andy_b
Footballguy
Convey is playing in relative obscurity for San Jose in MLS. I do not know how he is performing.
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***Official Soccer Discussion Thread*** (4 Viewers)
- Thread starter jpeace121
- Start date
Mjolnirs
Footballguy
US Open Cup Third Round tonight.
Harrisburg City Islanders @ New England Revolution
Ocean City Barons @ DC United
Chicago Fire @ Wilmington Hammerheads
Columbus Crew @ Rochester Rhinos
Chivas USA @ Charleston Battery
Houton Dynamo @ Austin Aztex
Kansas City Wizards @ Minnesota Thunder
Seattle Sounders @ Portland Timbers
Harrisburg City Islanders @ New England Revolution
Ocean City Barons @ DC United
Chicago Fire @ Wilmington Hammerheads
Columbus Crew @ Rochester Rhinos
Chivas USA @ Charleston Battery
Houton Dynamo @ Austin Aztex
Kansas City Wizards @ Minnesota Thunder
Seattle Sounders @ Portland Timbers
Sebowski
Footballguy
Wikipedia eat your heart out. Thanks.
The Kansas Comet
Footballguy
AcerFC
Footballguy
It may have turned into a blemish but I was at the 1st game he played at Giants Stadium and it was sold out and incredible. Greatest sports event I have seen live and it was one of the best games period. Jozy had an amazing goal and Angel won it.Lets say this about how stoked I was. I left Giants stadium after the game and drove to the Outer Banks straight thru (my wife did drive for an hour from 5-6am)
Steve Tasker
Footballguy
I am not...it'd be great if I could though.And re: Beckham...I'm fairly sure I predicted that it wasn't going to work out in this thread, I should go look it up. I don't really remember.
Whiplash Inc.
Footballguy
Latest FIFA rankings:
1 Brazil 1672
2 Spain 1590
3 Netherlands 1379
4 Italy 1229
5 Germany 1207
6 Russia 1161
7 England 1135
8 Argentina 1091
9 France 1082
10 Croatia 1031
11 Greece 1001
12 USA 983
13 Switzerland 930
14 Serbia 925
15 Denmark 909
16 Australia 886
17 Portugal 879
18 Côte d'Ivoire 874
19 Ukraine 869
20 Uruguay 860
21 Czech Republic 850
22 Paraguay 846
23 Bulgaria 839
24 Scotland 837
25 Israel 822
1 Brazil 1672
2 Spain 1590
3 Netherlands 1379
4 Italy 1229
5 Germany 1207
6 Russia 1161
7 England 1135
8 Argentina 1091
9 France 1082
10 Croatia 1031
11 Greece 1001
12 USA 983
13 Switzerland 930
14 Serbia 925
15 Denmark 909
16 Australia 886
17 Portugal 879
18 Côte d'Ivoire 874
19 Ukraine 869
20 Uruguay 860
21 Czech Republic 850
22 Paraguay 846
23 Bulgaria 839
24 Scotland 837
25 Israel 822
Steve Tasker
Footballguy
Rumor has it that Real has offered 35 million euros for Karim Benzema...Lyon confirmed the bid, but haven't said whether or not they accepted it....
ETA - euros, not pounds
ETA - euros, not pounds
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Desert_Power
Footballguy
Italy and England way too high, as usual.
The Z Machine
Footballguy
Mexico OUT o the top 25. Although I'm pretty sure that Mexico could still take Israel on a neutral field.
Kendall
I heart waffles
FIFA rankings never make any sense to me.
boubucarow
Footballguy
Back to the previous discussion of seeding in the 2010 World Cup, it seems that the last two World Cups and the last three years of FIFA rankings are the criteria.
The USA lost in the quarterfinals in 2002 (let's say 8th), they were last in their group stage in 2006 but had more points or a better goal differential than 5 teams (let's say 27th), then #20 in the January rankings of 2007, #22 in the Jan rankings of 2008, and currently #12.
I would say they can make a good case for being a top 16 squad if they finish the year strong and are the top team in CONCACAF qualifying.
The USA lost in the quarterfinals in 2002 (let's say 8th), they were last in their group stage in 2006 but had more points or a better goal differential than 5 teams (let's say 27th), then #20 in the January rankings of 2007, #22 in the Jan rankings of 2008, and currently #12.
