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re: How many stars would we have on our jersey if we actually cared?
Posted on 6/15/14 at 12:28 pm to lsu31always
Posted on 6/15/14 at 12:28 pm to lsu31always
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Posted on 6/15/14 at 12:48 pm to lsu31always
Sometimes the best athletes don't make the best players. The Spanish National team won the world cup without any "top" athletes. Being 6'7 doesn't make you the best player. There's a reason not many > 6'5 play in top leagues.
Posted on 6/15/14 at 12:52 pm to lsu31always
Like 20
Posted on 6/15/14 at 12:54 pm to lsu31always
When are China and India going to be world powers? They have more people. It can't be harder than just throwing numbers on a soccer field.
Posted on 6/15/14 at 12:56 pm to cwil177
quote:
and we can't afford
We can afford anything we want.
Posted on 6/15/14 at 12:57 pm to FunkasaurusReb
quote:
When are China and India going to be world powers?
China and India dont have the athletes the US has.
Posted on 6/15/14 at 1:34 pm to lsu31always
quote:
I see no reason we would not have 6 or 7 stars on our jersey by now.
I love the ole "If only we cared about the sport, we would be tops in the world" threads. Soccer is very popular among women in the U.S. U.S. women's soccer is head over heels better than the rest of the world and only managed two measly titles. Take a look at Brazil, they develop their talent in Brazilian slums you telling me the proper developmental programs make a huge difference. I guarantee you the current U.S. soccer development program is better than roughly 95% of the world. The U.S. has 300+ million people, not everyone can play football or basketball. You telling me out of 300+ million you can't find 23 people that can compete at a high level, regardless of the popularity of the sport. The problem with the U.S. is that its sports are carried by only 13% of the population.
Posted on 6/15/14 at 1:44 pm to Sleazy E
quote:
Take a look at Brazil, they develop their talent in Brazilian slums you telling me the proper developmental programs make a huge difference.
You couldn't be more wrong. Sao Paulo and Santos have some of the best youth academies in the world. While talent may be initially spotted in the slums, the youth academies of the big teams take that talent and develop it to the next level.
Posted on 6/15/14 at 5:06 pm to Bottom9
quote:
Sometimes the best athletes don't make the best players. The Spanish National team won the world cup without any "top" athletes. Being 6'7 doesn't make you the best player. There's a reason not many > 6'5 play in top leagues.
And there was a reason that there weren't many guys >6'8" in pro basketball in the 1950's. It didn't have anything to do with height not being an advantage.
Its hard to picture a game competitive by present standards evolving, but it has happened countless times. Somebody in the 1960s would be claiming a 350 pound man is far too big to play football. The game will evolve like all other sports that Americans play. Hell, youre already seeing tall players like Zlatan.
This post was edited on 6/15/14 at 5:14 pm
Posted on 6/15/14 at 5:09 pm to Sleazy E
quote:
The problem with the U.S. is that its sports are carried by only 13% of the population.
What are you even talking about?? Our sports are top in the world regardless of what percentage of the population carries them. Its clearly a problem of not getting enough interest/infrastructure in soccer.
This post was edited on 6/15/14 at 5:13 pm
Posted on 6/15/14 at 6:07 pm to TheSexecutioner
No. There's less emphasis on size now than there's ever been.
Posted on 6/15/14 at 6:18 pm to thesoccerfanjax
quote:
No. There's less emphasis on size now than there's ever been.
a) Without any knowledge of soccer history, I'm almost certain that is completely untrue. You think the average height of the premier league in the 1950s is as high as it is today?
b) Even if it were true, what makes you think it will continue to trend that way if/when freak American athletes start to get involved.
Size is still a big advantage regardless of the trends(the height of soccer players vs humans is VERY statistically significant). Just not at the cost of athleticism or ball skills. The problem is that Americans with the rare athleticism/coordination/size combination are not drawn to soccer.
Posted on 6/15/14 at 6:26 pm to TheSexecutioner
There's a reason the best players in the world have all been under 5'9". The taller you are the further away your feet are from your center of mass. Tall players have a place, like GK, CB, or a target FW like Zlatan. But more and more teams are not using a target man these days. And by the way, many of those "freak" NFL athletes are well under 6 feet as well. The game is moving in a much more technical direction where close control and a low COM is paramount.
Posted on 6/15/14 at 7:11 pm to thesoccerfanjax
I think of all those athletic guys under 6 feet who play corner back. The NFL has only so many roster spots, so thousands of guys are just going to waste.. Those guys would be the type of athlete I'd like to have in a training program when they were young. Great footwork, agility, etc.
This post was edited on 6/15/14 at 7:11 pm
Posted on 6/15/14 at 7:17 pm to thesoccerfanjax
quote:
There's a reason the best players in the world have all been under 5'9". The taller you are the further away your feet are from your center of mass. Tall players have a place, like GK, CB, or a target FW like Zlatan. But more and more teams are not using a target man these days. And by the way, many of those "freak" NFL athletes are well under 6 feet as well. The game is moving in a much more technical direction where close control and a low COM is paramount.
Perhaps. That's a good point. But its also disingenuous to act like the best players are under 5'9" when Ronaldo is over 6 feet and has a decent case for best in the world. Toss in Garreth Bale, Zlatan, and Messi and a case can be made for the average height of the 4 best players in the world being over 6 feet.
Do you disagree? I'm no soccer expert but from what I hear from my friends who follow it closely, that is a reasonable top 4. Obviously, Ribery could be tossed in there which would bring the height down to 5'11", but you get the point.
When you consider the statistical likelihood of the average height of the elite players being 6 feet while the human population height is significantly smaller, the idea of height not being an advantage seems ridiculous.
The reason the best players in the world have all been under 5'9"(if thats indeed true), might be that most of the worlds population has been under 5'9"
Posted on 6/15/14 at 7:26 pm to TheSexecutioner
quote:
Toss in Garreth Bale, Zlatan, and Messi and a case can be made for the average height of the 4 best players in the world being over 6 feet.
I'm talking about the all time best players to have ever existed. Cream of the crop. Not the Bales and Zlatans of the world. Guys like Messi, Maradona, Pele, Garrincha, Ronaldinho, Platini. Two notable exceptions would be both Ronaldos.
And I think you're severely overrating Zlatan. He is nowhere near top 4. Top 4 most popular, maybe.
This post was edited on 6/15/14 at 7:28 pm
Posted on 6/15/14 at 7:30 pm to TheSexecutioner
quote:
Ribery could be tossed in there which would bring the height down to 5'11"
I think Ribery is listed at 5'8"?
Posted on 6/15/14 at 7:55 pm to thesoccerfanjax
quote:
I think Ribery is listed at 5'8"?
Yeh, I'm talking about average height. He wouldn't skew the average that much.
Posted on 6/15/14 at 8:06 pm to thesoccerfanjax
quote:
I'm talking about the all time best players to have ever existed. Cream of the crop. Not the Bales and Zlatans of the world. Guys like Messi, Maradona, Pele, Garrincha, Ronaldinho, Platini. Two notable exceptions would be both Ronaldos.
So how does this prove that there is less emphasis on height than any other era ever? 3 of the 4 most recent players you listed are all 5'11" or taller.
Half the players you listed(Platini, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Ronaldo) are all over 5'9". So how exactly have all the best players been under 5'9"????
This post was edited on 6/15/14 at 8:08 pm
Posted on 6/15/14 at 8:07 pm to TheSexecutioner
If we were batsh*t crazy about soccer as other countries then no question we would be more competitive than we are now. We wouldn't win the World Cup every time or anything, but we would be better than we are now for damn sure.
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