The Soccer Thread (Version 13) — Winter World Cup Edition

This Portugal-Uruguay matchup is very heel vs. heel.

"THAT'S LUIS SUAREZ'S MUSIC! NO! DAMMIT!"

 

I still love Cavani. What a player he was.

 

A buddy of mine has run a CFB pick-em pool for a very long time. A couple hundred players at $10 each, $800 or so to the season winner.

Three years ago, he started a soccer one - complete with a private FB group for banter. I lost out on the $500 first place prize a couple of years ago because I missed the winner of the Champions League final. This year’s season runs WC knockout stage through Champions League final.

 

I started watching soccer because I had to, to please the "you never cover us" crowd at the Podunk Weekly Fishwrap. No idea what I was watching. When I went to a daily, soccer was off my beat. In the meantime I started watching hockey in my free time. When I went back into sports, when I had to cover soccer I was able to recognize the same patterns I saw in hockey (at a slower pace, of course) and got it. I like watching World Cup, but haven't moved on to following anything else - yet.

 

In an every-two-years World Cup scenario, I would love CONCACAF to merge with CONMEBOL (and put the U.S. in a really tough confederation) and for continental championships, which would have to be held in odd years, to serve as World Cup qualifying.

 

CR7 trying to take credit for a cross he didn’t touch and then being pissed when subbed out is on brand. The fact that Bruno got both goals is even better.

 

the tv originally said renaldo scored. Did they reverse that?

 

I think it's been bandied about, but I assume the biggest obstacles are 1. travel (New York-Buenos Aires is farther than New York-Moscow) and 2. what of the 30-35 other associations in CONCACAF who both need the revenue that the USA and Mexico bring in and would have even less of a chance of going anywhere in qualifying. For CONMEBOL, it just adds a ton of expense (even something modest like Quito to Mexico City is a distance comparable to that between New York and Denver), which is why they only include Mexico or the US when it benefits them (see Centenario, Copa America).

 

It was replayed many a time. He just missed it.

 

The amount of backstory and lore you need to learn when it comes to European soccer is dizzying. I just stick with the World Cup.

 

My sports kid comes home from school, and he is going through a big name phase, and was like, why did they take that away from him? He totally got it! I said, no he didn't (and I don't think it was even a question). I did say if it wasn't because of his effort they wouldn't have scored, since the keeper went the direction he thought the header would take it and it just kept going straight!

 

My story goes back to the United States hosting the World Cup in 1994. I was one it hooked. My school won the state soccer title that year, so that helped as well. I followed international soccer ever since. I covered prep soccer at more than one paper when no one else wanted to. I created some box score formats that several still use today.

I stick mostly to the US and qualifying and World Cups with some Gold Cups sprinkled in. I like the Euro. I'll chime into the MLS on occasion but have not gotten into any European team.