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

Found it hard to care at all about the USWNT. They'd become like UConn women's basketball. Dominant, plenty to dislike, not compelling. People getting on Rapinoe for laughing after she missed the PK are fucking idiots, though. Seemed obvious to me she was laughing at the absurdity of skying one.

 

Blue today, who knows tomorrow?

 

And then they going back to not watching the domestic league, but only watching “their team” in England, Spain, France or wherever.

 

Why do people say "the MLS"? Drives me nuts.

 

I believe there have been documented attempts to put microchips in the ends of (American) footballs, for this purpose and it was proven that they impair the ball flight on a pass.

Golden goal was a thing in the mid-1990s and into the new millennium, and decided one of France's wins in the 1998 (men's) World Cup and the Euro 1996 final. However, it was generally believed that when faced with the potential of a single goal ending a game instantaneously, most coaches and players treated it like a grenade. Why pull the pin and throw it if there's a chance the other guy can throw it back (and a lot of goals in soccer are scored on counterattacks) or it blows up on the count of two? They also tried "silver goal," which was next goal + the end of a period ends the game and nobody liked that either.

Honestly, a lot of it is cultural, and the UK (and to a lesser extent, Europe) still sets the tone on culture in the sport. A school I covered once made the Sportscenter Top 10 for a double-overtime buzzer-beating postseason tournament goal, but I think there's a belief that a move in the 90th minute should be allowed to go to its natural conclusion whether it happens then, or in the 80th minute, or the 8th minute. I don't remember if rugby even adds time on for injuries, but I know that the head referee has the discretion to blow the final whistle (which always sounds weird) upon the end of the last possession or dead ball after time has expired.

 

I believe in rugby union the referee is keeping extra time including injuries and the ball has to go out of play to call the game. That's why if the team leading gets the ball, they will kick it straight out.

 

Is there a name I should get on the Armenian national jersey I want?

 

Just make sure it rhymes with Armenian.

 

They don’t keep extra time anymore. There is a clock that will stop at the ref’s direction.

Once the final horn sounds, the game will end on the next stoppage (except a penalty). It doesn’t have to go into touch, a knock on is sufficient.

The game has suffered nothing by switching away from injury time to clocked time.

 

It's always weird to me when a soccer play totally misses a PK. Those things should be like FTs. Putting it in one spot or another - if the goalie guesses right? More power to them.
Unless there is team strategy involved one goes left, the next right, the other an off-speed dead center...