I would say they can make a good case for being a top 16 squad if they finish the year strong and are the top team in CONCACAF qualifying.
Desert_Power
Footballguy
Looks confirmed now.
boubucarow
Footballguy
Haven't been able to see much of Real. Who are the holding midfielders on the team now that they seem to be full of strikers and offensive midfielders?Looks confirmed now.
The Z Machine
Footballguy
Real has spent an ungodly sum of money this year in the transfer market. They are going to have to offload a bunch of players. Look for Robben and Huntelaar to be the first to go.
Desert_Power
Footballguy
Robben, Huntelaar, and Ruud have to be gone. Which I am happy about since Huntelaar was lethal in front of net for Real this year and Ruud is still a top striker IMO. It is going to be tough to fit Raul, Higuain, Ronaldo, Benzema, and Kaka all on the pitch together. I am so relieved Benzema didn't end up with Barca. Looked terribly overrated every time I saw him play. 35 million euros?
Desert_Power
Footballguy
Gago and Lass Diara are the two most common entries there. Lass had a great second half of the season with Real, looked very strong in that role, which he had to be given the state of their defense.Haven't been able to see much of Real. Who are the holding midfielders on the team now that they seem to be full of strikers and offensive midfielders?Looks confirmed now.
Mjolnirs
Footballguy
While these mean nothing, I thought them interesting to see.In 2002 the eight teams in Pot A were:
(fifa ranking from the month of the actual draw in parens)
(2) Argentina, (3) Brazil, (1) France, (12) Germany, (6) Italy, (34) Japan, (42) South Korea, (7) Spain
Teams ahead of (12) Germany not seeded - (4) Portugal, (9) Mexico, (10) England - Japan and South Korea hosts.
In 2006 the eight teams in Pot A were:
(4) Argentina, (1) Brazil, (9) England, (5) France, (16) Germany, (12) Italy, (5) Mexico, (5) Spain
Teams ahead of (12) Italy not seeded - (2) Czech Republic, (3) Netherlands, (8) USA, (10) Portugal - Germany host
boubucarow
Footballguy
I see your point, but current rankings have never been the only criteria. They seem to do a 2:1 (2006WC:2002WC) and a 3:2:1 (2009 rank, 2008, 2007) as ratios so the latest performances are most important. The Americans have no chance at top 8 due to their teen to twentysome rankings the last few years and their horrible 2006 World Cup performance. But they should have a chance to be a Pot B team which would give a them a better chance to make the round of 16.
prefontaine
Footballguy
They don't seed the 2nd 8 IIRC. I think the pods after the seeds are meant to keep regions from being in the same pool and have nothing to do with seeding. Assuming that RSA, Brazil and Argentina are seeded as well as 5 Euros.
Pot B = the remaining 8 Euros
Pot C = 3 remaining CONMEBOL and 5 Africa
Pot D = will likely combine CONCACEF (3) and Asia/Oceania (5) (this is what happened last time)
This will assure that the US gets stuck in a group with a seed, another Euro, and someone from Africa/South America. It screws us specifically (by assuring we cannot get a weak sister from CONCACEF or Asia) but makes sense otherwise. I think this is a big reason Mexico got a seed last time because the numbers worked (our region got 4 but I find that doubtful this time with the playoff vs South America).
I think if we close the year out strong and our region wins the qualifier, they could seed us and put the 9th UEFA team in a special pool C that only goes to RSA, Brazil, or Argentina (assuring no group has 3 from UEFA).
Steve Tasker
Footballguy
To be completely honest, given the state of international football in England (failed to qualify for Euros '08, etc) and the composure and chemistry I saw from the US recently, I MIGHT be willing to wager that the US beats England TODAY on a neutral field.
Maybe I'm crazy, but there is absolutely no way England is the 7th best team in the world. I don't think they're the 7th best team in Europe. They might be the biggest collection of individual talents who can't play as a team that I've ever seen...
I think FIFA must be heavily weighting UEFA WC qualification, because England is kicking ###....but their group isn't much to look at...
Maybe I'm crazy, but there is absolutely no way England is the 7th best team in the world. I don't think they're the 7th best team in Europe. They might be the biggest collection of individual talents who can't play as a team that I've ever seen...
I think FIFA must be heavily weighting UEFA WC qualification, because England is kicking ###....but their group isn't much to look at...
