The Soccer Thread

[Exile on Waveland]

I have a hard time believing Japan's midfield will be as skilled/creative and as able to hold possession against the US

They're maybe the most skilled midfield in the tournament. They're possession has been their strength.

 

. . . And that's what I get for making ish up.

[biittner77]

Do other countries use the ESPN feed for these games? I'm just wondering why American announcers are saying things like "Cheeky" and using the word "pace" to an American audience.

 

Because it's Ian Darke and he's English and those are the words he uses?

 

I was talking about the American color- or perhaps they prefer colour -commentators. Julie Fouty called that heel "Cheeky". FTH

[wolf stansson]

I have a hard time believing Japan's midfield will be as skilled/creative and as able to hold possession against the US

They're maybe the most skilled midfield in the tournament. They're possession has been their strength.

 

. . . And that's what I get for making ish up.

Well to be fair, that's just what I've heard. I've only watched the Brazil-US game.

 

 

Jozy to Alkmaar is done: http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/usa/story/Jozy-Altidore-signs-with-az-alkmaar-from-villarreal-move-to-dutch-eredivisie-071411

Altidore is expected to announce the move on Friday.

 

According to sources familiar with the move, Altidore has agreed to join AZ for the upcoming season, though it was not revealed whether the move was a permanent transfer away from Villarreal or another loan.

[wvcbxl]

Jozy to Alkmaar is done: http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/usa/story/Jozy-Altidore-signs-with-az-alkmaar-from-villarreal-move-to-dutch-eredivisie-071411

Altidore is expected to announce the move on Friday.

 

According to sources familiar with the move, Altidore has agreed to join AZ for the upcoming season, though it was not revealed whether the move was a permanent transfer away from Villarreal or another loan.

 

Nothing yet from Dutch sources, only the FOX Sports story being cited.

 

ETA: apparently confirmed on Twitter: @jozyaltidore17

[Banedon]

The FIFA Women’s World Cup semifinal match between the U.S. Women’s National Team and France – a 3-1 U.S. victory in Moenchengladbach, Germany, on Wednesday, July 13 – was seen by an average of 3.35 million people according to the Nielsen Company, based on a 2.2 U.S. household rating on ESPN (2.57 million household impressions), making it the most-viewed weekday Women’s World Cup match in the U.S.

 

The match also ranked as the fourth most-viewed FIFA Women’s World Cup match ever and the second match from Germany 2011 to rank among the top five Women’s World Cup matches. The other three are from 1999 when the tournament was held in the U.S.

[wolf stansson]

Jozy to Alkmaar is done: http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/usa/story/Jozy-Altidore-signs-with-az-alkmaar-from-villarreal-move-to-dutch-eredivisie-071411

Altidore is expected to announce the move on Friday.

 

According to sources familiar with the move, Altidore has agreed to join AZ for the upcoming season, though it was not revealed whether the move was a permanent transfer away from Villarreal or another loan.

 

Nothing yet from Dutch sources, only the FOX Sports story being cited.

 

ETA: apparently confirmed on Twitter: @jozyaltidore17

2 mil Euros w/performance bonuses and resell % that would get it close to the $10 mil Villarreal paid NY. So in a sense they're betting on him, but the Eredivisie has always been kind to strikers so it looks to be an ok deal for everyone.

[shnsajax]

Jozy to Alkmaar is done: http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/usa/story/Jozy-Altidore-signs-with-az-alkmaar-from-villarreal-move-to-dutch-eredivisie-071411

Altidore is expected to announce the move on Friday.

 

According to sources familiar with the move, Altidore has agreed to join AZ for the upcoming season, though it was not revealed whether the move was a permanent transfer away from Villarreal or another loan.

 

Nothing yet from Dutch sources, only the FOX Sports story being cited.

 

ETA: apparently confirmed on Twitter: @jozyaltidore17

2 mil Euros w/performance bonuses and resell % that would get it close to the $10 mil Villarreal paid NY. So in a sense they're betting on him, but the Eredivisie has always been kind to strikers so it looks to be an ok deal for everyone.

 

In a nutshell Jozy has to perform. It will be a big setback in his career if he doesn't.

[wolf stansson]

WIn a nutshell Jozy has to perform. It will be a big setback in his career if he doesn't.

Well let's be honest, and this isn't a slight on the Eredivisie which is obviously better than MLS, if he can't contribute at Alkmaar, he has no business being in Europe. Much like Adu, there's no point wasting your time in leagues comprable (or in Freddy's case) below MLS level if you're supposedly National Team quality. If you fail somewhere like Holland, Portugal or France, don't waste time stepping down a level in Europe, just come home.

[shnsajax]

WIn a nutshell Jozy has to perform. It will be a big setback in his career if he doesn't.

Well let's be honest, and this isn't a slight on the Eredivisie which is obviously better than MLS, if he can't contribute at Alkmaar, he has no business being in Europe. Much like Adu, there's no point wasting your time in leagues comprable (or in Freddy's case) below MLS level if you're supposedly National Team quality. If you fail somewhere like Holland, Portugal or France, don't waste time stepping down a level in Europe, just come home.

