
Couldn't let the comments of an old man with cancer just roll off his back and chose to kick him when he's down instead.
Stay classy, Leo.
CletiusMaximus
Footballguy
I still remember my very first world cup living in Germany '86 and my friend and soccer mentor introduced me to Brazilian soccer by saying their weakness is they will never stop attacking no mater the score. They play great defense by relentlessly attacking and never sink back. Their fullbacks can't resist bombing forward. They will dive, ****house and waste time all day long, but will never stop running at the other goal.
AAABatteries
Footballguy
Oh come on!
Dinsy Ejotuz
Footballguy
Reviewing the whole game again, sure was spicy. Hopefully they play again sometime soon. This stuff is never forgotten.
AAABatteries
Footballguy
I think they said this may be the most played WC fixture (maybe just knockouts?). Was highly entertaining and we should focus on that and not the nonsense by both teams.
TripleThreat
Footballguy
In So Florida kids see Football as THE way out. There’s a couple of them in the league… half a dozen wearing gold jackets.
The Z Machine
Footballguy
Brazil was so dumb here. They had this game locked up but were too egotistical to see it out. Glad they got burned for that stupidity and ego.
Charlie Steiner
Footballguy
He's a little guy so he gets away with his fair share of pushing and overacting to get a call. He's not a diva like Ronaldo, but he's a diva nonetheless. The better the athlete, the bigger the ego, and Messi's no exception.
And I'm sorry, but if he's so classy, why did he have to go gloat at the Dutch anyway? The 'classy' move is let the results speak for themselves.
AAABatteries
Footballguy
What are you basing this on?
Charlie Steiner
Footballguy
Watching him play.
Even if I'm going overboard about it, going after a man with cancer and kicking him he's down is a **** move for anyone, and doubly so if Leo's such a saint.
AAABatteries
Footballguy
I’m saying what are you basing that on - I haven’t seen an explanation on what happened so maybe I’m missing something. The only thing I saw made me think someone from the Dutch bench said something to Messi but I’m open to hearing what did happen if we know.
My original post to you was about saying LvG is an old man with cancer - while that may be technically accurate it’s somewhat irrelevant- if Messi was an *** then it wouldn’t matter if LvG was young and healthy.
The Gator
Footballguy
anyone else having an issue logging into this thing?
AAABatteries
Footballguy
Worked for me.
The Gator
Footballguy
Charlie Steiner
Footballguy
I admit I'm getting off the rails about this, and maybe I did let my bias against ARG color my view of the game and the post-game dust-up, but I saw a talented side (and I'm talking ARG here) play like a CONCACAF team/show their ***. I agree with the commentators who said the 2nd half had 10+ minutes of stoppage due to mostly ARG time-wasting, and I don't like seeing bush-league tactics like that.
Maybe Leo will come out with something like 'it was in the heat of the moment' quasi-apology.
AAABatteries
Footballguy
Survivor contest - you’re out
Desert_Power
Footballguy
Some details here from ESPN. I watched some of the post game interviews too. Angry Messi
NewlyRetired
Footballguy
what in the living **** is this??????????????????????????????????????????
Desert_Power
Footballguy
Yeah, was about to post that...
NewlyRetired
Footballguy
wtf he really is dead????????????????
NewlyRetired
Footballguy
he was tweeting during the Argentina game...........I can't find any corroboration to this.
