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jay santos · 06-02-2006, 05:20 PM

I didn't see where soccer posts are going so I'll put it here.

Who's jazzed about the World Cup? I totally am.

My take on a few items:

1. Our chances

I took this off a site, can't remember where. Odds to win World Cup, I ranked them highest to lowest.

1 *Brazil 2.75
2 *Argentina 6.5
3 *England 7
4 *Germany 8
5 *Italy 8
6 *Netherlands 11
7 *France 12
8 *Spain 14
9 *Czech Republic 20
10 *Portugal 20
11 *Sweden 33
12 *Croatia 50
13 *Mexico 50
14 *Ukraine 50
15 *Côte d'Ivoire 66
16 *Serbia and Montenegro 66
17 *Poland 80
18 *Switzerland 80
19 *USA 80
20 *Australia 125
21 *Ecuador 125
22 *Japan 125
23 *Paraguay 125
24 *Ghana 200
25 *Korea Republic 300
26 *Tunisia 300
27 *Angola 400
28 *Togo 400
29 *Costa Rica 500
30 *Iran 500
31 *Saudi Arabia 500
32 *Trinidad and Tobago 750

U.S. might be slightly lower than they should be on this list because of the tough draw makes their odds to win it all lower than a team with the same strength in a weaker pool. However, I'd say these rankings are MUCH more accurate than the stupid FIFA rankings and reflect our relative strength. Also, keep in mind some teams that didn't make it such as Turkey, Denmark, Ireland might be ranked higher than us also. Realistically, we're more like about #20 than our gaudy FIFA ranking.

Look at the talent. Brazil had a guy cut from their roster who would be our star player. We have maybe 4-5 guys who would start in the top leagues of England, Germany, Spain, Italy, etc. Most of the top 10 teams in the worlds have a full roster of guys of that quality.

2. What if our top athletes went into soccer

http://msn.foxsports.com/soccer/story/5649612

Totally cool article and something I've thought about a lot. Garnett was my pick for goalie, too. You gotta go with Jeter as a starter, though. And those big NFL LB types wouldn't make good soccer players, but NFL safeties, CB's, WR's, running backs, NBA guards, and a portion of MLB athletic players all would make good prospects.

Obviously, you can't take Wade, Iverson, T.O., Chad Johnson, and Jeter and train them in soccer and send them to the World Cup. That would never happen. But if you take those guys when they're five years old and all the rest of the great athletes across America and take away the basketballs and footballs and give them soccer balls, you rise up a generation of soccer stars that would dominate. That would be cool. I live in Utah, my son plays competive sports, and I coach and know who the star athletes are and what they play. Of the top 20 athletes of that age in our city, maybe two of them play soccer. And give those two a few more years, and they'll probably drop out and switch to other sports. I imagine that's even more true in the inner city. I see us getting better over the long run as soccer becomes a little more popular, but it could take 50 years at the rate we're going to ever really compete with the top nations.

3. Rule changes I'd impose

What drives me nuts about soccer and especially World Cup is that so much can hinge on one or two plays a game--or even one or two bad officiating calls. And one bad game and you're out. You're out and it's try again in four years. In baseball, a lot hinges on one or two plays a game and the underdog often wins, but at least you have a seven game series to even those things out. And in baseball, officiating only be exception affects the outcome of a game.

--Drives me nuts to see a player accumulate two ticky tack yellow cards and then get a red card, which could completely change the face of a game. You play the World Cup once every four years, your star player gets two ticky tack yellow cards, and then boom he's out, you're playing 10 on 11 without your star and it's see you in four years. Eliminate the rule that two yellow = red. Allow a team to substitute in for a red card so it's still 11 on 11.

--Make the goal bigger. More goals = more fun.

--Make PK's further back. At the same time games are won 1-0, PK's are a cinch. A bogus hands ball or tripping call can dictate an outcome.

--Make substitutions more free.

--Reduce # of players down to 9 on 9. Too crowded.

--Do the World Cup more often--every two years

--no offsides rule. if they want to cherry pick, put a man on him. maybe put in a blue line like hockey.

I love soccer but a few changes could make it great.

ute4ever · 06-02-2006, 09:21 PM

Personally I can't wait for the world cup. I wish their jerseys were as commonplace as NBA and NFL jerseys because I'd love to sport the US poly, but am having trouble finding one.

Archaea · 06-02-2006, 09:28 PM

I'm afraid that despite having the best teams its had in decades, our beloved squad won't make out of the first round.

They seem to have trouble finishing.

JohnnyLingo · 06-02-2006, 09:40 PM

Was our pool that much weaker in 2002?

jay santos · 06-02-2006, 10:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnnyLingo

Was our pool that much weaker in 2002?

In 2002, our pool was U.S., Portugal, Poland, Korea. It was SUPPOSED to be Portugal as the automatic, and a toss up after that. Portugal choked and we advanced with the home team Korea.

