World Soccer

[Typical Lax Dad]

England's Women’s Super League is built on the solid foundation developed by the men's teams over the course of 150-some years; Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur etc. all now have women's teams (unlike 40 years ago, when England's top clubs didn't have women's teams). This gives England's women an amazing physical infrastructure, and a natural fan-base affiliation that the U.S. women lack. Mexican women's soccer is structured pretty much like England's. Will the Mexican women's national team be overtaking the US women's team in the not-so-distant future?

EPL always signed players from the time they are in the early teens. They send them to sports academies and they never see the inside of a high school, let alone a college. Brits, like so many Continentals and internationals, know that college (for the most part) is just a waste of time and money. It has destroyed the career potential of more pro athletic prospects than it has created. Youths in those academies eat, sleep, and drink pro soccer from the time they are teens 24/7/365. Meantime our soccer players have far less practice/learning time because we stupidly send them to college. This is why our men's team gets beaten so easily overseas. Soon this is what is going to happen to our women's team as well.


Re "unlike 40 years ago, when England's top clubs didn't have women's teams" - this explains why our women's team won for so many years. Most countries throughout the world did not have girls/womens soccer or any other form of sports unlike us. All they had was clubs, not varsity sports. Small wonder why we won so readily. But once they adopted the academy level as they did with men's soccer and other sports, they have emerged as soccer super powers. And they will snowball in size and strength. Watch for it in soccer, basketball, and in all other sports.

The USA developing athletes through the college system not only eliminates a lot of talent, but makes it likely that the USWNT has seen their best years as other countries develop theirs women’s game.

There has been a move away from this….slowly. Just as the case for the men….IMO the men were actually better with Dempsey/Donovan era players in some ways….Some of the younger National team players have skipped college. With more opportunities globally, you will see more women take this route. Our issue is training and development at the youth level. We will always have a numbers advantage but good technical training can overcome it. The Spanish women played beautiful football. Passing was excellent…..the US Women recently followed the development program for the men and they actually looked like the men’s team. Hope and a prayer style soccer. People don’t like Rapinoe but she is technically excellent and thinks the game. Weight on passes is excellent and she has good vision. USA Women are cycling through a new era. Some good young players. Need better midfielders. Girma was the best player on the team.

[ardilla secreta]

On Monday Arsenal’s Tomiyasu gets a yellow card for taking 8 seconds for a throw in. Then 7 minutes later gets a 2nd yellow and red for a non existent foul and red card, forcing Arsenal to gut out a result.

A more reasonable response to the throw in would be to just change possession instead of a yellow card. Looks like this is going to be the season of red cards.

[Brooklyn]

Looks like this is going to be the season of red cards.

I have also heard that and don't exactly like it. Yes, I do want to see more yellows for faked injuries but not for failure to throw in on timely basis. Best to just order a turnover for that infraction as you wrote.

Recall how during the Champions League a defensive player faked injury and the offensive player was given a yellow. He protested that he didn't even touch the defender. On review it was clearly shown he never touched the guy. Referee then ordered a play on when he should have given a yellow to the defender who faked an injury. Perhaps it would also be a good idea to use two referees rather than one as the speed of the players has increased so much. I'm sure that a second referee who would have a closer look and may possibly discourage any such nonsense in future matches.

[Brooklyn]

TV viewership of WWC "fell off a cliff":


https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/soccer ... 61fe&ei=23


As attendance at the 2023 Women's World Cup skyrocketed, television viewership for the final in America plummeted.

The official attendance figure of 1,978,274 was a massive increase from the reported attendance of just over 1.1 million at the 2019 Women's World Cup, which is an awesome sign for the growth of women's soccer.

As for the reason U.S. viewership for the final "fell off a cliff," Austin Karp of the Sports Business Journal has some thoughts.

As attendance at the 2023 Women's World Cup skyrocketed, television viewership for the final in America plummeted.

The official attendance figure of 1,978,274 was a massive increase from the reported attendance of just over 1.1 million at the 2019 Women's World Cup, which is an awesome sign for the growth of women's soccer.

As for the reason U.S. viewership for the final "fell off a cliff," Austin Karp of the Sports Business Journal has some thoughts:


No U.S. squad. 6am ET start.




No surprise at all. I really wanted to see the finale but just couldn't drag myself out of bed to watch it. By the time I woke up, it was over. For the life of me, I could not understand why they couldn't delay it for another hour and a half.

