OT: Boneyard "Other Football" World Cup Thread

[ZooCougar]

Ok here's my take on the Sporting KC/LA Galaxy game I attended on Saturday evening. Tickets were a gift from my girlfriend, I suggested this game because it was after the World Cup when Sporting would be back to 100% with Graham Zusi and Matt Besler back, plus LA is always a good game and they have fun talent to watch like LandyCakes, Robby Keane and Juninho.

This turned out to be Sporting's highest attended home game in the history of the new stadium, official figures were 21,000+. Every seat was full and the the standing room area is full as well. May have been 21,000+ but it felt like more because the atmosphere was pretty electric. Talking to some of the people sitting around me, there is a waiting list to get season tickets in most parts of the stadium, including the seats I was in, and they weren't even close to being the best. I think there are 31 rows in my grandstand and we were in row 29. This was the first proper MLS game that I had seen at Sporting Park, other than the MLS All Star game.. There were more people at this game.

The news that Besler and Zusi were signed to long term deals had just been announced and everyone was pretty juiced about that. Zusi wasn't getting as much international interest as Besler. Zusi apparently was getting looked at by a Portuguese club that had been relegated, which isn't so hot. I can't believe that his competition would have been as good or better than the MLS and he is the star of the hottest team in the league right now so why move backwards. Not sure what Besler's options were but let's face it, those two guys are [pretty much done developing and I can see why they want to finish their careers in KC.

As for the game.. Last MLS game I attended was in the old baseball park that they were in. The level of play from 2009 to now has increased considerably. Honestly in 2009 I went 5-6 games and some of the games were hard to watch. The talent just wasn't there.

I don't know what got into Zusi, but he was particularly lively in this game. He made a bunch of long runs and made some pretty stunning long range passes. LA, who hadn't lost and MLS game in two months looked inept in the first half. Benny Feilhaber scored off a beautiful free kick early on. Besler? That dude can th

Another guy who was really impressive was Arab-American named Soony Saad from Dearborn, MI. He is a really fast, really technically gifted player who repeatedly put LA under immense pressure.

Landycakes as LA's #10 is still a vital part of the Galaxy attack. I have seen the guy play in person about a dozen times now. In my judgement, he still has the technical ability but he is a couple steps slower than he used to be. He looks "bulky" not in a fat way, but he is clearly more robust. I can definitely see how he could have been outshined by everyone else in the pre World Cup camp. He definitely wasn't even close to being the best American on the field.

Robby Keane is still playing HARD. Despite the fact that he is an incessant diver and whiner, he is still a fun player to watch. I had the same impression from watching David Beckham on the field level a few years ago, these guys aren't mailing it in in the MLS, they are playing hard and working the ref over the whole game.

Highlights:

http://www.sportingkc.com/video/2014/07/19/highlights-sporting-kc-vs-la-galaxy-july-19-2014

 

[SAMCRO]

All the preseason games start this week. Seattle played Tottenham yesterday (3-3).

Wed - Sporting KC vs Manchester City 9:00 ESPN2
Wed - LA Galaxy vs Manchester United 11:00 Fox Sports 1
Wed - Liverpool vs Roma 7:30 NBCSN

Thur - Olympiakos vs AC Milan 7:30 Fox Sports 1

Sat - Manchester United vs Roma 4:00 Fox

Sun - AC Milan vs Manchester City 3:30 Fox Sports 1
Sun - Liverpool vs Olympiakos 6:00 Fox Sports 1

Additional Wednesday matches
Toronto FC v Tottenham
Columbus Crew v Crystal Palace
FC Dallas v Aston Villa

 

[ZooCougar]

Anyone else think Man U's new jerseys look sort of Nascarish?

 

[meyers7]

Anyone else think Man U's new jerseys look sort of Nascarish?

