A thread for soccer fans

[Cugalabanza]

Let me be clear: I'm not betting. However I went to Ladbrokes.com to see what kind of odds the bookmakers were giving us. What I saw was:

USA vs Mexico:

2.20 Home

3.00 Draw

3.00 Away

 

Does anyone understand these numbers? I couldn't find anything apparent on Ladbrokes website explaining what these numbers mean.

I have no clue about soccer betting. It's like reading the miscellaneous charges on my phone bill--makes no sense to me.

[Cugalabanza]

5-0, Mexico. Total defensive collapse in the second half. I don't know what happened, but all of a sudden the back line lost all timing and organization and Mexico was getting breakaways all over the place. This group of second & third string youngsters finally got exposed against a more talented team.

 

I kind of hate that Mexico fans flooded Giants stadium for this and got to celebrate such a huge shutout.

 

I still feel very good about Holden. Beckerman may have earned himself a look for the WC sqaud too.

 

Next month in Mexico City for WC Qualifying will be very different (with the real U.S. National Team).

[KD in CA]

I kind of hate that Mexico fans flooded Giants stadium for this and got to celebrate such a huge shutout.

Well it was in NY, so it was kinda like a home game for them.

 

Next month in Mexico City for WC Qualifying will be very different (with the real U.S. National Team).

So wait, this didn't mean anything in relation to the WC? And wasn't the US just in some big 'Cup' where they beat Spain? What exactly is the Gold Cup anyway? Soccer makes no sense. There seems to be an endless round robin of leagues, Cups, championships, etc. (some of which apparently don't mean anything), but outside of the WC, no one (or everyone) is crowned as a champion.

 

Can someone explain the soccer 'season' in less time than it takes to make a hot pocket?

[Ramius]

Well it was in NY, so it was kinda like a home game for them.

 

 

So wait, this didn't mean anything in relation to the WC? And wasn't the US just in some big 'Cup' where they beat Spain? What exactly is the Gold Cup anyway? Soccer makes no sense. There seems to be an endless round robin of leagues, Cups, championships, etc. (some of which apparently don't mean anything), but outside of the WC, no one (or everyone) is crowned as a champion.

 

Can someone explain the soccer 'season' in less time than it takes to make a hot pocket?

 

Its soccer. Everyone gets a trophy or some type of "cup" during the 4 years between World Cups. As far as i can tell, the things that the US "wins" are basically on par with winning a gold in the special olympics. Woohoo! We beat up on honduras and guatemala again!

[Magox]

Well it was in NY, so it was kinda like a home game for them.

 

 

So wait, this didn't mean anything in relation to the WC? And wasn't the US just in some big 'Cup' where they beat Spain? What exactly is the Gold Cup anyway? Soccer makes no sense. There seems to be an endless round robin of leagues, Cups, championships, etc. (some of which apparently don't mean anything), but outside of the WC, no one (or everyone) is crowned as a champion.

 

Can someone explain the soccer 'season' in less time than it takes to make a hot pocket?

No, this game was not related to the WC. And yes the last 'Cup' the Confederations Cup game was a FIFA sanctioned tournament that FIFA is trying to promote into something bigger than it is. The Gold Cup is just a ConcaCaf tournament that is primarily made up of Concacaf teams which are the teams that try to qualify for the WC from our qualifying division, which consist of Central American and North American teams, and once in a while we will invite an outside team to compete in the tournament as well.

The Gold Cup is not a FIFA sanctioned cup, so it doesn't carry as much weight. However it is valuable in that you can evaluate more players to see who can make the final squad when the WC does come around.

 

Professional soccer and National team soccer are not correlated. There is no Universal soccer 'Season', each country has their own professional league, so one league may start in July, the other may start in December. National teams play all year round, and usually play games that are considered 'friendlies', which means there is no importance to it in FIFA terms, other than it just fine tune's teams, and gives coaches a look at who is good enough to make the team when it is important.

[Magox]

Its soccer. Everyone gets a trophy or some type of "cup" during the 4 years between World Cups. As far as i can tell, the things that the US "wins" are basically on par with winning a gold in the special olympics. Woohoo! We beat up on honduras and guatemala again!

what do you mean when you say "Everyone" gets a trophy or a "cup" during the 4 years between the World Cups? And who is "Everyone" and what have they won?

[PTS]

FIFA Tournaments in order of Prestige:

 

1. World Cup: Every four years. Obviously the biggest sporting event in the world.

 

2: Euros: Played every four years in between World Cups. It's Europe's World Cup and considered to be the second biggest sporting event in the world.