[Brooklyn]

USWNT star slams coaching staff for World Cup failure
“The game against Sweden, I don’t think we were necessarily set up to play the way that we played."


https://thecomeback.com/soccer/uswnt-li ... ilure.html



Spain defeated England to win the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup while the United States team watched from home.

It was the first time the women’s team failed to make it to at least the semifinals, having lost in the quarterfinals to Sweden.

The USWNT had a very disappointing tournament in general, which led to manager Vlatko Andonovski resigning from the role last week amidst the criticism.

While plenty of former women’s players have voiced their frustrations with the way the current team played, USWNT star Lindsey Horan has also made it clear that she was not happy with the coaching strategy used during the World Cup.

During her appearance on The RE-CAP Show with former USWNT players Tobin Heath and Christen Press, Horan made her feelings on the situation very clear.

“I made it a point to help Soph Smith as much as possible in this tournament because I think she has a lot of pressure on her back,” Horan said. “I want to make sure she’s in a good place and some of the younger players are in a really good place, because they’re going to have massive roles. And so it was like, could I have done more to help those players? Because I don’t think we got the absolute best out of some of them because of the way that we were set up, and some of the things that we did in the game.”

She added that the game plan against Sweden didn’t make a lot of sense to her.

“The game against Sweden, I don’t think we were necessarily set up to play the way that we played,” Horan said. “That was just us finally coming together and being like, ‘This is what we’re going to do.’ And then it worked and then it’s like, ‘OK, keep doing it.’ Could that have happened earlier? Maybe. It’s a really tough one.”

Horan added that she’s been racking her brain trying to figure out what she could have done to help the U.S. win and maintain its dominance in international play, but felt stifled by the situation.

“Like what the heck could I have done to help or to push our playing style or to push this bravery?” she asked. “And at the end of the day, it’s like you’re set up in a structure to do this. And here’s your opportunity individually, like just go play within the structure.”

It’ll be interesting to see who replaces Andonovski and what their coaching strategy is moving forward.





It's what I said earlier: this team was NOT adequately prepared for the finale. You just cannot pin this on anyone other than the manager and team management.

If it was up to me I'll do as other professional coaches and staffs do: 27* hours of practice per week. No more of this chicken shttt 20 hours during the school year and 8 hours of practice in the off season.

27 hours of field practice per week
2 hours per day in the weight/exercise room (I would include some jiu-jitsu for balance and composure)
daily massage
swim laps
healthy, high energy diets
some road work in high altitude



Heck, I might even include pure oxygen tanks on the sidelines just like they do in American football. Generally one day off per week at most but would allow one day rest after a match. I would encourage my players to use analgesics for topical pain prevention and relief. It would be highly advisable to use a good team counselor in order to promote team morale and to prevent burnout. Lastly, I would employ good scouting techniques to facilitate creation of a good strategy against my opponents.



*https://professionalshq.com/do-professi ... -how-much/

[Seacoaster(1)]

Any of you following this business with the kiss on the lips after Spain won the WWC? The Spanish Football Federation is really something.

[FannOLax]

Any of you following this business with the kiss on the lips after Spain won the WWC? The Spanish Football Federation is really something.

Yes, very poorly handled. Seems that deep-down there are still some very old, "traditional" ideas long espoused by the Catholic church about women... and yes, Rubiales's mom has been praying in a church.

[Kismet]

Any of you following this business with the kiss on the lips after Spain won the WWC? The Spanish Football Federation is really something.

Yes, very poorly handled. Seems that deep-down there are still some very old, "traditional" ideas long espoused by the Catholic church about women... and yes, Rubiales's mom has been praying in a church.

Spain is the place where the Catholic Church ran an Inquisition from 1478 and 1834 (almost 400 years) - so they have a lot of history and experience in this regard.

[ardilla secreta]

Any of you following this business with the kiss on the lips after Spain won the WWC? The Spanish Football Federation is really something.

Yes, very poorly handled. Seems that deep-down there are still some very old, "traditional" ideas long espoused by the Catholic church about women... and yes, Rubiales's mom has been praying in a church.

Spain is the place where the Catholic Church ran an Inquisition from 1478 and 1834 (almost 400 years) - so they have a lot of history and experience in this regard.

Spain is a pretty progressive country and the trend toward secularism is happening fast, especially amongst the youth.

Last year 80.2% of marriages were civil. Twenty years ago it would have been the opposite.

What you have here with the woman’s program in Spain are leaders that fall in the gym teacher, lunkhead type category. Not unlike other countries. They’re now having their me too moment.

[njbill]

Any of you following this business with the kiss on the lips after Spain won the WWC? The Spanish Football Federation is really something.

