OT: World Cup of Soccer and General Soccer Talk

ClassLessCoyote

Staying classy
Jun 10, 2009
30,112
277
Let's see how this thread goes seeing there is plenty of interest to talk about soccer on this board.
The World Cup starts on June 12 and ends on July 13th.
Discuss this anything else related to soccer here as well.


Go Team USA but pretty much everyone is not expecting them to go far even if Landon Donavan wasn't snubbed.

4752585168_383f519e00_z.jpg


usa-625-10.jpg
 

doaner

Registered User
Aug 21, 2008
5,397
359
SURPRISE!
Considering it's the most popular sport in the world, yes! And thank you for making such a great contribution. :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm:

You're most welcome! I do it cuz you always get your panties in a wad over something so small. Just learn to relax a bit bro!
 

SweYote

Registered User
Jun 7, 2011
1,790
12
Lund, Sweden
My Group Stage Predictions:

1. Brazil
2. Mexico
----------------
3. Croatia
4. Cameroon

1. Netherlands
2. Spain
----------------
3. Chile
4. Australia

1. Ivory Coast
2. Colombia
----------------
3. Japan
4. Greece

1. England
2. Uruguay
----------------
3. Italy
4. Costa Rica

1. France
2. Switzerland
----------------
3. Honduras
4. Ecuador

1. Argentina
2. Nigeria
----------------
3. Bosnia and Herzegovina
4. Iran

1. Germany
2. USA
----------------
3. Portugal
4. Ghana

1. Belgium
2. Russia
----------------
3. South Korea
4. Algeria
 
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moosemeister

5,000 strong
Feb 15, 2010
9,642
10,837
Mesa, Arizona
Rooting for my homeland of Japan, as usual. Haven't seen them get out of the first round since they've co-hosted with Korea.

Hopefully Pikachu is on our side!
 

Vip

Coyotes/Cardinals/Jazz/RSL
Jul 25, 2010
14,460
257
I don't know much about soccer at all as far as the players go. The only USA player I know of is Sean Donovan. He got snubbed. That can't be good.
 

ClassLessCoyote

Staying classy
Jun 10, 2009
30,112
277
I don't know much about soccer at all as far as the players go. The only USA player I know of is Sean Donovan. He got snubbed. That can't be good.

Even to this day I'm always finding something new to learn about in this game, even on the little things and the terminology. A soccer field is called a pitch. Offsides in soccer is determined more not based on a line(like in hockey) rather if one or more of your players is beyond the last defender of the opponent in attack at the time the ball is moved in forward motion for a pass or a shot on goal I believe.
 

Vip

Coyotes/Cardinals/Jazz/RSL
Jul 25, 2010
14,460
257
I really like the idea of offsides in soccer. I believe a offense player cannot pass the last defense player until the ball has passed that player. It's a really neat concept. Imagine that in hockey. No more breakaways hardly. Breakaways would be purely based on the players speed and getting around that defender.
 

SweYote

Registered User
Jun 7, 2011
1,790
12
Lund, Sweden
Offsides in soccer is determined more not based on a line(like in hockey) rather if one or more of your players is beyond the last defender of the opponent in attack at the time the ball is moved in forward motion for a pass or a shot on goal I believe.

Great explanation and practically correct. However technically (get ready for some offside trivia not even every soccer player knows...) a player that is not past the last defender can be offside if the goalkeeper has moved beyond the last defender and the attacker which then would mean the goalkeeper becomes the point where the offside line would be drawn from. This is because the rulebook doesn't differentiate between goalkeepers and defenders for the offside rule.

Here's a video of that rare case:

Oh, and also you can't be offside on your own side of the field.
 
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awfulwaffle

Registered User
Jun 20, 2011
11,842
1,870
Dallas, TX
Even to this day I'm always finding something new to learn about in this game, even on the little things and the terminology. A soccer field is called a pitch. Offsides in soccer is determined more not based on a line(like in hockey) rather if one or more of your players is beyond the last defender of the opponent in attack at the time the ball is moved in forward motion for a pass or a shot on goal I believe.

Did you know you can't use your hands in soccer?
 

XX

Waiting for Ishbia
Dec 10, 2002
54,886
14,502
PHX
I don't know much about soccer at all as far as the players go. The only USA player I know of is Sean Donovan. He got snubbed. That can't be good.

His name is Landon Donovan and no, he didn't get snubbed. He quit on the US Soccer program for awhile. Literally quit. Then he expected the staff to not hold this against him, or for his teammates to not resent him. They do and he wasn't brought for a reason.
 

