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Ansem

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Posts posted by Ansem

  1. I decided to post this video of Pulisic, by far the best American playing the game today. He's playing at Borussia Dortmund in Bundesliga, Germany 1st division.

    They are playing Monaco from League 1 (France) tomorrow in the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League.

    Monaco lead the serie 3-2 On aggregate.

    Not sure that many Americans knows who is and how important he is for the future of your national program. So there it is.

     

  2. 4 hours ago, Nacre said:

    There is a difference between kids being forced to play a sport in school vs kids playing it at a high level. Growing up in the USA I was forced to play football in school against my will (because it is cheap: you only need a ball and a field) but I never played the sport with my friends for fun until I went to university. We played basketball for fun, so naturally I am much better at basketball than football despite "officially" playing football more often.

    Canadian kids living in colder and snowier environments need to have access to indoor training facilities to train during the winter. That makes it harder for the working class kids to develop. Compare Russian football to Italian football.

    Actually what I meant is that more kids are registered in actual soccer leagues than there are kids registered in hockey leagues in Canada.

    It started during the last decade. It's a mix of :

    •Massive immigration which brings that soccer culture with them like that kid Davies of the Vancouver Whitecaps who made the main roster last year at the age of 15. We're waiting for his passport to start him with the national team. Manchester United and Chelsea are scouting him.

    •middle class/less fortunate families who can't afford to put their kids in hockey programs because it's ridiculously expensive, choose soccer at a much earlier age for their kids. There's a federal tax credits created by the previous Conservatives government for parents who put their kids in sport programs. So for poorer Canadians, cost is virtually nothing as they get their money back.

    •Generational shift: Boomers and X only cared about hockey and Canadian football. This generation is all in about soccer. The victim is the CFL who are seeing a drop in attendance.

    I'm not claiming that as of today, we have a soccer culture nor that we're good as of today, but the future looks bright.

  3. 4 hours ago, Mack_king said:

    Weather has nothing to do with it. Actually more Canadian kids are playing football than hockey.

    They're problem is that their players see little minutes at top level, hence their FA launching a top league.

    Also...their FA neglected the game for decades And tried to copy England in many regards but I think the worse is behind them now.

    They will improve faster than people realize and it already started.

    I'd resume why were bad in this list:

    •Complacency: We were actually an average to ok team up until 1986. We were about equal to the US while having the better record when playing them. The CSA just figured out "don't fix what's not broken". But everyone else got better while we stall.

    •Indifference: Canadians like Americans were indifferent to the domestic game. Americans has NFL, MLB and NBA while we only cared about hockey and CFL. So whatever the CSA was doing, no one cared so they resumed their incompetent management. The 1994 WC changed the US but it didn't trickled down on us.

    •2000: Best team we ever had. We won the World Cup by beating Mexico and Columbia. Most of the players were playing in Europe which explained this era which I will admit was a bit of an anomaly.

    Finished 3rd in 2002. We lost to the USA

    lost to the US again in 2007 but Julian De Guzman was MVP of the tournament.

    Then it went downhill...we became bad then worst.

    •2008- Major League Soccer: MLS was granted permission to operate in Canada by the CSA. It was believed that the NHL model would be replicated for soccer. In hockey, Americans and Canadians are equals in the top league giving opportunities to both sides. Each countries are responsible for the development at lower tier, USA with the NCAA and Canada with the CHL. 

    However, after expending to Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver (top Canadian markets) MLS deemed the Canadian expansion over and severely restricted Canadian players to access the league via their domestic rules not counting Canadians as domestic. This meant very little minutes were played by our players and less than 5% of the league were from here. So we stagnated, unable to improve.

    •2012 Brazil qualifiers: We had a good team and it was believed to be able.to go to Brazil, then the epic collapse happened in San Pedro Sulas in Honduras where we got crushed and eliminated. While the older generation didn't care about soccer, mine did and denounced the CSA incompetency. Everyone got fired and decided to start from scratch.

    •2014 Victor Montagliani: He took over and started the ground work for a division 1 Canadian league and blocked new teams from joining the US system. He started the Canadian bid for 2026 and became CONCACAF president. The grassroots level got a massive overhaul and the English style was deemed obsolete.

    We think we can qualify for Qatar. The new manager wants into have the South American approach to soccer from the bottom up with an emphasis on offensive rather than defense + counter attack. The Canadian Premier League will help deepen our bench while our elites will be the core of the team and better supported.

    This was our 1st game under new management against Scotland and tied. We didn't have our best players so if we can play like that without Larin, Davies, and Tabla, the future looks promising.

    If we can get all our dual citizens playing in Europe to commit to Canada like the Americans did, we'll have increased our chances to make 2022.

  4. 11 hours ago, zekekelso said:

    The USMNT has made it out of the group stage the past two world cups, and three of the last four. While the team is currently is disarray, they are likely to be in position to get out of the group stage in 2022 and 2026. 

    Many team that makes it out of the group stage can win. In a short, single elimination tournament funny things can happen. 

