Football (Soccer) Thread

[Josephus]

I'd say the results wouldn't be dramatically different than under Bob Bradley.

Do you think, though, that Klinsmann is the right man for the US?

[dps]

I'd say the results wouldn't be dramatically different than under Bob Bradley.

Do you think, though, that Klinsmann is the right man for the US?

Well, it certainly seemed that Bradley had taken the team as far as they could go under him, and that it was time for a change if US soccer wanted them to get to the next level.  And Klinsmann is a good coach.  Right man for this particular job?  Time will tell, but without the benefit of hindsight, he seems like a very good choice.

[The Larch]

Germany 2014 World Cup Champions

I wouldn't go that far, but in current form, Germany is certainly a contender for the Euro 2012.

Definitely, you have an embarrassment of riches from the midfield in advance, most of the pretty young. Müller, Özil, Kroos, Marin... they're all 21-22, IIRC, and can last for a whole decade. On the short term (this Euro and next WC) you still have Podolski and Schweinsteiger to act as "veterans" in that midfield. Seriously, if it wasn't for this ludicrously golden generation that we have nowadays in Spain, Germany would be the instant shoe-in for the top spot in the coming tournaments.

Edit: Funny bit of trivia, it seems that two of the more recent call ups to the German national team, Schurrle and Götze, are the two first players for the Mannschaft to be born after the reunification of Germany.

[Zanza]

Definitely, you have an embarrassment of riches from the midfield in advance, most of the pretty young. Müller, Özil, Kroos, Marin... they're all 21-22, IIRC, and can last for a whole decade. On the short term (this Euro and next WC) you still have Podolski and Schweinsteiger to act as "veterans" in that midfield. Seriously, if it wasn't for this ludicrously golden generation that we have nowadays in Spain, Germany would be the instant shoe-in for the top spot in the coming tournaments.

Edit: Funny bit of trivia, it seems that two of the more recent call ups to the German national team, Schurrle and Götze, are the two first players for the Mannschaft to be born after the reunification of Germany.

Götze is actually considered to be the greatest German talent in at least a decade. He is ridiculously good for his age.

[Syt]

That reminds me: what's Sebastian Deisler doing these days?

[Zanza]

I can't wait for the BBC pundits to declare that player-by-player the England team is better than Germany and that maybe one or two German players would be fit for the English bench. 

That reminds me: what's Sebastian Deisler doing these days?

Apparently he works as a physiotherapist.

[The Larch]

Definitely, you have an embarrassment of riches from the midfield in advance, most of the pretty young. Müller, Özil, Kroos, Marin... they're all 21-22, IIRC, and can last for a whole decade. On the short term (this Euro and next WC) you still have Podolski and Schweinsteiger to act as "veterans" in that midfield. Seriously, if it wasn't for this ludicrously golden generation that we have nowadays in Spain, Germany would be the instant shoe-in for the top spot in the coming tournaments.

Edit: Funny bit of trivia, it seems that two of the more recent call ups to the German national team, Schurrle and Götze, are the two first players for the Mannschaft to be born after the reunification of Germany.

Götze is actually considered to be the greatest German talent in at least a decade. He is ridiculously good for his age.

He plays for Borussia Dortmund, right? Isn't the whole team also very young and talented?

[Zanza]

He plays for Borussia Dortmund, right? Isn't the whole team also very young and talented?

Yeah, they have a bunch of good young players, some of which may still join the national team.

Germany currently lacks additional good strikers. Gomez and Klose should be enough for the EC2012, but after that, Klose will be gone and Germany will only have one good striker left. There is no real substitute to be seen at the moment. Another weak position is the fullbacks. Lahm is good, but that's about it. The rest is just so-so and most don't play on that position in their clubs.

[Warspite]

Rooney's been banned for three matches, and will miss all of England's games.

[The Larch]

Rooney's been banned for three matches, and will miss all of England's games.

You're ruling out England from reaching the knockout stage of the Euro without him?

[Zanza]

I just watched the scene and it looks like he was frustrated and just kicked that guy with no chance at all to reach the ball. The red card was okay. A three match ban is quite harsh though.

[Josephus]

Rooney's been banned for three matches, and will miss all of England's games.

You're ruling out England from reaching the knockout stage of the Euro without him?

Not sure about him. But I am. Who else they got?
Mind you, maybe if they go into this with low expectations, they might get somewhere this time.

[Warspite]

England have no real like for like replacement for Rooney, and he's vital to the England attacking setup. Jack Wilshere and Scott Parker provide a superlative central midfield pairing, but ahead of them they need a dangerous attacking midfield playmaker drifting between the lines to score. Walcott, Young and Caroll are not creative enough between them in the front three.

[Valdemar]

Maybe its true that the English talent development has been ruined by the influx of foreign talent



V

[Warspite]

Maybe its true that the English talent development has been ruined by the influx of foreign talent



V

Well, England didn't have particularly good teams before the influx of foreign talent (though one could argue that the real losers from the inflow of French, Germans, Africans etc were in fact the Scots, Welsh and Irish who used to dominate the old First Division).

The real problem is the FA and the English coaching infrastructure, which has an institutional and cultural bias towards a very physical brand of football. Basic technique is not valued in the English game, especially at the lower levels; youth here tend to play on larger pitches where first touch and ball control is not as important as GET RID!! and KNOCK IT FORWARD SON!!.

The thing about players like Owen Hargreaves, Wayne Rooney and Jack Wilshere - why they could have been, are, and will be so important to the England set up - is that they're comfortable on the ball like the best players the continent has to offer, but combine this with the traditional English qualities of grit and determination.