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Other Sports: Soccer/Football Thread Part Six

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Appleyard said:
Since the start of 2019-20:

39 in 36 for City
86 in 89 for Dortmund
28 in 22 for Salzburg
21 in 23 for Norway

174 goals in his last 170 games.

22 years old and has 245 career goals.

Ronaldo had ~136 at the same age...
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Ronaldo was the more complete striker though. People tend to forget how dominant he was pre-knee injury especially. He could do everything. He could shoot like no other, he could dribble past several players, he had the pace, the had the power.
I may be in the minority, but I think prime Ronaldo was better than Messi or C.Ronaldo in their respective primes.
 
Not sure if this has been mentioned here, but what's your opinion re: 48 WC with 12x4 groups? It will become practically impossible to keep track on everything even if WFH. I mean, I'd have no chance anwyay, because - well - timezones, but.. ugh.
 
ellja3 said:
Not sure if this has been mentioned here, but what's your opinion re: 48 WC with 12x4 groups? It will become practically impossible to keep track on everything even if WFH. I mean, I'd have no chance anwyay, because - well - timezones, but.. ugh.
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48 teams is going to be interesting. More bad countries are going to qualify and get blown out, but it does make it harder for countries like Italy to miss out on qualification. It's better when all of the top countries qualify.

The four team groups set up is absolutely necessary and I'm glad they fixed the error of the original idea of three team groups. Players probably aren't happy about adding an extra game, but everyone should be playing at least three games and that wasn't going to happen in three team groups.

Four team groups and the new knockout format means every team has something to play for on the last day, be it a chance to get into the knockout round, or securing top seed in the group (which means something now). Three team groups would have meant that one country wouldn't even play on the final match day... the group stage final match day is one of the best days of the World Cup where all four teams play at the same time.

Personally, this also give me more opportunities to get tickets, since extra games are being added in Vancouver with the 4 team group format. :laugh:
 
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CanadianFlyer88 said:
48 teams is going to be interesting. More bad countries are going to qualify and get blown out, but it does make it harder for countries like Italy to miss out on qualification. It's better when all of the top countries qualify.

The four team groups set up is absolutely necessary and I'm glad they fixed the error of the original idea of three team groups. Players probably aren't happy about adding an extra game, but everyone should be playing at least three games and that wasn't going to happen in three team groups.

Four team groups and the new knockout format means every team has something to play for on the last day, be it a chance to get into the knockout round, or securing top seed in the group (which means something now). Three team groups would have meant that one country wouldn't even play on the final match day... the group stage final match day is one of the best days of the World Cup where all four teams play at the same time.

Personally, this also give me more opportunities to get tickets, since extra games are being added in Vancouver with the 4 team group format. :laugh:
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I fully agree that three team groups would be abomination, both due to less guaranteed game, but mostly increased chances of collusion. However, I'd rather stay at 32 teams and see some teams not qualify (UKR, ITA, SWE this year) than the likes of Jamaica, Panama and Congo being there. But to each their own, of course. And, shocker, FIFA is all about the $$$.
 
ellja3 said:
I fully agree that three team groups would be abomination, both due to less guaranteed game, but mostly increased chances of collusion. However, I'd rather stay at 32 teams and see some teams not qualify (UKR, ITA, SWE this year) than the likes of Jamaica, Panama and Congo being there. But to each their own, of course. And, shocker, FIFA is all about the $$$.
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It kind of shows they really didn’t think it through and only saw the dollar signs.
 
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TCTC said:
Ronaldo was the more complete striker though. People tend to forget how dominant he was pre-knee injury especially. He could do everything. He could shoot like no other, he could dribble past several players, he had the pace, the had the power.
I may be in the minority, but I think prime Ronaldo was better than Messi or C.Ronaldo in their respective primes.
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100% agree about CR7. Prime Brazil Ronaldo all day. Messi gets into a gray area for me. Messi’s vision is wizardry
 
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PDX Flyer said:
100% agree about CR7. Prime Brazil Ronaldo all day. Messi gets into a gray area for me. Messi’s vision is wizardry
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Yeah, that's true, Ronaldo over Messi is debatable. Messi definitely is the better playmaker, but Ronaldo was more dynamic and powerful. I guess it comes down to personal preference.
 
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PDX Flyer said:
I’ll take them both....there is only one George Best though
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There definitely haven't been many characters like him in football. Never saw him play really except from highlight videos, so I can't tell how good he really was.
 