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Ted Lange as your Bartender
Footballguy
If the US doesn't get a seed (which they almost assuredly won't), then they're going to end up in some "Group of Death" type scenario. A big reason for this is that it's the US that makes it the Group of Death.I'm trying to think of who I'd like to be grouped with (assuming US qualification of course). Obviously South Africa is the group everyone wants to be in (though a host has never been eliminated in group play). I also think it would be good to avoid the sub-saharan African sides like Ivory Coast and Ghana, as this is being treated as a "home" World Cup for the entire continent.prefontaine said:
The ideal draw for me would be:
South Africa
Slovakia or Greece
Chile
USA
Of course we'll probably end up with something like
Brazil
Russia
Ivory Coast
USA
Ted Lange as your Bartender
Footballguy
Not that I think England is a powerhouse (though their 100% record in the Q's is impressive), but it always looks like they are a bad matchup for the US. Maybe because our styles of play are so similar, but they seem well suited to neutralize our best strengths (fitness and physical play). I think we match up much better with a team like Spain than with England, even though Spain is a better team than England.
Ted Lange as your Bartender
Footballguy
scoobygang
Footballguy
England is a nightmare matchup for the US though. They generally have pace down both flanks (Young and Walcott would give our outside backs fits). They shoot well from outside the box. The strength of their defense is in the middle. We could beat England the way we could beat any top European team. If they don't bring their finishing boots. But it's not as if England has played badly in any meaningful game since Capello took over. Other than Spain, Russia, and Germany who's on better form in Europe? After Brazil and Spain we could pick nits about just about any other team on the list. The Netherlands is always overrated. Italy isn't in very good form. France got housed by Austria in a qualifier not long ago. Portugal has looked like crap since Quiroz took over. No African team seems able to dominate the continent (even if the Ivory Coast and Cameroon probably should). Argentina's qualifying campaign under Maradonna has been really shaky (and it's not as if Argentina's senior team has won any major hardware in a while). Maybe we give South Korea or Japan some credit, but they let Iraq win the Asian Cup.
I have a decent idea of the top five teams or so on current form, but after that it's kind of a crap shoot. I don't see where England is getting any more benefit from reputation than Argentina is.
jonessed
Footballguy
I always wore strapless pairs. Just pulled my socks tight and taped high and low. The straps get itchy and the tubed ones don't breathe well.I used to wear strapless ones, but they would slide around and end up sideways on my legs. I switched to the strap with no ankle support and wore those in high school.I've since switched back to the old standard....stirrup ankle protection + strap shinguards. I used to always think the ankle protection was too bulky...until I broke my ankle sophomore year.
Steve Tasker
Footballguy
I guess I just think England is always overrated. They've got the pace that would give the US defenders fits, I'll agree with that, but I don't think it'd be as lopsided as it seems.
I thought Brazil was a terrible matchup for the US for the same reason, and yes, I know they lost, but they handled it a hell of a lot better than I thought they would.
Outside of Rooney, none of their strikers scare me one bit. Ashley Young is going to be a superstar, but Theo Walcott still disappears for long stretches at times. Gerrard is good, obviously, and they're solid throughout, but I don't see them posing that much more of a threat than Spain or Brazil. As good as Theo Walcott is, and I love Theo Walcott, I think I'd rather have him sprinting down the flank than have Sergio Ramos or Andres Iniesta doing the same. In the back, again...they're solid. But John Terry + whoever (Rio Ferdinand, maybe?) is no better, IMO, than Carles Puyol + Marchena. And I think Tim Howard would be England's #1 if he were a citizen.
I don't know, I always think England is overrated. It's probably because the other soccer message boards I read are always heavily-British influenced, and have thousands of people clamoring about how "this is the year!" and "everyone else is rubbish, we're the greatest"....it makes me almost want to see them fail.
I thought Brazil was a terrible matchup for the US for the same reason, and yes, I know they lost, but they handled it a hell of a lot better than I thought they would.
Outside of Rooney, none of their strikers scare me one bit. Ashley Young is going to be a superstar, but Theo Walcott still disappears for long stretches at times. Gerrard is good, obviously, and they're solid throughout, but I don't see them posing that much more of a threat than Spain or Brazil. As good as Theo Walcott is, and I love Theo Walcott, I think I'd rather have him sprinting down the flank than have Sergio Ramos or Andres Iniesta doing the same. In the back, again...they're solid. But John Terry + whoever (Rio Ferdinand, maybe?) is no better, IMO, than Carles Puyol + Marchena. And I think Tim Howard would be England's #1 if he were a citizen.
