Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2006 11:46:01 GMT -5
Already there is a lot to talk about with regards to the next WC:
- Will South Africa be ready? Apparently they are way behind schedule with regards to improved infrastructure, additional stadiums, and so forth. Will FIFA fully develop/actually consider using contingency plans that call for taking the Cup to The States? Back to Germany which did such a fantastic job this time around?
- Next US coach - see other thread.
- What big names have we seen the last of? Obviously Zidane, how about Beckham? Ronaldo? Reyna (had to throw him on there)?
- Which rising stars will dominate and make their side the favorite?
- Will the most hyped player in the history of American soccer - Freddy Adu - even be on the team?!
|
|
hifigator
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 6,387
|
Post by hifigator on Jul 15, 2006 12:06:35 GMT -5
I am not a huge soccer fan, but one thing that I want to do at some point in my life is go to the World Cup soccer matches. I seriously doubt I will be able to swing South Africa unless some drastic monetary changes occur in my life in the next four years. But if the opportunity arises ...
|
|
SFHoya99
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
Posts: 17,774
|
Post by SFHoya99 on Jul 15, 2006 12:29:08 GMT -5
Apparently, Adu has been playing MUCH better this year, though on a dominant team. Anyone in DC see him much?
As much as he has been somewhat of a bust, what is readily apparent about the US team (and many World Cup teams is that we have enough talent to compete but we simply do not have ANY offensive firepower. Just one truly world class striker or midfielder would have made this cup completely different, I think.
|
|
Cambridge
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Canes Pugnaces
Posts: 5,303
|
Post by Cambridge on Jul 15, 2006 14:51:42 GMT -5
The only midfielder of worth was Mastroeni. He played a superb game against Italy and was the only real spark offensively and through the middle. That red card against him was the most bogus and obvious match fix I've ever seen. He had just ripped a screamer from the 18 that missed the upper corner by inches and on the very next play he gets an instant red for a slide tackle.
|
|
SFOHoya
Silver Hoya (over 500 posts)
Posts: 500
|
Post by SFOHoya on Jul 15, 2006 16:31:29 GMT -5
Adu's allegiance is up in the air. He has said he might play for Ghana (where he was born).
|
|
Joe Hoya
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
You're watching Sports Night on CSC, so stick around.
Posts: 1,236
|
Post by Joe Hoya on Jul 15, 2006 16:50:01 GMT -5
Claudio Reyna already announced his retirement from international play. Considering that he'll be 36, there will be a new system with the new coach, and his history of injuries, I don't think he'll be going back on that.
|
|
|
Post by StPetersburgHoya (Inactive) on Jul 15, 2006 22:12:20 GMT -5
Adu is really good offesively - saw his talent on full display against Celtic FC. He needs to improve his ability to play defense - if he can soundly tackle people will not believe that his size is a liability.
Also if Peter Novac gets the US job you can bet that Adu will play for the USA.
|
|
FLHoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Proud Member of Generation Burton
Posts: 4,544
|
Post by FLHoya on Jul 16, 2006 0:31:35 GMT -5
Also if Peter Novac gets the US job you can bet that Adu will play for the USA. 007's gonna kill you for that spelling. He's not Czech. It's NOWAK.
|
|
FLHoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Proud Member of Generation Burton
Posts: 4,544
|
Post by FLHoya on Jul 16, 2006 0:36:20 GMT -5
Already there is a lot to talk about with regards to the next WC: - Will South Africa be ready? Apparently they are way behind schedule with regards to improved infrastructure, additional stadiums, and so forth. Will FIFA fully develop/actually consider using contingency plans that call for taking the Cup to The States? Back to Germany which did such a fantastic job this time around? I read an interesting article on the subject recently (but sadly can't remember where so I could link it). South Africa is pledging that they're gonna be ready for 2010. But there's an interesting problem. South Korea is experiencing a situation where...they built all these nice, big, almost exclusively brand new, ultra-modern stadia for WC 2002. And now...well, they don't have much of a big-time domestic league or anything else to put in the stadiums, so they're sitting there unused. They are also rather expensive to maintain. South Africa faces a similar situation with a very undeveloped domestic league with paltry attendance and few teams. There may be a possibility (I suppose) of putting rugby clubs in some stadiums built for the WC, but that may also be a stretch. So what the folks in S. Africa were saying in this article was...we're gonna try to build the stadiums so they're okay but not great for the WC. No behemoths with large capacity, no ultra-modern/futuristic stuff. Just utilitarian, unspectacular stuff that they think they can afford to keep/retrofit after the WC. We'll see how/if that goes.
|
|
|
Post by HoyaSinceBirth on Jul 16, 2006 8:04:25 GMT -5
1. I don't want Nowak to leave DC. 2. in regards to S.Africa and not wanting to build the fancy new large stadiums due to lack of a real professional league, shouldn't FIFA have looked at soemthign like this and taken it in to consideration when choosing a site. It really does only make sense to have the WC in a place with a decent domestic league, otherwise what's the incentive to build huge stadiums. I wouldn't be surprised if they moved the cup. Perhaps there's another country in africa with a stronger domestic league that could support this kind of event. Egypt perhaps? I don't know.
