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South American football is more unpredictable and old fashioned in a good way, i would advice you to give the Argentinian and Mexican league a watch if they were easier to access rather than the European leagues. Let's just say that the former are a little like European football used to be before the sport started becoming considered mostly as a business
Yeah, those games tend to be much more exciting. Even one of the commentators is well known in the US for his energetic shouting GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAL! whenever anyone scores. There's a nice, often heated rivalry between Mexico and Argentina too.
Soccer will be the 3rd most popular sport in a decade or two.
I believe that is a possibility, but is likely a stretch. I can't imagine it eclipsing american football or basketball in my lifetime, but if baseball continues to decline, soccer could possibly catch it in popularity in a couple decades. Baseball is very ingrained in USA culture with lots of media support, so while I feel our culture is changing it is still a climb to eclipse baseball. I always thought hockey would grow much bigger and it hasn't, so I think it may be at or near its peak. Either way, soccer is a future major sport in the USA.
It's something that doesn't bother me but it's interesting to discuss the reasons around it or just simply sports given that most people in the sport section are American whereas here the composition is obviously a bit more varied
1. Diving isn't considered an integral part of the sport but there are times that players resort to such strategies. That can't be denied and it's something that shows mostly in moment of struggling or desperation, if the referee is decent enough, then he dishes out a warning or a yellow at the first dive. Aside from that, diving seems something that's quite common in most contact sports although to varying degrees
2. It depends, it's something i haven't noticed
3. They are employing skill, it's just that scoring a goal from 30 or more meters out isn't easy and if you had ever played football you would notice. It's like trying a 3 pointer, a professional player would be able to do it much more often than you would have and skills show in one's consistency of being able to do that. Aside from that, it really depends, sometimes the opposite team's defense is set so well that players have no choice
4. You are right but the main difference i see is that while commercialized the sport hasn't hit the highs of American sports yet. The problem is that it will given that it looks at them as a positive example from a commercial standpoint.
5. That's mostly a USA thing
6. You are right, no one is forcing you. USA not using Fahrenheit, having imperialistic views or politics who are too shifted towards liberalism/conservativism is more concerning to me
Second time I've seen that posted in this thread. Why do you (or anyone else) care if we use Fahrenheit? I don't get it.
Oh thanks but i think that even Slovakia has more chances than us nowadays
We will know who's called up tonight but we'll be lacking our two main midfielders, Verratti and Marchisio and we'll struggle playing quality possession football. At this point, i guess doing it the traditional Italian way (parking the bus, counterattacking and getting on everyone's nerves ) is the only way to get the job done
Hope Croatia (they play good football and they have quality players in midfield), Albania and Iceland (underdogs) can have good showings
Doesn't Italy need a few goals to advance? Okay, that's a little joke, I just feel they are super weak with the attack right now. I don't know where they are going to get goals...maybe set pieces.
. At this point, i guess doing it the traditional Italian way (parking the bus, counterattacking and getting on everyone's nerves ) is the only way to get the job done
I've always *wanted* to support Italy in FIFA and Euro, but I can't bring myself to do it because I simply HATE the way they play.
It's like anti-football.
It's not the way you'd expect a people like the Italians to play this sport.
Doesn't Italy need a few goals to advance? Okay, that's a little joke, I just feel they are super weak with the attack right now. I don't know where they are going to get goals...maybe set pieces.
Then again few people expected Brazil to lose by 6 goals to an overrated European squad...football is game of surprises.
Are you suggesting that 'World Champions' Germany are somehow 'overrated'?
You kinda missed my point: they were "forgotten" and then proved people wrong. Just like Italy and Spain in the years before.
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) is the only way to get the job done