I don't know, I always think England is overrated. It's probably because the other soccer message boards I read are always heavily-British influenced, and have thousands of people clamoring about how "this is the year!" and "everyone else is rubbish, we're the greatest"....it makes me almost want to see them fail.
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prefontaine
Footballguy
I'm not totally ready to give up hope on a seed.Likely seeds:1. RSA - locked as host2. Brazil - locked as Brazil3. Spain4. Germany5. Argentina-----(these five to me seem cold stone locks even though Argentina probably doesn't deserve to be in that category)6. Italy - form or no, defending champs7. France8. HollandMany feel England probably is out because of failing to qualify for Euro. Russia and the US also appear to be on the outside looking in. However.....right now France is on the brink of not qualifying. They are almost definitely going to a playoff and depending on who they draw they could be out. As well as Russia is playing they would be in a playoff too btw as of now. If Russia wins their group though that puts Germany into the playoff. So if one seed opens up, IMO it would be between Russia, the US and England.World rankings each of the last 3 years (current for this year)07: US - 19 Russia - 23 England - 1208: US - 22 Rus - 9 Eng - 809: US - 12 Rus - 6 Eng - 7World Cup results02: US - quarterfinalist, Rus - ousted in 1st round, Eng - quarterfinalist06: US - ousted in 1st round, Rus - Did not qualify, Eng - quarterfinalistClearly England has the best resume if we ignore the Euro issue. And this also ignores the US's showing in the Confederation. Russia failing to qualify for the last world cup may shut them out which is what I think happened to the Netherlands in 06. I actually think it's close enough between England and the US given the recent form and indirect events, that FIFA could choose to award us a seed.
Irregardless
Footballguy
Fixed.
scoobygang
Footballguy
Keeper is definitely a weak spot for England (although I think they've got the right guy at #1 now in Green). And they're certainly weaker than Spain at striker. I still think the US would kill to be "forced" to start a striker like Jermain Defoe. And considering the way Bradley uses Ching, Emile Heskey would be his wet dream. England doesn't have Maicon, Alves, or Sergio Ramos but Glen Johnson is pretty freaking promising. Liverpool wasn't offering 18 million pounds for Johnathan Spector. Ashley Cole is a shell of his former self, but he's not Bornstein (and I have a feeling that Capello may end up starting Bridge). Terry and Ferdinand are an ideal pairing against 9 out of 10 teams. It takes a special type of quick, mobile striker to give them headaches (Torres is probably the best example I can think of).
I freely concede that England should be rated below Spain and Brazil by virtue of lacking the same type of difference makers except for Rooney. Player for player, we could say that Argentina probably SHOULD be better too. After that, I don't see a team with better talent. Maybe Portugal.
I freely concede that England should be rated below Spain and Brazil by virtue of lacking the same type of difference makers except for Rooney. Player for player, we could say that Argentina probably SHOULD be better too. After that, I don't see a team with better talent. Maybe Portugal.
scoobygang
Footballguy
Probably not. But Italy didn't really play like Italy, and the odds of coming out of any group with just 3 pts are really long. It was a real fluke that the US got through. Assuming the US qualifies, they're in a group of say 15-20 teams that could advance out of the groups and even possibly make a run to the quarters or a magical run to the semis if things break right, but could also crash out in the group stage. It's a big, somewhat undifferentiated middle, with about 6 to 8 "strong" teams and 6 to 8 teams you wouldn't expect to advance no matter what.