 

3. Confederations Cup: Played one year before the next World Cup. It's really a "dry-run" for the host nation but this tournament is definitely important. To qualify you must win your region's last Cup tournament.

 

4: Copa America: Now played every four years, one year after the World Cup. It's South America's main tournament.

 

5. Asian Cup: Like the Euros, played every four years in between World Cups.

 

6: African Nations Cup: Played every two years. Right after the World Cup and two years after. The one that matters is the one in between the World Cup.

 

7. Gold Cup: North American's main tournament played every two years (one year after the World Cup and one year before). The one that matters is the one right after the World Cup as the winner goes to the Confederations Cup as CONCACAF representative. FIFA is begging CONCACAF to run the tournament every four years so that it's not always a joke, but the CONCACAF organization is a joke. They play it every two years in the USA to make lots of money from Mexican Americans. This year's Gold Cup was the one in the cycle that doesn't matter, which is why USA's team was their third string team.

 

8: Oceania Cup: It's the Pacific Islands regional cup and it's on par with your local high school soccer team. Seriously. No matter what, New Zealand wins 15-0 in every game.

[ExiledInIllinois]

FIFA Tournaments in order of Prestige:

 

1. World Cup: Every four years. Obviously the biggest sporting event in the world.

 

2: Euros: Played every four years in between World Cups. It's Europe's World Cup and considered to be the second biggest sporting event in the world.

 

3. Confederations Cup: Played one year before the next World Cup. It's really a "dry-run" for the host nation but this tournament is definitely important. To qualify you must win your region's last Cup tournament.

 

4: Copa America: Now played every four years, one year after the World Cup. It's South America's main tournament.

 

5. Asian Cup: Like the Euros, played every four years in between World Cups.

 

6: African Nations Cup: Played every two years. Right after the World Cup and two years after. The one that matters is the one in between the World Cup.

 

7. Gold Cup: North American's main tournament played every two years (one year after the World Cup and one year before). The one that matters is the one right after the World Cup as the winner goes to the Confederations Cup as CONCACAF representative. FIFA is begging CONCACAF to run the tournament every four years so that it's not always a joke, but the CONCACAF organization is a joke. They play it every two years in the USA to make lots of money from Mexican Americans. This year's Gold Cup was the one in the cycle that doesn't matter, which is why USA's team was their third string team.

 

8: Oceania Cup: It's the Pacific Islands regional cup and it's on par with your local high school soccer team. Seriously. No matter what, New Zealand wins 15-0 in every game.

 

 

Not that I am an expert but this is what gives me heartburn about soccer. Prestige IMO sounds and means alot like caste. As in caste system.

[jester43]

It's only boring to the people who didn't grow up watching and playing soccer. Most people here in the U.S are closed-minded, so don't worry, you are not in the minority.

 

you can call me names if you want, but i don't fit your thesis.

 

i "saw it" when i was little and i coached it (6th/7th graders) as an adult. and it is/was patently dull. to me. and i will add that the parents of these kids were no treat either. they were managable, but certainly not like xc/track parents.

 

meanwhile, i saw my first int'l pro rugby game 4 years ago and i am hooked. i didn't need to "grow up" with it, to appreciate it.

[PTS]

Not that I am an expert but this is what gives me heartburn about soccer. Prestige IMO sounds and means alot like caste. As in caste system.

How is this different than any other sport? Isn't the Rose Bowl more prestigious than the International Bowl? The BIG 10 more prestigious than the WAC? The Stanley Cup more prestigious than the Presidents' Trophy.

[Cugalabanza]

How is this different than any other sport? Isn't the Rose Bowl more prestigious than the International Bowl? The BIG 10 more prestigious than the WAC? The Stanley Cup more prestigious than the Presidents' Trophy.

I know, right? I was gonna let that one go, but really that's the saddest soccer criticism I've heard yet. Caste system?

[ajzepp]

So do you guys have any good stories from the time you played?

 

I have a good one and a bad one: When I was at the Kurt Kuykendall camp back in the 80s, they had me playing mostly defense when we'd finish up the day with our scrimmage. The last day of camp, my dad had apparently arranged to have me moved up to center midfielder since he knew I was a pretty well rounded player for a big dude. I can't recall how I ended up with the ball, but I was somewhere between midfield and the top of the goal box when I avoided a defender to my right and just launched a rocket into the upper left part of the goal. I scored a lot of goals growing up, but that was by far the best. I'll never forget what it felt like to have some pretty talented players look at me like, wtf?