    Right now, we suck. But it would be crazy to write off the US's chances for a tournamebt that far out. The best players on that team may be in junior high now. Or whatever they cal junior high in Germany.

    I think the US version of the 2014 World Cup is as good as its going to get in the current USSF system. They were keeping up with world power teams which surprised everyone. The manager had a lot to do with it.

    However, Klinsmann was not a fan of US homegrown players nor the current system, hence him trying to get dual citizens and others to sign up for the US. 

    The US has a good starting XI but they don't have a deep bench which should be coming from MLS and homegrown players. 

    In the World Cup, you can't win the tournament without a deep bench.

    We'll see what Arena can do so the US can qualify for Russia but there's no margin for errors

  5. 23 minutes ago, Mack_king said:

    But the United States football is very different than the rest of the world, that's why no one believes it possible for the US to win it. 

    You got to start from scratch and build the program from the ground up, from kids starting to kick the ball around all the way to Major League Soccer. By doing that, you instaure an identity and overall style of play. That's how Germany was able to completely rebuild their program. 

    Injecting more money in MLS and attracting stars in the twilight of their career doesn't bring the US any closer to a World Cup. As a matter of fact, most of the US recent success is due to Klinsmann coming to the exact same conclusion.

    The talent in the United States isn't good or deep enough. So Klinsmann traveled the world and found as many footballers  playing in top leagues that were eligible to a US passport or dual citizens as he could and signed them up. US born players performing in European league provided a solid base to support them. That's how the US we're able to ascend to the level they are now.

    Don't get me wrong, the USA is a good team but not an elite team. Pulisic is a jewel for the the US team and undeniably their best prospect for the near future, However, if Messi or Ronaldo, even Neymar can't win a World Cup for their country, it proves the importance of the whole team needing to be elite players. USA has an elite player in Pulisic and perhaps Bradley but not at the other positions.

    I have no doubt that the US can one day be a contender but it won't be in 9 years. If you saw the last world cup, Germany and Argentina were by far the better teams and I assure you they have elite superstars at every positions. For the United States to build such a team takes time and a great program, believe me, its still a work in progress in England.

    We have the superior league compared to France and Italy, but they've been consistently better in international tournaments than us. It's a source of frustration to us since tradition seems to overrides reasons in the minds of those running the English program.

    In regards to the Confederation cup, best not to take it that seriously. Countries don't always send their best players to that tournament, hence FIFA wanting to replace it with a 32 team Club World Cup.

    As for Leicester City, I apologize but we can't compare club level and national team. They function too differently. 

     

    To echo what you meant by the grassroots level needing to work efficiently to get a national team to perform

    Yikes....Bradley being an average midfielder...Glad I'm not the one saying it but most experts would agree.

    But I will admit that the will to be good at soccer is there for the US and that since around 1990. They have been better than us ever since while we used to be equals in the past. They've shown more commitment and resolve towards the game than us Canadians.

    We only started to show the same commitment to soccer around 2014 right after the last world cup when we finally got someone competent to run the CSA. What's your take on the matter?

  6. 8 hours ago, intoronto said:

    USA winning the World Cup admittedly but not be likely, but its not out of the realm of possibility either.

    It is. I saw them play during Copa America. They are far from Argentina's league, nor Columbia level either.

    Until they dominate CONCACAF decisively, it won't happen.

    And no, not happening within the next 9 years

  7. 4 minutes ago, Quaker2001 said:

    I said it in 2010 that there's something to be said about a nice long lead-up to a World Cup, especially in a country like the United States that could use it for a stronger grass roots effort to find players for that home soil World Cup.  Yea, we're not winning anything in 2026, but if you're soccer playing teenager in the US right now, that's a great thing to set your sights on 9 years from now (assuming it happens)

    Being in the world cup alone is everything for a footballer. Messi and Ronaldo haven't won it either.

    I think the US national team peaked in 2014 in Brazil. That's the best team we'll see for a long time...I think

  8. 1 minute ago, Quaker2001 said:

    That's hilarious that Arena thinks he can accomplish something the U.S. has never done before.  Maybe Canada can aspire to do the same thing and score a single goal in a World Cup, which they've never done before..

    2j5kxld.jpg

    Lol! I'm capable of admitting that we aren't winning the world cup in my lifetime. The 2000 Gold Cup was the peak of the program where we won it by beating Mexico and Columbia.

    Unfortunately we've been all in hockey the entire time up until recently.

    As for Arena, I like his optimism 

  9. 6 minutes ago, FYI said:

    Projecting, are you? And you're such a fu@king hypocrite, when you've derailed the L.A. 2024 OLYMPIC bid thread with your world cup drivel over there. You NEVER bring anything productive to the conversation & it certainly hasn't been "fun". It's actually trolls like you (& Truff, & your new "buddy" over here) that ruin these boards, & obviously others have seen it, too.. But I digress, cuz I'm not sinking myself to your level any longer. And I don't want to see you later. :P

    Yeah...just get out of here and go make more claim like how Barcelona didn't exist until the Olympics came into town... Dumbest thing I've read all year. Go save face somewhere else 

    • Like 1
  10. 1 minute ago, Mack_king said:

    What is it with you two?

