FIFA 2014 World Cup all-purpose thread | Page 7 | Syracusefan.com

FIFA 2014 World Cup all-purpose thread

We sucked after getting the lead but honestly Ghana is good and under ranked in the FIFA ranking. The reason I said without CR7 the US would be favored is our guys would have more confidence coming off the 3pts from Ghana and Portugal would be a hot mess without 4 starters and the USA will have WAY more fans than Portugal at the match. Portugal wasn't good in WC qualifying and CR$ was special in Stockholm to qualify Portugal.
 
longislandcuse said:
Question for the non-casual soccer fans here..

How is MLS viewed around the world? Also, how is the USA team viewed around the world if say Italian fans see United States in their group when the World Cup draw is done?
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MLS used to be a joke, but in the last 4 years it's gotten much better. I think the big thing is that we are drawing more and more players from Central America, the Caribbean and South American countries. As opposed to some other "lesser" leagues, the teams are well funded, the checks don't bounce and players get paid, the travel is first rate and the salaries are getting better.

The influx of international talent has raised the games of everyone who plays in the league. What I look for is what kind of close control and touch does a player have? You see far fewer passes bouncing 5 yards off the recipient nowadays than you used to.

I would put MLS on par with a league like France or Portugal, or maybe just a bit behind them. We lack the star power at the top that Paris St. Germain has, but the rest of the Ligue Un is full of physical players, good athletes, many who are immigrants from Africa who hope to use the league as a stepping stone to bigger things.

The best leagues are Premier League (depth of talent, good teams halfway down the table), Spain (top 2 or 3 are great, most players are technically proficient), Germany (league is too top heavy, but the talent is there, players defend well and are well organized), Italy (quality of players is down at the top, attendance isn't quite what it should be, club teams underachieve in European competitions and the specter of past match fixing scandals still lingers). That's the top tier, those 4 leagues.

Next tier of leagues, IMO, would be Portugal, France, Netherlands, and maybe MLS? Liga MX would be in here, too. I am not that familiar (at all) with South American leagues, but you would have to imagine that Brazil and Argentina have very good ones that compete at about this level.

Tier after that would be Russia, Ukraine, Greece, Turkey,the next couple South American club leagues, and a couple other Central European countries thrown together in a hat.
 
Alsacs said:
We sucked after getting the lead but honestly Ghana is good and under ranked in the FIFA ranking. The reason I said without CR7 the US would be favored is our guys would have more confidence coming off the 3pts from Ghana and Portugal would be a hot mess without 4 starters and the USA will have WAY more fans than Portugal at the match. Portugal wasn't good in WC qualifying and CR$ was special in Stockholm to qualify Portugal.
Expand...


I was hopeful that our conditioning would be an edge. We didn't see that against Ghana, either, but we might against Portugal. All of our players from MLS have not just come off a 50 game season like the players in European leagues have.
 
IthacaMatt said:
MLS used to be a joke, but in the last 4 years it's gotten much better. I think the big thing is that we are drawing more and more players from Central America, the Caribbean and South American countries. As opposed to some other "lesser" leagues, the teams are well funded, the checks don't bounce and players get paid, the travel is first rate and the salaries are getting better.

The influx of international talent has raised the games of everyone who plays in the league. What I look for is what kind of close control and touch does a player have? You see far fewer passes bouncing 5 yards off the recipient nowadays than you used to.

I would put MLS on par with a league like France or Portugal, or maybe just a bit behind them. We lack the star power at the top that Paris St. Germain has, but the rest of the Ligue Un is full of physical players, good athletes, many who are immigrants from Africa who hope to use the league as a stepping stone to bigger things.

The best leagues are Premier League (depth of talent, good teams halfway down the table), Spain (top 2 or 3 are great, most players are technically proficient), Germany (league is too top heavy, but the talent is there, players defend well and are well organized), Italy (quality of players is down at the top, attendance isn't quite what it should be, club teams underachieve in European competitions and the specter of past match fixing scandals still lingers). That's the top tier, those 4 leagues.

Next tier of leagues, IMO, would be Portugal, France, Netherlands, and maybe MLS? Liga MX would be in here, too. I am not that familiar (at all) with South American leagues, but you would have to imagine that Brazil and Argentina have very good ones that compete at about this level.

Tier after that would be Russia, Ukraine, Greece, Turkey,the next couple South American club leagues, and a couple other Central European countries thrown together in a hat.
Expand...
I would put Russia, Ukraine, Greece, and Turkey all ahead of MLS... How many MLS teams could stand a chance in the champions league. MLS does not have a big name team. Russia has Zenit, Greece Olympiacos, Turkey Galatasaray, Ukraine Dynamo and Shakhtar.
 
Can the world now stop pretending that England is some sort of soccer powerhouse? Their national team is garbage.
 
England really is one of the weaker teams in Europe right now to be completely honest. Keeper sucks, defense is a joke, and Rooney can't score a header from a yard out.

Kinda funny
 
Death, taxes, an English goalkeeper screwing up in the World Cup. Wow, Hart pulled a Calamity James from 2010 against the USA. Hart sucks I wish we could trade Brad Guzan for a forward the USA always has great keepers.
 
Alsacs said:
Holy Liverpool
6 of their starting XI are starting this Uruguay-England match
Sterling, Sturrudge, Gerrard, Henderson, Johnson for England and the leading scorer from the BPL Suarez for Uruguay.
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Should be 7 BTW. Get Rooney off for Lambert ASAP
 
These announcers are even-handed and unbiased, aren't they.
 
No joke, I just got a marketing email from the FA saying I could win a viewing party for England v. Costa Rica.

SMH. Don't think that promotion is going to go over well.
 
Are you ****ing kidding me with that sub? Sterling has been their best player, theyre chasing a goal, and they bring in a central mid for him?! I like Barkley but come the **** on!
 
Darke is awesome and I love the self-loathing Macca describing England. Mac is the anti-homer he LOVES being miserable about England. Wow, Steve Macmanaman is awesome how this anger at the English team. Its rare for the announcers to be tougher on their home teams. I doubt he would be this hard if he was doing the broadcast in England, but it wouldn't shock me if they love to be self loathing and miserable towards their team.
 
This ref is shaky. He could make a mistake that decides.
 
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