 

Those are exactly my thoughts. I could understand him having issues getting PT at Ajax, PSV, or Twente, but now its no more excuses. The one thing now is he is going to have to do is work his ass off.

[wolf stansson]

The one thing now is he is going to have to do is work his ass off.

Bingo.

 

People always argue about the MLS vs Europe path. Mention the NCAA route and it's anathema to soccer purists. Fact is, some paths are better than others, but they ultimately won't be what tips the scales.

 

Obviously, I'd love every promising young American to go live in Barcelona and train at La Masia or at Ajax, but what truly matters is [expletive] work ethic. You hear fans and pundits whine about how much time they waste in development by going to play in college and playing seasons in MLS before they go abroad all the time. But just think about Clint Dempsey, Brian McBride and Claudio Reyna, the three non-keeper Americans who we have been able to count on most in big games, who have made the biggest impact on the global club scene and our most respected internationals ever. They didn't train with an elite youth academy. They went to college. They started at the bottom and worked their way to the top.

 

Now, I'm not saying that they wouldn't have been even better had they been raised in a traditional, European youth set up. They probably would have been better. What I'm saying is that what has separated them is their hunger. Pure desire and determination to do the work. They get dropped from teams and were out of favor with managers, but they busted their ass to turn it around. The thing about the youth club setup that works so well other than the technical expertise and experience from the instruction is the competition. Systems like Ajax, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, AC Milan etc are pure football darwinism and even if you're a ridiculous super stud like Lionel Messi or Wayne Rooney when you're young, you'll always have senior players to keep you humble. We don't have that in MLS (we will). When Jozy Altidore was 17-18, even if he wasn't the consistently best player on his team, it was widely apparent that he was as gifted or more gifted than anyone. If you go back to somewhere early in this thread, you'll find a post by me talking about a goal he scored for New York 3 or 4 years ago where he just looked like a man among boys. Beat one defender to the ball, shrugged off another and buried it into the upper 90 from the edge of the box. At 18 he never really had to compete for his career's life. Clint Dempsey, Reyna, McBride; guys like that had supreme competitive desire. Not everyone has that, sometimes you have to learn. Sometimes you're just a kid who gets bad career advice. For every Marc Pelosi who goes to Liverpool, Fabian Hurzeler at Bayern or Jo Gyau at Hoffenheim, who we have yet to see emerge, we've had tons of Kenny Cooper, Jovan Kirovski and Danny Karbassiyoun types who just for whatever reason (injury, work ethic, talent?) who never make it out of their elite academies. For Jozy it certainly won't be talent that holds him back.

[shnsajax]

I'm excited about Pelosi, the kid has a ton of speed to burn.

 

Jozy needs to shutdown his twitter and facebook accounts. After reading the espn Ajax article im convinced he is going to have to go in with the mentality of mastering perfection every single day in training.

[wvcbxl]

Jozy to Alkmaar is done: http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/usa/story/Jozy-Altidore-signs-with-az-alkmaar-from-villarreal-move-to-dutch-eredivisie-071411

Altidore is expected to announce the move on Friday.

 

According to sources familiar with the move, Altidore has agreed to join AZ for the upcoming season, though it was not revealed whether the move was a permanent transfer away from Villarreal or another loan.

 

Nothing yet from Dutch sources, only the FOX Sports story being cited.

 

ETA: apparently confirmed on Twitter: @jozyaltidore17

2 mil Euros w/performance bonuses and resell % that would get it close to the $10 mil Villarreal paid NY. So in a sense they're betting on him, but the Eredivisie has always been kind to strikers so it looks to be an ok deal for everyone.

 

De Telegraaf (a reputable newpaper in The Netherlands) is reporting the deal between AZ and Jozy as done, but still some minor issues to be ironed out between AZ and Villareal.

[Guest]

Is this field for Galaxy/Real Madrid regulation size? It seems like it's 15 yards short.

[shnsajax]

Is this field for Galaxy/Real Madrid regulation size? It seems like it's 15 yards short.

 

There really is not a regulation size as there is a range that it has to fall into.

[shnsajax]

Argentina crash out on PK's to Uruguay. Guessing they will fire their HC tomorrow. Somewhere Diego is smiling and crying at the same time.

[chuckywang]

What a freaking ridiculous goal by Cristiano Ronaldo.

[shnsajax]

Imaging what it would be like if the men's team was playing in the final. Pretty sure I would not have slept the night before and would be beyond nervous right now.

[wvcbxl]

Nice start to the game (which is live on Belgian TV, btw)

[squally1313]

Anyone know of any streams (outside of espn3) for those of us horribly unfortunate enough to be stuck at work?

[shnsajax]

Got to finish those. Nice ball by Rapino, best ball striker on this team.

 

My fiance is watching in a pub in Amsterdam. Not sure if they give a damn there?

[Mark Priors Calves]

Tons of chances, no goals.

[Guest]

They're kicking the [expletive] out of Japan right now but just can't finish.

 

Hope it doesn't come back to bite them.

[shnsajax]

Very unlucky for Wambach.

[Guest]

Ugh, just can't finish.

[wvcbxl]

Nice first half, but the US are living dangerously by not putting away any of those chances.