Hideous.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

Looks like Man U is going to swipe Khedira from Arsenal as the Gunners don’t want to pay him £ 150,000 a week. Damn.

http://www.caughtoffside.com/2014/07/22/arsenal-pull-out-of-sami-khedira-deal-but-are-still-chasing-three-more-players/

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2132684-arsenal-is-signing-sami-khedira-worth-breaking-the-gunners-wage-structure#articles/2132684-arsenal-is-signing-sami-khedira-worth-breaking-the-gunners-wage-structure

 

[meyers7]

Looks like Man U is going to swipe Khedira from Arsenal as the Gunners don’t want to pay him £ 150,000 a week. Damn.

http://www.caughtoffside.com/2014/07/22/arsenal-pull-out-of-sami-khedira-deal-but-are-still-chasing-three-more-players/

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2132684-arsenal-is-signing-sami-khedira-worth-breaking-the-gunners-wage-structure#articles/2132684-arsenal-is-signing-sami-khedira-worth-breaking-the-gunners-wage-structure

I agree, I don't think he is worth £150,000 a week. He's best at a box to box and we have Ramsey there. If he could/would play the Arteta/Flamini role, then we'll talk. But still I don't think at that wage. We can probably get someone (if we want) a bit cheaper and more defensive minded. Although Arteta wasn't a DM/holding mid when he came to Arsenal anyway. I'd be glad to have him, but would want him to play with Ramsey and Õzil, and not sure how well that would work.

We have Õzil, Ramsey, Arteta, Cazorla, Wilshere, Flamini, Rosicky, (Diaby, LOL), and Ox who can play in the midfield. So really we are covered for now. Although we are going to have to get a replacement for Arteta/Flamini this year or next.

 

[ZooCougar]

Julian Green elevated to Bayern Munich's first team. Early reports said it was just for their US Tour but apparently he is first teamer now period.

Anti-JK Conspiracy theorists now say that JK included Green on the WC Roster because Bayern is trying to expand the US fanbase (they just opened offices in New York City). Talk about stupid.

So this means for the MLS All Star game we should see a Yedlin(RB) -Green (LW) matchup.

 

[whaler11]

Julian Green elevated to Bayern Munich's first team. Early reports said it was just for their US Tour but apparently he is first teamer now period.

Anti-JK Conspiracy theorists now say that JK included Green on the WC Roster because Bayern is trying to expand the US fanbase (they just opened offices in New York City). Talk about stupid.

So this means for the MLS All Star game we should see a Yedlin(RB) -Green (LW) matchup.

Where are these anti-JK conspiracy theorists saying this?

The first team that buys up a bunch of Americans would be on to something. Everton has more fans than you'd expect here, but if someone went all in a decade from now when there are enough worthy players it could be quite a beachhead.

 

[ZooCougar]

Where are these anti-JK conspiracy theorists saying this?

The first team that buys up a bunch of Americans would be on to something. Everton has more fans than you'd expect here, but if someone went all in a decade from now when there are enough worthy players it could be quite a beachhead.

I'll try to find the article. It was in the comments section below.

 

[whaler11]

I'll try to find the article. It was in the comments section below.

I trust you I'm sure they exist. If it's less legitimate than the Cesspool it should only be read for chuckles.

 

[Waquoit]

Real Madrid has Ronaldo, Bale and James in front now? Doesn't any other team have money?

 

[meyers7]

Real Madrid has Ronaldo, Bale and James in front now? Doesn't any other team have money?

Benzema should be available now.

 

[ZooCougar]

La Liga is going to be sick this year. Just got a new car last month, coincidentally on the same day as the US -Ghana game, now that I am in the 21st century I have a car with SiriusXM and I am addicted to SiriusXM FC. Lately I have heard a lot discussion about how the BPL being "best league in the world" is really kind of an overstatement. The basis of this from the American perspective is that we are more familiar with BPL and the production value of the games on the various networks whether it's FOX or NBC is so much better than what you might see of the Bundesliga or La Liga...

Sort of reminds me of how the SEC getting a bit overrated because of the emphasis CBS and ESPN puts on telecasts of their games.