TCTC said:
There definitely haven't been many characters like him in football. Never saw him play really except from highlight videos, so I can't tell how good he really was.
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Yeah I’m in the same boat. I went to Old Trafford in 2005 and the way the old timers talked about him, and first time I’ve ever heard of him, was legendary. Was in the pubs outside the stadium and it was like old timers talking about DiMaggio in the Bronx.

That trip was so special to me and learning about Best put it over the top. I bought a Best t shirt and my local pub in Hoboken flipped out when I brought it back. The owner was a huge Best fan. When he passed away it was a week long tribute.

I have since long moved west but heard he had a mural of Best painted in his bar. Good times in there
 
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ellja3 said:
I fully agree that three team groups would be abomination, both due to less guaranteed game, but mostly increased chances of collusion. However, I'd rather stay at 32 teams and see some teams not qualify (UKR, ITA, SWE this year) than the likes of Jamaica, Panama and Congo being there. But to each their own, of course. And, shocker, FIFA is all about the $$$.
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TBF DR Congo are a pretty good team aha. Just horrifically organised and often dont have their full team.

A 48 team world cup would be great level wise IF they went something like:

UEFA: 20 spots
CAF: 11 spots (likely Morocco, Egypt, Algeria, Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Tunisia, Ivory Coast and 2-3 of Cameroon/Mali/Burkina Faso/South Africa/DR Congo)
CONMEBOL: 8 spots (likely Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Columbia, and 3 of Ecuador/Peru/Venezuela/Paraguay/Bolivia)
AFC: 6 spots (Japan, South Korea, Australia, Iran and 2 of China/Iraq/Oman/Saudi/Jordan/Qatar)
CONCACAF: 4 spots (USA, Mexico, Canada, Costa Rica)
OFC: 1 spot (New Zealand)

No-one would be outside the top ~60 in world rankings aside from New Zealand:

UEFA: 24 in top 50
CAF: 10 in top 50
CONMEBOL: 8 in top 50
AFC: 5 in top 50
CONCACAF: 3 in top 50
OFC: 0 in top 50

But as it is CONCACAF getting MAYBE 7 and AFC 8 is what will weaken it a lot. Only OFC which is New Zealand and no other legit national team is weaker.
There will be 16 spots for teams thats areas only comprise 8 of the top 50 on earth.

UEFA, CONMEBOL and CAF are the strongest three areas depth wise and may only get an extra 8 teams vs a 32 team world cup.
 
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TCTC said:
There definitely haven't been many characters like him in football. Never saw him play really except from highlight videos, so I can't tell how good he really was.
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He was an amazing player but even at his absolute peak was not clear cut best on earth... Gerd Muller had better Ballon D'Or voting records than Best as a contemporary for example.

And his prime was very short really.

I can see an objective argument for him being in the all-time team if talking peak/prime, but likely on the bench really.
 
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Starat327 said:
Thats not the draw i was hoping for. We have to beat Madrid and then Bayern to get to the finals? Yeesh.

Napoli on easy street to the finals.
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No kidding! Just coming to post that. One side of the bracket is not like the other aha.

That Bayern City clash should be a classic

Napoli is my favorite team left and want them to win but sheesh.... did they luck out. Obviously still have to play the games but I’m sure their fans aren’t complaining
 
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PDX Flyer said:
No kidding! Just coming to post that. One side of the bracket is not like the other aha.

That Bayern City clash should be a classic

Napoli is my favorite team left and want them to win but sheesh.... did they luck out. Obviously still have to play the games but I’m sure their fans aren’t complaining
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i dont care to check odds, but Napoli have to have increased odds to win since yesterday. That should be a cake walk, especially with Serie A basically locked up, and all four teams on the other side of the bracket fighting heavily domestically (though, were obviously fighting differently than the other 3).
 
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Starat327 said:
i dont care to check odds, but Napoli have to have increased odds to win since yesterday. That should be a cake walk, especially with Serie A basically locked up, and all four teams on the other side of the bracket fighting heavily domestically (though, were obviously fighting differently than the other 3).
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Great point. Didn’t even think about that.

My buddy is a newbie Arsenal fan and was bummed they got knocked out yesterday. I told him the silver lining is that they can fully concentrate on the League while City is still in three competitions just yesterday. Coffee still kicking in
 
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PDX Flyer said:
Great point. Didn’t even think about that.

My buddy is a newbie Arsenal fan and was bummed they got knocked out yesterday. I told him the silver lining is that they can fully concentrate on the League while City is still in three competitions just yesterday. Coffee still kicking in
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Yeah, as much as i enjoyed watching them get bounced, allowing them to focus on just that should just about wrap up the PL. Mixed emotions.
 
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