Yes, very poorly handled. Seems that deep-down there are still some very old, "traditional" ideas long espoused by the Catholic church about women... and yes, Rubiales's mom has been praying in a church.

Now Mom is on a hunger strike. Strange (very strange) but true. Maybe she is allowing herself the wafers they call the body of Christ.

[Seacoaster(1)]

Any of you following this business with the kiss on the lips after Spain won the WWC? The Spanish Football Federation is really something.

Yes, very poorly handled. Seems that deep-down there are still some very old, "traditional" ideas long espoused by the Catholic church about women... and yes, Rubiales's mom has been praying in a church.

Now Mom is on a hunger strike. Strange (very strange) but true. Maybe she is allowing herself the wafers they call the body of Christ.

Maybe slip her a Kit-Kat?

[ardilla secreta]

Any of you following this business with the kiss on the lips after Spain won the WWC? The Spanish Football Federation is really something.

Yes, very poorly handled. Seems that deep-down there are still some very old, "traditional" ideas long espoused by the Catholic church about women... and yes, Rubiales's mom has been praying in a church.

Now Mom is on a hunger strike. Strange (very strange) but true. Maybe she is allowing herself the wafers they call the body of Christ.

Maybe slip her a Kit-Kat?

No no. Make it a Hershey’s Kiss!

[Brooklyn]

Lionel Messi and Inter Miami put on show in a stunning victory over LAFC


https://www.latimes.com/sports/soccer/s ... iami-recap


The buzz began more than 30 minutes before kickoff when the best soccer player in the world led his team on to the field for warm-ups to the flash of hundreds of cellphone cameras.

The Lionel Messi Show had arrived in Los Angeles.

The anticipation continued to build during the pregame introductions, when Messi’s name was met with a roar. And when the game started, the crowd reacted each time he touched the ball.

Part circus and part cultural phenomenon, Messi’s MLS Tour stop at BMO Stadium was the most-hyped game in LAFC history, with the team issuing approximately 350 credentials to media from around the world, about the same number the league handed out for last fall’s epic MLS Cup final at the same venue.

This time the result was different, with Messi contributing assists on the final two goals of a 3-1 victory that left Inter Miami unbeaten in 11 games since the Argentine joined the team six weeks ago. The loss was the second in a row for LAFC, the reigning league champion, which has won just twice in its last nine MLS games to fall to third in the Western Conference table.

“That team is by far the best I’ve played in MLS,” LAFC defender Giorgio Chiellini said of Miami. “By far.”


For the paying customers in the stadium-record soccer crowd of 22,921 — a number buoyed by several hundred standing-room only tickets — the get-in price for a seat on the secondary market was an MLS-record $894, according to the online marketplace TickPick. Three pitch-side seats sold for $2,339 each, about the price of a Panama Canal cruise.

This being Hollywood, the stadium was also chock full of celebrities, from actors Leonardo DiCaprio, Ed Norton and Jason Sudeikis and Dodgers Mookie Betts and Clayton Kershaw to Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams and British royals Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

“I thought the atmosphere was great,” LAFC coach Steve Cherundolo said. “But that’s what we expected.”

There was little doubt who they came to see: With the exception of the north end, which was a solid sea of LAFC black and gold, the grandstands were dotted with fans in pink Inter Miami jerseys or the blue-and-white striped shirts of Messi’s Argentina. Vendors did a brisk business selling both outside the stadium.



“The game shaped up exactly how we expected,” Cherundolo said. “We created a plethora of chances, but we just weren’t effective tonight. That was the difference.”

Well, that and Messi, whose two assists gave him eight to go with 11 goals in 11 games with Miami.

Although LAFC had a couple of good chances early, Inter Miami took the lead for good in the 15th minute on a goal that came from the only two Argentine starters not named Messi, 21-year-old Facundo Farías and 19-year-old Tomás Avilés. Farías, making just his second MLS start, chased a Farías rolling pass into the box and though he appeared to lose his footing just as he got to the ball, he still managed to push a shot across the goalmouth, off the far post and in for the score.

Messi got his only good look of the first half in the 38th minute, ending a give-and-go with Diego Gómez with a left-footed shot from the center of the box that LAFC keeper John McCarthy batted away. After the game, Messi gave McCarthy the shirt off his back.

“I said camiseta, por favor. And he gave me his shirt,” McCarthy said. “I’ve got a couple of jerseys. But none like Messi’s.”