On the other hand the attendance is bound to be down at the 2010 WC due to it's location so maybe smaller stadiums won't be that big of a deal. It's pretty far from any of the countries that are likely to qualify.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 16, 2006 10:42:53 GMT -5
2. in regards to S.Africa and not wanting to build the fancy new large stadiums due to lack of a real professional league, shouldn't FIFA have looked at soemthign like this and taken it in to consideration when choosing a site. It really does only make sense to have the WC in a place with a decent domestic league, otherwise what's the incentive to build huge stadiums. I wouldn't be surprised if they moved the cup. Perhaps there's another country in africa with a stronger domestic league that could support this kind of event. Egypt perhaps? I don't know. I'm sure it IS something they looked into... but South Africa was awarded the 2010 WC before South Korea's problems came to be (I'm surprised they haven't converted more of these stadiums into baseball stadiums... lord knows lots of their ballparks are older, Tropicana Field-like dumps). I'm sure South Africa was well into their planning when they realized, "Hey... what happened in Korea could happen here." I'm pretty sure from here on out FIFA is going to make damn sure any potential site for the tourney is going to be COMMITTED to providing the best possible venues, whether through new construction, refurbishings, etc. Which, and I think you're right, makes most sense in nations with existing domestic leagues (or other leagues - i.e. the NFL - with the infrastructure to support massive crowds). On the other hand the attendance is bound to be down at the 2010 WC due to it's location so maybe smaller stadiums won't be that big of a deal. It's pretty far from any of the countries that are likely to qualify. I'm not so sure about that. 32 nations, many amongst the most populous on Earth, shouldn't have a hard time sending fans to these games. People LIVE for this thing, and unless each stadium has a 100,000 seat capacity, I'm pretty sure FIFA won't have a hard time selling tickets.
|
|
|
Post by HoyaSinceBirth on Jul 16, 2006 13:13:44 GMT -5
That's true but large amounts of the crowd are normally made up of locals world cup tickets aren't cheap and I don't know if there's enough support if they don't have that developed of a league or if there are enough people who can afford to buy tickets. I really don't know their situation obviosuly it's better than other parts of africa hwo mcuh better i don't know.Also many people go just to experience the festivities even if they don't have tickets if they're relatively close it's much more fun to watch it on a big screen right outside the stadium than at home i doubt as many people will travel all the way to South Africa just for the atmosphere.
I'm sure they will be able to fill the stadiums in the end thoguh.
|
|
GUHoya07
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 4,083
|
Post by GUHoya07 on Jul 16, 2006 14:08:04 GMT -5
Also if Peter Novac gets the US job you can bet that Adu will play for the USA. 007's gonna kill you for that spelling. He's not Czech. It's NOWAK. wow, yeah...I just opened this thread and I was about to bash him for that spelling, thanks FL, haha.
|
|
miamihoya
Silver Hoya (over 500 posts)
Posts: 698
|
Post by miamihoya on Jul 16, 2006 21:43:57 GMT -5
I'm actually looking forward to seeing a major sporting event happen in Africa....i think its good for to move away from alternating between N. AMerican and Europe for everything. Hopefully South America will be awarded a Cup soon (probablly brazil is the only country capable of handeling it).
|
|
Jack
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 3,411
|
Post by Jack on Jul 17, 2006 8:23:31 GMT -5
I'm actually looking forward to seeing a major sporting event happen in Africa....i think its good for to move away from alternating between N. AMerican and Europe for everything. Hopefully South America will be awarded a Cup soon (probablly brazil is the only country capable of handeling it). Really, the trend for ever and ever has been to alternate European cup hosts with "somewhere else," so that trend would suggest someone like England is probably due for 2014. 2006 Germany 2002 S Korea/Japan 1998 France 1994 US 1990 Italy 1986 Mexico 1982 Spain 1978 Argentina 1974 W. Germany 1970 Mexico 1966 England 1962 Chile 1958 Sweden 1954 Switzerland And then, way back in 1950, Brazil. It does seem as though the cup should return to South America in 2018 if not 2014, and Brazil would be a pretty logical choice, but I don't even know if they are bidding. Regardless, the US should be bidding for it every time. Very few countries have the infrastructure, and FIFA would be nuts not to look at the recent surge in interest and say it was worthwhile to continue to try to grow the game in the states.
|
|