 

[Waquoit]

When a team like Sunderland beats a team fighting for the title like Chelsea in the 35th week, you have a pretty damn good league.

 

[UConnDan97]

La Liga is going to be sick this year. Just got a new car last month, coincidentally on the same day as the US -Ghana game, now that I am in the 21st century I have a car with SiriusXM and I am addicted to SiriusXM FC. Lately I have heard a lot discussion about how the BPL being "best league in the world" is really kind of an overstatement. The basis of this from the American perspective is that we are more familiar with BPL and the production value of the games on the various networks whether it's FOX or NBC is so much better than what you might see of the Bundesliga or La Liga...

Sort of reminds me of how the SEC getting a bit overrated because of the emphasis CBS and ESPN puts on telecasts of their games.

Whenever someone says that the EPL is the best league in the world, you just have to shake your head and brush it off. Any impartial evaluation of the facts over the last 5 or 6 years (or more) would show indisputably that La Liga has been the best league, hands down. And I'm saying this as a Serie A fan. I've actually done the analysis for giggles once, and no matter how you score the leagues (Champs League performance, UEFA cup performance, etc.), you will always find that La Liga comes out on top. Not just Real and Barca, but teams like Atletico, Sevilla, Villareal, and Valencia have been fantastic over the last decade. I think it will start to swing back to the other leagues soon, but...there's no doubt who has been on top...

 

[ZooCougar]

Whenever someone says that the EPL is the best league in the world, you just have to shake your head and brush it off. Any impartial evaluation of the facts over the last 5 or 6 years (or more) would show indisputably that La Liga has been the best league, hands down. And I'm saying this as a Serie A fan. I've actually done the analysis for giggles once, and no matter how you score the leagues (Champs League performance, UEFA cup performance, etc.), you will always find that La Liga comes out on top. Not just Real and Barca, but teams like Atletico, Sevilla, Villareal, and Valencia have been fantastic over the last decade. I think it will start to swing back to the other leagues soon, but...there's no doubt who has been on top...

I guess it depends on what the criteria your are basing it on is. If you like parity then maybe you like League X if you don't mind top heavy leagues then maybe you like League Y.

 

[ZooCougar]

http://www.kshb.com/entertainment/3...ng-kc-to-make-major-announcement-on-wednesday

This is sort of a big deal. Locally the rumor is that the USSF is partnering with Sporting KC to build a $65 Million facility next to the massive training facility that Sporting KC already has in another part of the city. Supposedly this one is focused on player development for the USMNT.

 

[meyers7]

Whenever someone says that the EPL is the best league in the world, you just have to shake your head and brush it off. .

Well depends on how you define "best league". Best teams? Best players? Most exciting? Most interesting/entertaining? Most competitive? Where do players move to? Where's the money?

 

[UConnDan97]

Well depends on how you define "best league". Best teams? Best players? Most exciting? Most interesting/entertaining? Most competitive? Where do players move to? Where's the money?

Well, the answer to your questions is "yes". I believe that they have the best teams, and the best players, and that makes it the most exciting / entertaining, and they have a great deal of quality in their middle-of-the-pack teams as I've previously described, so they are most competitive, and players love to move to Spain, and the money is certainly there. So......"yes"....

Keep in mind how much it pains me to say what I'm saying, since there used to be a time not so long ago where the Serie A was all of the above. But I can't deny the reality. And it's much easier for me as a non-partisan viewer to watch a La Liga match than it is for me as a non-partisan viewer of a Premiership match. Take that for what it's worth...

 

[meyers7]

Well, the answer to your questions is "yes". I believe that they have the best teams, and the best players, and that makes it the most exciting / entertaining, and they have a great deal of quality in their middle-of-the-pack teams as I've previously described, so they are most competitive, and players love to move to Spain, and the money is certainly there. So."yes"....

Well I'd agree they have Real and Barca, Atletico, but it's not an overly exciting league, nor is the play overly exciting (as compared to the EPL). That's why many players have trouble adjusting to the speed and intensity of the EPL. Not so much in Spain. Technically, yea Spain is much better.