Messi got on the scoresheet six minutes into the second half, splitting the LAFC defense with a diagonal through ball that found former Barcelona teammate Jordi Alba crossing into the box alone. Alba’s left-footed finish beat McCarthy cleanly. Messi then led a breakaway in the 83rd minute before sending the ball to Leonardo Campana, who scored with a left-footed shot into the bottom left corner for Miami’s final score.

“Nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing,” Cherundolo said. “None of us should not expect it from the best player in the world. What did you think he was going to do when he came here?”

LAFC (11-8-7) offered a murmur of protest in the 90th minute, with Ryan Hollingshead nodding in a Carlos Vela corner. That ended keeper Drake Callender’s bid for a third straight shutout for Inter Miami (7-14-4), which is eight points out of a playoff berth with eight games to play.

“The happiness, obviously, is for the three points. But also for the team we beat. We’re in a good place right now,” said Inter Miami coach Tata Martino, who called Sunday’s game his team’s most complete 90-minute effort of the season.

“Every game is going to be important and every point is going to be important. We have to compete well.”





I watched much of the game online with one PC on the game, my other PC in a youtube channel that was owned by a fan outside of the stadium. Crowd was greatly excited to see Messi even though he played for the opposition ~ in fact, the atmosphere was so charged, it reminded me of soccer with Pele' and the Cosmos back in the old days. Sadly, many couldn't get in either because they were priced out or because the tix they had were bogus having been sold by scammers.

[ardilla secreta]

After 4 weeks of Premier League action it’s pretty clear two clubs with prestige and money, Chelsea and Man U, are looking pretty mediocre and I’m enjoying every minute. Chelsea in particular looks amazingly inept.

I look forward to the day when Arsenal stops giving up an easy goal after dominating possession.

West Ham has been the most exciting team to watch so far. Acquiring Ward-Prowse has been a game changer. I’ve always liked his play and skill sets. It’s crazy that some other big clubs didn’t go after him. We’ll see how good the Hammers are in two weeks when they host City.

For Spurs, the loss of that guy that went to Germany doesn’t seem so bad with the addition of James Maddison and now they bring in a young talent like Johnson from Forest. Let’s see if Maddison can stay healthy, something that was an issue at Leicester.

[FannOLax]

After 4 weeks of Premier League action it’s pretty clear two clubs with prestige and money, Chelsea and Man U, are looking pretty mediocre and I’m enjoying every minute. Chelsea in particular looks amazingly inept.

I look forward to the day when Arsenal stops giving up an easy goal after dominating possession.

West Ham has been the most exciting team to watch so far. Acquiring Ward-Prowse has been a game changer. I’ve always liked his play and skill sets. It’s crazy that some other big clubs didn’t go after him. We’ll see how good the Hammers are in two weeks when they host City.

For Spurs, the loss of that guy that went to Germany doesn’t seem so bad with the addition of James Maddison and now they bring in a young talent like Johnson from Forest. Let’s see if Maddison can stay healthy, something that was an issue at Leicester.

Chelsea's firm rule is not to buy players over the age of 25. Maddison is 26, and Ward-Prowse 28. The supposed logic of the rule is that players over 25 depreciate in value, while younger players are more likely to appreciate in value. This begs the question: do you buy players to strengthen your team, or to sell them in the future?

Man U have paid a lot of money for players who haven't panned out, such as the Englishman Sancho from Dortmund and van de Beek from Ajax. They wanted that Spurs guy that went to Germany, but didn't get him so now they have no elite striker.

I don't think anyone can stop Man City from winning another EPL crown; only a bad rash of injuries could do that. However, there are plenty of good teams vying for Champions League spots: Arsenal, Liverpool, Newcastle, Spurs, surprise package Brighton, and yes, maybe West Ham, although the Hammers still have a lot to prove. I suppose we shouldn't rule out Man U just yet; after all, they finished 3rd last season. Chelsea look like an expensive mess, but I wouldn't bet against Poch finding the right 11 players who form a coherent team. Aston Villa? At least they're done with Anfield for the season.

[Seacoaster(1)]

After 4 weeks of Premier League action it’s pretty clear two clubs with prestige and money, Chelsea and Man U, are looking pretty mediocre and I’m enjoying every minute. Chelsea in particular looks amazingly inept.

I look forward to the day when Arsenal stops giving up an easy goal after dominating possession.

West Ham has been the most exciting team to watch so far. Acquiring Ward-Prowse has been a game changer. I’ve always liked his play and skill sets. It’s crazy that some other big clubs didn’t go after him. We’ll see how good the Hammers are in two weeks when they host City.

