Anyone here follows the beautiful game? I follow the English League mainly, but the Spanish League is full of great players as well.
It may get a tad boring at times (especially when 2 defensive-minded teams match up against each other) compared to basketball for example, but at it's best, football is probably unrivaled in its entertainment value.
I can't wait for the World Cup in Germany next year!
As an American, I really hope the US team gets further than we did last time around. It'll be an especially entertaining rematch if we face off against the host country.
The US is in a tough but interesting group, good luck! I don't really know much about the US team though, except for Freddy Adu, and a few who play in the EPL, like Tim Howard and Brad Friedel.
My country is not even in the finals, and we'll have to do alot of work before we can even dream of getting there.
I AM FROM EVERYWHERE AND NOWHERE!
Being a sports fan is about the most pathetic hobby that can possibly be imagined.
Being a critic of other people's hobbies is even more pathetic.
What are some the predictions for the world cup? I am picking Holland to win for some reson this time even though the Dutch always seem to collapse. It is going to be interesting to see if Korea and Japan can repeat their performances from last time.
How about a skeptic. Doesn't a hobby require action? I can see collecting sports memorabilia as a hobby, but does fandom in and of itself count as a hobby? No criticism intended to the idea of being a sports fan.
I Been watching MLS here in the US and the Mexican Football League. For the MLS am a Fire Fan since I live in Chicago (Also their new Home is just mins away from my house) and for the Mexicans I like Guadalajara. For the World Cup am going for the US.
England are going to win the 2006 World Cup. It's destiny. I myself would say that coming from England but meh. I support Liverpool and everyone else should too! ;)
2002 WC was fantastic. I was really touched by the Korean team's performance and I almost cried when I saw Bak Ji-sung score against Portugal and then jump into Hiddink's arms
Alot of people were complaining that the refs were being too unfair to everyone except the Koreans, but I don't believe it at all. The Korean's own hard work is what won those games, and it was really inspirational to see what they accomplished (beating Poland, USA, Portugal, Spain, Italy and giving Turkey and Germany a good game is not easy feat for any team)
Now, Guus Hiddink looks like he might repeat his miracle with the Australian national team while the Koreans recieved another Dutch coach, Dick Advocaat. Individually, the Koreans are doing very well. Bak Ji-sung is playing for ManU and Lee Yung-pyo is also playing in Europe.
For 2006 Germany, I really want Holland to win. I've loved the Dutch in football since I was little. All of my favorite players are Dutch - Cryuff, Van Basten, Van Nistlerooy. I really hope they do well this year.
The Koreans really impressed me in 2002, but I hope the Dutch impress me even more in 2006
Lee Yung-Pyo plays for Tottenham Hotspur in England.
I just don't see the Netherlands winning it. I'm sorry but to me they don't have enough best of the best players in their current squad. Especially with Van Basten being a new coach and reluctant to pick people like Davids or Hasselbaink. Alot of people here obviously want them to win but to me their best chance is quater or semi finals at the very most. With Brazil again looking strong, France pulling all their previous winners out of retirement and Germany being the hosts I think we're in for a good tournament this year. I'm especially interested to see how far the USA have come this time round. Japan and Korea are dark horses noone should write off, but realistically the main contenders are: Brazil, Argentina, Germany, England, Italy, France, Spain (if they ever play to the sum of their parts and IF Raul recovers in time). Dark horses are Austrialia (Hiddink Magic), S.Korea and Japan, Holland.
It's funny but this is the first time I would say that the Dutch team just isn't good enough to win the world cup.
Van Basten knows what he's doing, let's have some faith (・∀・)
England are going to win it. Gerrard, Lampard, Terry, Carragher, Owen, Rooney, Beckham, Finally they've got a top end side.
How the heck do you keep track of all the leagues and what clubs belong to each league? Are there any "majors" like the NFL/NHL/MLB?
Yes. the American League is called Major League Soccer (Imaginative Isn't it? :) )
I know alot about football thanks quite a bit to a game called Football Manager (Formerly Championship Manager) and called World Soccer Manager elsewhere in the world. It has a massive database of leagues, clubs, players, staff etc. That and football is nearly a 24/7 hobby here in the UK, avoiding it is pretty hard.
I heard of it, Is their a download of it somewhere on the internet? How's the gameplay in the the game, is it easy for the causal Football fan to get in or do you have to be a Hardcore Football freak to play it?
No real need to be Hardcore fan since you can even play the game with no real player names. That said, playing it with official names does help your knowledge. Dunno about a download as it's a pretty big game. It's nearly all text based though it does have a 2D match engine so you can watch the game. You don't have to know alot about the players as they're conveniently broken down into stats numbers for you. e.g Ronaldinho has a Shooting rating of 19. (20 being best and 1 being worst). It's quite slow paced and you can take all the time you need devising your own tactics etc, the game even has a load of presets to help you get started.
Be warned however that it is extremely likely this game will take over your life and lead to you being an utter shut in for many weeks afterwards.
The Koreans didn't cheat. The ref made some dumb calls, but that wasn't their fault
Their 4th place finish wasn't a fluke, and that is obvious when you look at how well their players have done in Europe and on their recent international friendlies
They are a good team, and there's no denying that
>>21
I really don't think it was a coincidence the refs in ALL korean games made huge mistakes, favoring them.
Besides their game vs Italy, I don't remember any huge mistakes
JAPAN!!!
>>23
The game vs spain????????? TWO disallowed goals???? Korean goalkeeper not staying on the goal line during the penalty shootouts??!?!?!?
Argentina FTW!
Messi > *
U r u g u ay
>>27
no u
B R A Z I LLLLLL!!!!
England kicked Uruguay's arses. 2-1. We're going to win the world cup!
Football Manager 2006 will take over your life if you start to play it.
And I doubt England will win it all...just a hunch...but I'll be surprised if they don't make it to the semis. Brazil will probably take it...Ronaldinho, Kaka, Adriano...even with Ronaldo in his slump now they're better than anyone else.
As for Holland, things aren't looking good at the moment with van Nistelrooy seemingly having problems at Man Utd.
En-ger-laaanddd! ≧▽≦
>>31
With the Coca Cola Corporation* behind us, we can do anything.
>>31
I feel kinda bad for him; everyone's expecting so much. I can't believe they booed him as he was getting substituted today.
france deserved to win !!
one of the first phrases i could say when i was a kid was:
Maradona runs... Maradona goals! byaaaayayaya
Favorite team argentina. I only follow the world cup.
World Cup was great!!
It's easier for me to follow, I'm not a guy.