Lot more money in the EPL.
Highest sports teams wages
Man City (1)
Real (4)
Barca (5)
Man United (8)
Chelsea (10)
Arsenal (11)
Liverpool (20)
Tottenham (54)
QPR (70)
Aston Villa (75)
Fulham (86)
Newcastle (88)
Atletico (91)

Forbes most valuable Football clubs
Real Madrid (1)
Barca (2)
Man United (3)
Arsenal (5)
Chelsea (6)
Man City (7)
Liverpool (10)
Tottenham (13)
Atletico (17)


It's also a lot more entertaining. TV revenue for EPL almost doubles La Liga. (they know what sells)

You could say best teams (Real, Barca) (and make a decent case for better teams). Mid table.

Players move to Real and Barca, but not Spain per say. Top players move from Spain (except for Real and Barca). For example Costa and Luis left Atletico (who won the league) for, wait for it, Chelsea. They take loans from the EPL (Courtois).

Not that I don't like watching La Liga. I watch quite a bit of it.

 

[SAMCRO]

Looking at the UEFA "Country Coefficients" (which has its critics), the formula used to determine how many teams a league gets bids for in Champions League and Europa League play, La Liga has been the top rated over past few years, but it has pretty much always been Spain/England interchanging in the top 2 leagues in Europe (the world), with Germany firmly entrenched as #3
2014/15 top 5: Spain, England, Germany, Portugal, Italy
2013/14 top 5: Spain, England, Germany, Italy, Portugal
2012/13 top 5: Spain, England, Germany, Italy, Portugal
2011/12 top 5: England, Spain, Germany, Italy, Portugal
2010/11 top 5: England, Spain, Germany, Italy, France

This ranking is solely based on how the top teams perform in these specific competitions, so hard to say how the bottom half of the leagues fare would alter the rankings.....but it is a good comparitor as how the tops of the leagues are. As has been discussed earlier in the thread, those bottom of the table upsets over top of the table are happening in most of the leagues (not the Bundesliga so much). This is one of the great things about european football, relegation. When teams at the bottom are fighting to stay out of the bottom 3, every game matters. La Liga has come a long way in the past 5+ years in building a stronger middle and bottom of the table. I still prefer watching Premiere league given the choice, but La Liga is having a helluva run.

 

[UConnDan97]

Well I'd agree they have Real and Barca, Atletico, but it's not an overly exciting league, nor is the play overly exciting (as compared to the EPL). That's why many players have trouble adjusting to the speed and intensity of the EPL. Not so much in Spain. Technically, yea Spain is much better.

Lot more money in the EPL.
Highest sports teams wages
Man City (1)
Real (4)
Barca (5)
Man United (8)
Chelsea (10)
Arsenal (11)
Liverpool (20)
Tottenham (54)
QPR (70)
Aston Villa (75)
Fulham (86)
Newcastle (88)
Atletico (91)

Forbes most valuable Football clubs
Real Madrid (1)
Barca (2)
Man United (3)
Arsenal (5)
Chelsea (6)
Man City (7)
Liverpool (10)
Tottenham (13)
Atletico (17)


It's also a lot more entertaining. TV revenue for EPL almost doubles La Liga. (they know what sells)

You could say best teams (Real, Barca) (and make a decent case for better teams). Mid table.

Players move to Real and Barca, but not Spain per say. Top players move from Spain (except for Real and Barca). For example Costa and Luis left Atletico (who won the league) for, wait for it, Chelsea. They take loans from the EPL (Courtois).

Not that I don't like watching La Liga. I watch quite a bit of it.

All you've shown is that there seems to be more money in the EPL than La Liga currently. The idea that tv revenue is being compared has no bearing on the quality of the league, since the EPL is broadcast in the States on channels that most receive, whereas La Liga is not. And more entertaining? I'll feel free to disagree with you. Trouble with the speed and intensity of the league??? Please stop.