    First of all, you two are clearly off topic and hijacking this thread to belittle another person regarding another topic from another thread. Why not messaging that person to join you on the other thread instead of having petty exchanges here in a thread that has nothing to do with the World Cup?

    Second, FYI made a very incomplete statement which is still wrong due to lack of context. Did Barcelona had to go through rougher parts of their history? Of course but which city didn't? Even London did. Was Barcelona always a touristic destination? No it wasn't. Did the Olympic changed Barcelona forever? Absolutely. This is what I mean by context which opens the door to people challenges if there are none. If Barcelona wasn't on the map then no one knew Atlanta before the Olympics out side of America. Barcelona might not have been on the map for Americans, but it was for Europe.

    So we established that FYI was right within the appropriate context and not in general. Is that good? Can we stop now and go back on topic?

    Thank you

    I'll stay on topic

    Seriously, UK should bid for 2030. What's your take on the 2026 World Cup format?

  11. 12 minutes ago, FYI said:

    ^It's the general consesus that the Olympics is what brought Barcelona to the world stage. It was an industrial backwater before 1986 (when they won the 1992 bid). Now Barcelona has even overtaken Madrid, as far as attracting more tourists.

    Which is why for more than a decade, Madrid was so eager to stage an Olympics of their own (with three failed bid attempts), so they could get back some of their flare that their Catalonian neighbors took away from them. It's also been the topic of debate here before. 

    If you want to disagree, go right ahead. But CITE your reasons, like a mature individual, instead of resorting to "childish" (as you've called them before) & meaningless, empty memes. Cuz that does nothing for your credibilty (which you have very, very little ofTBW), & furthers YOUR "ignorance".

    There's more to life than "Olympics". As for me citing reasons why you're dead wrong (ignorant really), I suggest you try a book...wikipedia isn't a bad place to start.

  12. 4 minutes ago, FYI said:

    That doesn't suggest "might" or "possibility". It demonstrates more of a certainty. And if it was more of a passive thought that you're saying now that it is, then you wouldn't have said it in the first place. Especially after the rest of the bombastic claims that followed after that. And I'm not nitpicking anymore than you are.

    Nagging is highly unattractive... just saying

    4 minutes ago, FYI said:

    Then it would be an easier endeavor for Toronto to bid at the same time than it is for L.A.

    Toronto won't get the chance if L.A are given 2028 since there won't be a bidding process

    6 minutes ago, FYI said:

    Toronto lost 2008 bcuz it was simply 1/5 of humanity's turn, aka China, plain & simple. And no amount of study done on Toronto's part after the fact is going to reflect on that. The margin of loss was too great to simply dismiss the failure bcuz Toronto was a very young & new city entirely.

    Yes, you're more of an expert than those who did the report...Ok and I see you clearly missed the part where I highlighted the core of why Toronto's bid was bad.

    8 minutes ago, FYI said:

    And as a matter of fact, back in 2001 for the 2008 race, many in the Toronto camp would argue that those attributes were actually a plus for the city's bid.

    They were obviously wrong and were humbled, rightfully so. Some of them were idiots starting by then mayor Mel Lastman

    9 minutes ago, FYI said:

    Plus, let's not forget that Atlanta, speaking of other very young & new cities entirely, was able to pull off the nearly impossible, & clench an Olympic Games (a race where Toronto was also competing against).

    90s Toronto was behind Montreal in many regards. Granted I lived in Montreal at the time but no one believed they stood a chance back then. Toronto was way too small with no identity or a clue with what to do with themselves

    10 minutes ago, FYI said:

    So no, I don't buy into that argument, especially when many cities beforehand have used the Olympic Games to catapult their city's infrastructure, i.e. Barcelona, Sydney, Athens, & even Beijing did a massive makeover.

    Outside of perhaps Beijing, those city were already established. Granted they doubled down thanks to the Olympics, Toronto was nowhere near those cities in term of notoriety, history, importance and infrastructure. Montreal was by far the most famous Canadian city circa the 1996 bid era. So yes, Toronto wasn't ready for such an event from a city planning point of view and on top of that, their bids were done badly. I personally never believed they stood a chance against Beijing who virtually had unlimited funds, which Toronto didn't have. The report was meant to see why Toronto's bid was bad which is a big reason why they lost.

  13. 2 minutes ago, Quaker2001 said:

    Sure it is.  And there's no possible way this post could have implied that LA would lose 2024, not return for 2028, thus leaving the door open for Toronto.  You can go off on FYI for selective reading, but you can't deny that you said this and expect the rest of us to know what you were talking about.  Common sense doesn't always apply on these boards.

    I'm also sure that I've said a L.A vs Toronto bid would be interesting to compare both cities. L.A not returning for 2028 was said by the L.A organizers themselves, so I wasn't speculating, merely quoting them, thus L.A not being awarded 2028 outright would open the door to Toronto. That's just logic and a no brainer

    You're taking 1 single post without the rest of the context...

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