 

The bad one was when I was playing indoor soccer when I lived in KC. Our best player went to turn with the ball, but his foot stayed planted in the turf. All at once I saw and heard his tibia (shin) snap right in half and pop out of his skin. It was absolutely horrifying. He was one tough SOB, though...have to give him credit. He was obviously in agony, and probably majorly freaked out, but he sucked it up, waiting until EMS got there, and left the field like a man.

[Beerball]

Is this where I should ask about the $1000 fine handed down to David Beckham? That fugger wipes his ass with hundred dollar bills.

 

 

Joke.

[PTS]

So do you guys have any good stories from the time you played?

 

I have a good one and a bad one: When I was at the Kurt Kuykendall camp back in the 80s, they had me playing mostly defense when we'd finish up the day with our scrimmage. The last day of camp, my dad had apparently arranged to have me moved up to center midfielder since he knew I was a pretty well rounded player for a big dude. I can't recall how I ended up with the ball, but I was somewhere between midfield and the top of the goal box when I avoided a defender to my right and just launched a rocket into the upper left part of the goal. I scored a lot of goals growing up, but that was by far the best. I'll never forget what it felt like to have some pretty talented players look at me like, wtf?

 

The bad one was when I was playing indoor soccer when I lived in KC. Our best player went to turn with the ball, but his foot stayed planted in the turf. All at once I saw and heard his tibia (shin) snap right in half and pop out of his skin. It was absolutely horrifying. He was one tough SOB, though...have to give him credit. He was obviously in agony, and probably majorly freaked out, but he sucked it up, waiting until EMS got there, and left the field like a man.

My best goal was for St. Francis High School in sudden death of our championship game in 1998 ... for the right to go to the state semi-finals. With about two minutes left in OT, I had the ball about 10 yards out from the corner of the 18 yard box. I saw the goalie was off his line and I placed a perfect bending ball just over his reach and into the top corner to win the game.

 

Best part is I have a VHS tape of the goal from Channel 4 News. The problem is I don't have a VCR to watch it again!

[Ramius]

So do you guys have any good stories from the time you played?

 

I played 1 year of JV soccer. My only career goal was off a PK when i got taken down in the box. I toe-balled it in to put the nail in the coffin for our team's win. Had i missed, we'd have only won 8-1. Instead, i secured it by scoring our 9th goal. I then dove in the mud.

[Cugalabanza]

I never made it past little kid rec league, but I scored one very memorable goal.

 

It was an accident, but it made me look like a genius. I got possession of the ball about 15 yards in front of the opponent's goal. My back was to the goal, so I laid it back to a teammate who was sprinting towards me. I saw him really get ready to crank it, so I began to lean back to get out of the way. Too late… the line-drive power shot ricocheted off my head and perfectly into the opposite top corner of the goal.

 

I didn't plan to take credit for it, but my teammates all started congratulating me on the greatest goal they had ever seen and I didn't want to let them down by telling them the truth that I was just trying to avoid getting hit..

[ajzepp]

My best goal was for St. Francis High School in sudden death of our championship game in 1998 ... for the right to go to the state semi-finals. With about two minutes left in OT, I had the ball about 10 yards out from the corner of the 18 yard box. I saw the goalie was off his line and I placed a perfect bending ball just over his reach and into the top corner to win the game.

 

Best part is I have a VHS tape of the goal from Channel 4 News. The problem is I don't have a VCR to watch it again!

 

Dude, you should have that transferred to DVD before the tape disintegrates!

[ajzepp]

My best goal was for St. Francis High School in sudden death of our championship game in 1998 ... for the right to go to the state semi-finals. With about two minutes left in OT, I had the ball about 10 yards out from the corner of the 18 yard box. I saw the goalie was off his line and I placed a perfect bending ball just over his reach and into the top corner to win the game.

 

Best part is I have a VHS tape of the goal from Channel 4 News. The problem is I don't have a VCR to watch it again!

 

Figures....I had you pegged as a toe-baller!

[ajzepp]

I never made it past little kid rec league, but I scored one very memorable goal.

 

It was an accident, but it made me look like a genius. I got possession of the ball about 15 yards in front of the opponent's goal. My back was to the goal, so I laid it back to a teammate who was sprinting towards me. I saw him really get ready to crank it, so I began to lean back to get out of the way. Too late… the line-drive power shot ricocheted off my head and perfectly into the opposite top corner of the goal.

 

I didn't plan to take credit for it, but my teammates all started congratulating me on the greatest goal they had ever seen and I didn't want to let them down by telling them the truth that I was just trying to avoid getting hit..

 

 

 

Gringo, I found a video of another one of your famous headers!