BUX7PHX

Registered User
Jul 7, 2011
5,581
1,350
Group D has been thrown into some level of chaos with the injury to Suarez. And England may have a tougher time getting out of that group if Suarez is indeed healthy. England always seems to play down a little bit relative to talent level, so I'd go with Uruguay and Italy there.

Group C is interesting, as I feel like these teams are the most evenly matched top-to-bottom. I could see Greece playing lights out defensively and sneaking past the group stage.

Group F - Bosnia is a dangerous team that few people know about. A lot of skill there. Argentina is good, but I am not convinced that Nigeria is strong enough.

I simply can't see the U.S. getting out of the group stage. Too many quality teams in their group. Ghana is an incredible team. Two of the top 4 teams that don't make it past the group stages will be from Group G (Chile in Group B and England in Group D are the 2 remaining best teams to not make it to the knockout rounds)

Group A
1. Brazil
2. Mexico
3. Croatia
4. Cameroon

Group B
1. Spain
2. Netherlands
3. Chile
4. Australia

Group C
1. Colombia
2. Greece
3. Cote d'Ivoire
4. Japan

Group D
1. Italy
2. Uruguay
3. England
4. Costa Rica

Group E - another real interesting group, with no true "favorite"
1. France
2. Ecuador
3. Switzerland
4. Honduras

Group F
1. Argentina
2. Bosnia/Herzegovina
3. Nigeria
4. Iran

Group G
1. Portugal
2. Germany
3. Ghana
4. U.S.A.

Group H
1. Belgium
2. Russia
3. Algeria
4. South Korea
 

Karlkarotte

Registered User
Jul 24, 2013
177
0
Group D has been thrown into some level of chaos with the injury to Suarez. And England may have a tougher time getting out of that group if Suarez is indeed healthy. England always seems to play down a little bit relative to talent level, so I'd go with Uruguay and Italy there.

Group C is interesting, as I feel like these teams are the most evenly matched top-to-bottom. I could see Greece playing lights out defensively and sneaking past the group stage.

Group F - Bosnia is a dangerous team that few people know about. A lot of skill there. Argentina is good, but I am not convinced that Nigeria is strong enough.

I simply can't see the U.S. getting out of the group stage. Too many quality teams in their group. Ghana is an incredible team. Two of the top 4 teams that don't make it past the group stages will be from Group G (Chile in Group B and England in Group D are the 2 remaining best teams to not make it to the knockout rounds)

Group A
1. Brazil
2. Mexico
3. Croatia
4. Cameroon

Group B
1. Spain
2. Netherlands
3. Chile
4. Australia

Group C
1. Colombia
2. Greece
3. Cote d'Ivoire
4. Japan

Group D
1. Italy
2. Uruguay
3. England
4. Costa Rica

Group E - another real interesting group, with no true "favorite"
1. France
2. Ecuador
3. Switzerland
4. Honduras

Group F
1. Argentina
2. Bosnia/Herzegovina
3. Nigeria
4. Iran

Group G
1. Portugal
2. Germany
3. Ghana
4. U.S.A.

Group H
1. Belgium
2. Russia
3. Algeria
4. South Korea

I think Switzerland and France are pretty much locks. Switzerland will be surprisingly good I bet for most people. They won the junior World Cup in Nigeria 4 years ago and a lot of those guys are on the big team now.
 

BUX7PHX

Registered User
Jul 7, 2011
5,581
1,350
I think Switzerland and France are pretty much locks. Switzerland will be surprisingly good I bet for most people. They won the junior World Cup in Nigeria 4 years ago and a lot of those guys are on the big team now.

Agreed, but the U-20 World Cup still means that a lot of those players are between 20 and 24 right now. Good that the Swiss won, but that doesn't necessarily translate out to winning their group, even if the youth is getting more time.

I could easily see the Swiss drawing in each of their matches. In that case, all it takes is for France and Ecuador both to beat Honduras, and the Swiss are out of it. As good as the Swiss are at defending, they have to be very successful on the counter-attack. With the exception of France, the other sides have quite a high level of speed in their game, which could off-set any counters. A little different from Group C - Greece is the defensive side, but their opponents do not have quite as much speed (save for maybe Colombia).
 