For Spurs, the loss of that guy that went to Germany doesn’t seem so bad with the addition of James Maddison and now they bring in a young talent like Johnson from Forest. Let’s see if Maddison can stay healthy, something that was an issue at Leicester.

Chelsea's firm rule is not to buy players over the age of 25. Maddison is 26, and Ward-Prowse 28. The supposed logic of the rule is that players over 25 depreciate in value, while younger players are more likely to appreciate in value. This begs the question: do you buy players to strengthen your team, or to sell them in the future?

Man U have paid a lot of money for players who haven't panned out, such as the Englishman Sancho from Dortmund and van de Beek from Ajax. They wanted that Spurs guy that went to Germany, but didn't get him so now they have no elite striker.

I don't think anyone can stop Man City from winning another EPL crown; only a bad rash of injuries could do that. However, there are plenty of good teams vying for Champions League spots: Arsenal, Liverpool, Newcastle, Spurs, surprise package Brighton, and yes, maybe West Ham, although the Hammers still have a lot to prove. I suppose we shouldn't rule out Man U just yet; after all, they finished 3rd last season. Chelsea look like an expensive mess, but I wouldn't bet against Poch finding the right 11 players who form a coherent team. Aston Villa? At least they're done with Anfield for the season.

Interesting; last I heard Johnson was staying at Forest. He'd be a very good addition to the Spurs front lines.

But, looks like you're right: https://www.skysports.com/football/news ... p-up-again

The Hammers sold Rice for 105 million euros, and the folks they brought on have -- and I am a Rice fan -- more than accounted for Declan's departure, JWP foremost among them. The guy's game sense and service is really close to unmatched in the EPL.

I don't see City struggling; I see them sorting out the loss of one important departure -- Ilkay -- and one injury, KDB. Injuries to Stones and Grealish too, I guess? All four of these guys (especially KDB) are hard if not impossible to just replace.

As Fannolax says, I think Chelsea will find the chemistry that it so plainly lacks right now. There is an 11 that will work.

Love watching Brighton play. Another good year for those of us that follow this league.

[Seacoaster(1)]

What the heck has happened to the German national football team?

And this is no offense to Japan, which plays nice football. But the degree of the shellacking put on the Germans yesterday is serious. The Japanese simply controlled the whole match -- better players across the field and better gameplay throughout the contest.

[FannOLax]

What the heck has happened to the German national football team?

And this is no offense to Japan, which plays nice football. But the degree of the shellacking put on the Germans yesterday is serious. The Japanese simply controlled the whole match -- better players across the field and better gameplay throughout the contest.

So it comes as no surprise that Germany has fired manager Hansi Flick.

For so many decades, Germany (in the form of West Germany for much of the time) could be relied upon to have a consistently strong men's national team, often World Cup finalists. After becoming in 2014 the first non-South-American team to win a World Cup in the Americas, Germany has fallen off the pace. Those top German teams featured fantastic players like Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Muller, Pierre Littbarski, Lothar Mathhaeus, Jurgen Klinnsmann, Mesut Ozil. Germany still has a lot of good players, but I'm not seeing any great German players these days.

[Typical Lax Dad]

What the heck has happened to the German national football team?

And this is no offense to Japan, which plays nice football. But the degree of the shellacking put on the Germans yesterday is serious. The Japanese simply controlled the whole match -- better players across the field and better gameplay throughout the contest.

So it comes as no surprise that Germany has fired manager Hansi Flick.

For so many decades, Germany (in the form of West Germany for much of the time) could be relied upon to have a consistently strong men's national team, often World Cup finalists. After becoming in 2014 the first non-South-American team to win a World Cup in the Americas, Germany has fallen off the pace. Those top German teams featured fantastic players like Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Muller, Pierre Littbarski, Lothar Mathhaeus, Jurgen Klinnsmann, Mesut Ozil. Germany still has a lot of good players, but I'm not seeing any great German players these days.

Youth development is a problem. German domestic league is a landing spot for promising American players. That is how bad it is.

[FannOLax]

Having recently given Brazilian winger Antony a "leave of absence" related to allegations against him for violence toward women, Manchester United have now separated Jadon Sancho from the squad for not apologizing to manager Ten Hag (deleting the social-media post critical of Ten hag was not enough). So how will Man U react against Brighton on Saturday? The Red Devils are at home, but Brighton come to Old Trafford in sixth place and above MU in the table. Are 4th-place West Ham for real? Beating Manchester City this Saturday in London would certainly help the Hammers' case for a "yes" answer. I doubt that Everton at home can take a point (or 3) from its Arsenal game Sunday; but since it's Arse, I hope the Merseysiders prove me wrong.