Let's perform another exercise. Give me a list of who you believe the top soccer players in the world are right now. And then let me know where they currently play. You could perhaps even do it by listing where the best player of each major soccer-playing country currently is (ex., Neymar for Brazil or Pirlo for Italy, so on). It would be interesting to see what list you come up with, and where the top players are currently residing (it will also be fun to see if we agree on who the best player from each country is!). Enjoy...

 

[SAMCRO]

Style of play b/w the two leagues are so differnet. EPL is much more physical, quick passing (short and long balls), bring it down the wings cross to the middle, more ball movement, where as la Liga is much more fluid, controlling, more dribbling to create, etc... Certain players with certain skills are a better fit in la Liga, and others are better fits in EPL (and the elite, top players around the world will thrive in either league).

 

[ZooCougar]

It's also a lot more entertaining. TV revenue for EPL almost doubles La Liga. (they know what sells)
.

Hmmmm.. This factor is purely subjective. EPL definitely was ahead of the curve in penetrating the US and Asian markets. Remember back when all of the sudden there were a ton of Man U fans and they had no idea why they were Man U fans? Plus, the games just look better on TV, better camera placement, better sound quality because it captures the atmosphere.

Some people actually believe that the Bundesliga has less atmosphere because of what they see and hear on TV. I can assure you that that is not the case. The stadiums are huge and they fans are loud. I just don't think the production value is on par.

 

[UConnDan97]

Just for "ha ha's", I took my own advice and made a list of the best players from each World Cup nation and where they play. I put two names where I thought it would be disputed, trying to give favor to the English player, so as not to seem biased. Then I'll let everyone make up their own minds in terms of the quality of players in each (with the understanding that all the leagues we are discussing are high quality):

Brazil - Neymar (Spain)
Argentina - Messi (Spain)
Spain - Iniesta (Spain) or Costa (Eng) [feel free to pick whichever, but keep in mind that Costa didn't see the field a lot in the WC]
Portugal - Ronaldo (Spain)
Germany - Muller (Germany) or Schweinsteiger (Ger)
France - Ribery (Germany) or Benzema (Spa) [Ribery HAS to be considered the one here, even if he didn't make the Cup]
Holland - Robben (Germany)
England - Gerrard (England) or Sterling (Eng) [I actually think Sterling is the best one they've got, but I didn't want to fight over it]
Uruguay - Suarez (Spain) or Cavani (Fra)
Colombia - James Rodriguez (Spain) or Falcao (Fra)
Ecuador - Valencia (England)
Chile - Sanchez (England) or Vidal (Ita) [I think Vidal is the better player, but for the purposes of this, we're going with Sanchez]
Honduras - Palacios (England)
Iran - Mekounam (Spain)
Belgium - Fellaini (England) or DeBruyne (Ger.)
Russia - Kerzhakov (Russia)
Mexico - Dos Santos (Spain) or Peralta (Mex.)
USA - Dempsey (USA) or Bradley (USA/Can.)
Greece - Samaris (Greece)
Bosnia and Herzegovina - Dzeko (England) or Pjanic (Ita.) [again, I like Pjanic better, but for our purposes...]
Nigeria - Mikel (England)
Ghana - Gyan (UAE) or Muntari (Ita.)
Costa Rica - Navas (Spain) or Ruiz (Eng.) [feel free to choose whichever, but it has to be Navas, really]
Algeria - Bougherra (Qatar) or Mesbah (Ita.)
South Korea - Ja-Cheol (Germany) or Keun-ho (Korea)
Japan - Honda (Italy) or Nagatomo (Ita.)
Australia - Cahill (USA)
Croatia - Modric (Spain)
Cameroon - Song (Spain)
Ivory Coast - Gervinho (Italy) or Kalou (Fra.)
Switzerland - Lichsteiner (Italy) or Shaqiri (Ger.)

So there are my takes (feel free to disagree). By my personal assessments, I guess the score head-to-head is Spain 10 vs. England 7...