Summer Rose

Red Like Roses
Sponsor
May 3, 2012
90,732
20,425
Gainesville, Florida
Even to this day I'm always finding something new to learn about in this game, even on the little things and the terminology. A soccer field is called a pitch. Offsides in soccer is determined more not based on a line(like in hockey) rather if one or more of your players is beyond the last defender of the opponent in attack at the time the ball is moved in forward motion for a pass or a shot on goal I believe.

Great explanation and practically correct. However technically (get ready for some offside trivia not even every soccer player knows...) a player that is not past the last defender can be offside if the goalkeeper has moved beyond the last defender and the attacker which then would mean the goalkeeper becomes the point where the offside line would be drawn from. This is because the rulebook doesn't differentiate between goalkeepers and defenders for the offside rule.

Here's a video of that rare case:

Oh, and also you can't be offside on your own side of the field.


It's also measured from the time the ball was kicked (i.e. the pass was made). And, you can be in an offside position but not actually be guilty of offside if you're not interfering with the play. One can argue if you're not interfering with the play, what the hell are you doing on the field, but this covers cases like Landon Donovan's goal against Algeria, where an attacking player shot the ball, it was saved by the keeper, and Landon Donovan sprinted in and smashed the rebound into the back of the net. His teammate was in front of the ball and past all defenders, but he wasn't "interfering with the play" so wasn't offside.
 

Desert Ice 11

Yoooooo
Aug 9, 2012
3,431
35
Tempe
Soccer is barely above golf and right below NASCAR on the watch list...Sorry but its boring. Can't even watch the highlights without a yawn..plus all the highlights look the same. Just different jerseys.
 

XX

Waiting for Ishbia
Dec 10, 2002
54,886
14,502
PHX
Soccer is barely above golf and right below NASCAR on the watch list...Sorry but its boring. Can't even watch the highlights without a yawn..plus all the highlights look the same. Just different jerseys.

Good soccer isn't boring at all.

And the different jerseys comment is just silly. You could say the same for hockey.
 

ClassLessCoyote

Staying classy
Jun 10, 2009
30,112
277
Great explanation and practically correct. However technically (get ready for some offside trivia not even every soccer player knows...) a player that is not past the last defender can be offside if the goalkeeper has moved beyond the last defender and the attacker which then would mean the goalkeeper becomes the point where the offside line would be drawn from. This is because the rulebook doesn't differentiate between goalkeepers and defenders for the offside rule.

Here's a video of that rare case:

Oh, and also you can't be offside on your own side of the field.


It's also measured from the time the ball was kicked (i.e. the pass was made). And, you can be in an offside position but not actually be guilty of offside if you're not interfering with the play. One can argue if you're not interfering with the play, what the hell are you doing on the field, but this covers cases like Landon Donovan's goal against Algeria, where an attacking player shot the ball, it was saved by the keeper, and Landon Donovan sprinted in and smashed the rebound into the back of the net. His teammate was in front of the ball and past all defenders, but he wasn't "interfering with the play" so wasn't offside.

My god, offsides in soccer in more complex than I thought.

Soccer is barely above golf and right below NASCAR on the watch list...Sorry but its boring. Can't even watch the highlights without a yawn..plus all the highlights look the same. Just different jerseys.

Soccer is definitely 1 of those sports that's really more subjective to the individual than other sports as far as watching or playing is concerned. Sports like tennis, curling, and golf IMO are meant more for playing than watching. Soccer I enjoy more watching than playing though the common idea about soccer is just like hockey in that watching it in person is much better than on TV. I couldn't place soccer below Auto Racing. I tried getting into Auto Racing but I couldn't considering the negative stereotypes about the sport appear to be alive and well with little being down about it.
 
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Bondurant

Registered User
Jul 4, 2012
6,395
5,727
Phoenix, Arizona
I've been hit with football fever. I finished a Panini album and working on a second. I've been attending sticker swaps at a Colombian restaurant in Mesa. Finished the online album as well. My group predictions:

Group A
1. Brazil
2. Croatia
3. Cameroon
4. Mexico

Group B
1. Chile
2. Netherlands
3. Spain
4. Australia

Group C
1. Colombia
2. Japan
3. Cote D'Ivoire
4. Greece

Group D
1. Uruguay
2. Italy
3. England
4. Costa Rica

Group E
1. Ecuador
2. France
3. Switzerland
4. Honduras

Group F
1. Argentina
2. Bosnia & Herzegovina
3. Nigeria
4. Iran

Group G
1. Germany
2. USA
3. Portugal
4. Ghana

Group H
1. Belgium
2. South Korea
3. Russia
4. Algeria
 

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