~World Cup~ I'm So Excited ~ Here's a taster — OZONE Asylum, home of the Mad Scientists

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~World Cup~ I'm So Excited ~ Here's a taster

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Your Text: Insert Slimies » Insert UBB Code » Close Last Tag \| All Tags UBB Help	[quote] [b]binary said:[/b] This wount help the USA team at all Soccer/Football starts at the grassroots....the US as a country must first love the BEST GAME in the world....let the children play the game as a hobby rather palying Baseball......and when this children grow up...and only then would the USA team ever have a chance of reaching the QUARTER FINALS.....am hoping u r not thinking that they might one day win the WC ..mayb my grandson's son will c that Go Portugal GO~Sig coming soon~ [/quote] I can't tell if you're just taking the piss, bashing US Soccer in place of politics, or being honest but there are some serious gaps in your knowledge base regarding soccer in the US: [b]the US as a country must first love the BEST GAME in the world[/b] As a country? That's purely your opinion, the people that play it love it as much as the next person of some other nation. The brotherhood of players and fans is as tight as any other nation's. [b]let the children play the game as a hobby rather palying Baseball[/b] It's the most popular children's sport going here for the last several years running. I've been playing for over 30 years, since I was 5 or 6, I had a lot of teammates and leagues to play in. Tons of kids play here, and more every year. I've seen figures as high as [b]18 million soccer players in the US[/b]. 18m as a percentage of some cup winning nations' populations: Germany - 22% Italy - 31% England - 30% Brasil - 10% Argentina - 45% Statistically speaking 18m players is an enviable number, especially when you consider a WC roster is only 23 deep. We have reason to be hopeful with that number of players. This number says nothing of the FANS of the sport. 18 million as a percentage of some other populations: Netherlands - 55% Ukraine - 84% Romania - 179% Sweden - 443% Bulgvaria - 536% Denmark - 735% Numerically speaking we appear to be at the starting line at least wouldn't you say? [b]and only then would the USA team ever have a chance of reaching the QUARTER FINALS[/b] We in fact reached the quarters in the '02 World Cup :confused: In fact, played Germany and made them quite nervous, I thought Kahn was gonna sh*t his heart out. Ask any of the German team that faced the US that day 4 years ago if they're a game side. They certainly had no problem expressing their relief at getting out that game alive in the press conferences directly after the match :) Were it not for the undetected handball of Torsten Frings clearing a US goal off the line, the outcome may have been much different, the US dominated the play in most of that match but the Germans leave 1-0 off of a set piece. Thems the breaks :) So what did we do this tournament besides crash out at the group stage (from the REAL group oif death)? Lessee, we were the only team of the tournament to face a [i]full strength[/i] Czech side that many pundits were tipping to make it to the final. We played gutless in that game and we deserved the loss but 3-0 wasn't a measure of the gulf in quality, more a measure of the tactical hole the US dug themselves by giving up a goal in the first five minutes against a team that were uniquely equipped to protect such a lead and hit on counters. By the time they lost Koller the damage was done for the US, but his loss crippled the potential of the Czech side and made 3-0 look ever worse after the Czechs exited at the group stage as well. US vs Italy was a good matchup tactically speaking, I expected to get something out of this match and we did. With 9 men against 10. Itlay is in the final now with only one goal scored against them and the US are responsible for that one. The Germans exit at the hands of a team that we match up quite well with. Ghana was a great side! 2-1 to Ghana. Anyone on the planet think that goal #2 for Ghana, the game winner, the penalty... was a penalty?! No one but the ref that awarded it. Ghana was content to sit back and counter as well, you've got to hand it to their coach, he'd studied and prepared well for the US. We lacked seriously in our ability to create (and finish to some degree)a lot of quality chances, especially against a bunker type defensive setup. Our group stage analysis is not to brag, how could I? We lost out big time! It's just to illustrate the point that the line between glory and heartbreak in football is very fine. It's also to illustrate that the world noticed that the US is up and coming. Every team we played this time around altered their usual tactics to defaet the US. It's ok if the fans around the world have no respect for the US game, but the managers whose paychecks and reputations depend on winning no longer take the US for granted. We've qualified for every WC since 90 and are now a top dominant force in our Confederation on a regular basis. We'll likely be there ever 4 years, improving all the time. We know that we're way behind the top sides of Europe and South America and are taking steps to improve the level of competition we face in the 47 months between World Cups. I don't think we'll take many steps backwards from here. [url=http://disk919.com/][img]http://www.disk919.com/sig/jason.gif[/img][/url][url=http://serveit.org/][img]http://www.disk919.com/sig/serveit.org.gif[/img][/url] Loading...
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