Both Czech and Italy are as good as Portugal. They are the favorites, but anything can happen in soccer. One of my pet peeves of the sport as explained above...

06-02-2006, 05:20 PM	#1
jay santos Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 6,177	The Other Football I didn't see where soccer posts are going so I'll put it here. Who's jazzed about the World Cup? I totally am. My take on a few items: 1. Our chances I took this off a site, can't remember where. Odds to win World Cup, I ranked them highest to lowest. 1 Brazil 2.75 2 Argentina 6.5 3 England 7 4 Germany 8 5 Italy 8 6 Netherlands 11 7 France 12 8 Spain 14 9 Czech Republic 20 10 Portugal 20 11 Sweden 33 12 Croatia 50 13 Mexico 50 14 Ukraine 50 15 Côte d'Ivoire 66 16 Serbia and Montenegro 66 17 Poland 80 18 Switzerland 80 19 USA 80 20 Australia 125 21 Ecuador 125 22 Japan 125 23 Paraguay 125 24 Ghana 200 25 Korea Republic 300 26 Tunisia 300 27 Angola 400 28 Togo 400 29 Costa Rica 500 30 Iran 500 31 Saudi Arabia 500 32 Trinidad and Tobago 750 U.S. might be slightly lower than they should be on this list because of the tough draw makes their odds to win it all lower than a team with the same strength in a weaker pool. However, I'd say these rankings are MUCH more accurate than the stupid FIFA rankings and reflect our relative strength. Also, keep in mind some teams that didn't make it such as Turkey, Denmark, Ireland might be ranked higher than us also. Realistically, we're more like about #20 than our gaudy FIFA ranking. Look at the talent. Brazil had a guy cut from their roster who would be our star player. We have maybe 4-5 guys who would start in the top leagues of England, Germany, Spain, Italy, etc. Most of the top 10 teams in the worlds have a full roster of guys of that quality. 2. What if our top athletes went into soccer http://msn.foxsports.com/soccer/story/5649612 Totally cool article and something I've thought about a lot. Garnett was my pick for goalie, too. You gotta go with Jeter as a starter, though. And those big NFL LB types wouldn't make good soccer players, but NFL safeties, CB's, WR's, running backs, NBA guards, and a portion of MLB athletic players all would make good prospects. Obviously, you can't take Wade, Iverson, T.O., Chad Johnson, and Jeter and train them in soccer and send them to the World Cup. That would never happen. But if you take those guys when they're five years old and all the rest of the great athletes across America and take away the basketballs and footballs and give them soccer balls, you rise up a generation of soccer stars that would dominate. That would be cool. I live in Utah, my son plays competive sports, and I coach and know who the star athletes are and what they play. Of the top 20 athletes of that age in our city, maybe two of them play soccer. And give those two a few more years, and they'll probably drop out and switch to other sports. I imagine that's even more true in the inner city. I see us getting better over the long run as soccer becomes a little more popular, but it could take 50 years at the rate we're going to ever really compete with the top nations. 3. Rule changes I'd impose What drives me nuts about soccer and especially World Cup is that so much can hinge on one or two plays a game--or even one or two bad officiating calls. And one bad game and you're out. You're out and it's try again in four years. In baseball, a lot hinges on one or two plays a game and the underdog often wins, but at least you have a seven game series to even those things out. And in baseball, officiating only be exception affects the outcome of a game. --Drives me nuts to see a player accumulate two ticky tack yellow cards and then get a red card, which could completely change the face of a game. You play the World Cup once every four years, your star player gets two ticky tack yellow cards, and then boom he's out, you're playing 10 on 11 without your star and it's see you in four years. Eliminate the rule that two yellow = red. Allow a team to substitute in for a red card so it's still 11 on 11. --Make the goal bigger. More goals = more fun. --Make PK's further back. At the same time games are won 1-0, PK's are a cinch. A bogus hands ball or tripping call can dictate an outcome. --Make substitutions more free. --Reduce # of players down to 9 on 9. Too crowded. --Do the World Cup more often--every two years --no offsides rule. if they want to cherry pick, put a man on him. maybe put in a blue line like hockey. I love soccer but a few changes could make it great. Last edited by jay santos; 06-02-2006 at 05:30 PM.

06-02-2006, 09:28 PM	#3
Archaea Assistant to the Regional Manager Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: The Orgasmatron Posts: 24,338	I'm afraid that despite having the best teams its had in decades, our beloved squad won't make out of the first round. They seem to have trouble finishing. __________________ Ἓν οἶδα ὅτι οὐδὲν οἶδα

06-02-2006, 09:21 PM	#2
ute4ever I must not tell lies Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 5,103	Personally I can't wait for the world cup. I wish their jerseys were as commonplace as NBA and NFL jerseys because I'd love to sport the US poly, but am having trouble finding one.

06-02-2006, 09:40 PM	#4
JohnnyLingo Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 2,175	Was our pool that much weaker in 2002?