Steve Tasker
Footballguy
Well, I never said that England isn't talented...I think they've got one of the best collections of talent in the world, but they never seem to play with any team conviction. It reminds me of the USA basketball teams from a few years ago - looked amazing on paper, played like #### when push came to shove. The whole is less than the sum of its parts, whereas for the US, at least with the lineup we saw for those last 3 games, the whole was much greater than the sum of its parts.I'd love to have Defoe or Heskey or whoever on the USMNT, of course. But England always falls below expectations for whatever reason. I honestly cannot remember a single time where England played to their individual talent levels in a major tournament (meaning WC or Euro's). I had to go into Wikipedia to research actually - 4th place in World Cup 1990, and they reached the semi-finals of Euro 96. Other than that, you'd have to go back to the 60s to find some real success. They made it to the quarters in World Cup '06, but they kinda got the easy draw with upstart Ecuador in the Round of 16 to make it there.Don't get me wrong, I know the USA hasn't had any real success on the international level. But for a team to have so much individual talent every year, and be hyped up every time as much as England is, they never justify it. :(
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scoobygang
Footballguy
Oh I know the history. I just don't know what history tells us. Until 2008, Spain was the most underachieving team in the world. I don't know why Brazil, Germany and Italy seem to win major competitions. Part of it is talent, sure. But in Italy's case, I think they've just won more than their share of games on PKs. If Italy had done that one more time in 2008, Spain would still be the biggest underachievers in the world. I don't know why Frank Lampard shot the ball like a drunken cripple in 2006. Who knows? Major competitions are such crap shoots. You saw how much Spain missed Iniesta in the Confed's Cup. For England, Rooney is that player. England needs him and they need him in form, not coming back early from a metatarsal injury. There are lots of players like that. Brazil probably can't replace Kaka. Russia can't replace Arshavin or Zhirkov. I think Italy would be hard pressed to replace De Rossi. France can't replace Ribery or Toulanlan. You add in a missed offside call here, a freak penalty there, a bad red card, and it's just tough to draw many conclusions.Well, I never said that England isn't talented...I think they've got one of the best collections of talent in the world, but they never seem to play with any team conviction. It reminds me of the USA basketball teams from a few years ago - looked amazing on paper, played like #### when push came to shove. The whole is less than the sum of its parts, whereas for the US, at least with the lineup we saw for those last 3 games, the whole was much greater than the sum of its parts.I'd love to have Defoe or Heskey or whoever on the USMNT, of course. But England always falls below expectations for whatever reason. I honestly cannot remember a single time where England played to their individual talent levels in a major tournament (meaning WC or Euro's). I had to go into Wikipedia to research actually - 4th place in World Cup 1990, and they reached the semi-finals of Euro 96. Other than that, you'd have to go back to the 60s to find some real success. They made it to the quarters in World Cup '06, but they kinda got the easy draw with upstart Ecuador in the Round of 16 to make it there.Don't get me wrong, I know the USA hasn't had any real success on the international level. But for a team to have so much individual talent every year, and be hyped up every time as much as England is, they never justify it.
Ted Lange as your Bartender
Footballguy
I'm not ready to give up hope on a seed either, but FIFA is so shady on how they award these seeds, you can't even really predict the formula from World Cup to World Cup. The US had a strong case for a seed in 2006 under the existing seeding formula at the time and then FIFA went and changed the rules to include the 1998 WC results in addition to 2002, which killed the US's chances since they finished dead last in '98.I think with the way FIFA likes to group confederations in the various pots, the only chance the US has at a seed is if CONCACAF gets 4 bids instead of three. That way they'll keep the remaining three CONCACAF teams together with the 5 Asia/Oceania teams in Pot D, and they'll move the lowest ranked UEFA team down to Pot C with the two other South American teams and the 5 African teams, like they did with Serbia in 2006.
Mjolnirs
Footballguy
See the bolded, but then again I'm a fan of Germany.
Texas Football
Footballguy
I normally will always pull against England. That was until Capello took over.I think England is playing great at this point and I wonder if Capello gets knighted if they win the cup. But, I am a big fan of the Italians
CletiusMaximus
Footballguy
from the Times:
Ted Lange as your Bartender
Footballguy
Didn't the Galactico strategy fail before?
Desert_Power
Footballguy
Pretty much
whoknew
Footballguy
I just read this. It's going to be interesting when Beckham gets back to LA.
Bonzai
Footballguy
Good lord.
Mjolnirs
Footballguy
I just saw it in Bild too. I hate to see him leave, but if his mind is set then let him go so we can move on.
I was coming to post this too.whoknew said:
Ted Lange as your Bartender
Footballguy
whoknew
Footballguy
Yea that's the same book. At least according to that article/book, it doesn't paint Beckham in a great light. Of course - what did LA/MLS expect?
Desert_Power
Footballguy
When I met Landon's wife last summer one of the people I was with asked her about Beckham. She stated quite annoyed that wasn't a subject she was going to talk about. Always thought that was a bit weird, makes more sense now.
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