OT: Who in the World Cup do you root for now?
October 11th, 2017 at 11:31 PM ^
Grandpa immigrated to the US from the Netherlands during WW2 to flee from Nazi Germany.
Go Oranj!
October 11th, 2017 at 11:32 PM ^
Hate to be bearer of bad news, Netherlands didn’t make it either...
October 12th, 2017 at 8:41 AM ^
Honestly.....it's a little strange how many people are professing to be big fans of a team, but haven't the faintest idea of how they did in qualifying.
October 12th, 2017 at 9:14 AM ^
Where the hell you read that?
I'm not professing myself to be a big fan of anything and I havent seen anyone do that in here ... hell im not a "big fan" of US Soccer. I am a big fan of my grandpa so given the opportunity I'll root for his home country as opposed to one that doesnt mean anything to me.
If that's okay with you, anyways.
October 11th, 2017 at 11:37 PM ^
Mexico.
October 11th, 2017 at 11:40 PM ^
All they have is the canal and soccer. They declared a freaking national holiday when they made the Cup. Yeah I know they took the last spot from the US, but we didn't deserve it.
October 12th, 2017 at 9:58 AM ^
I'm happy for them, too. They did what they needed to...I don't hold anything against them.
October 12th, 2017 at 10:20 AM ^
Including getting a phantom goal and having a substitute kick a live ball that rolled to him on the sidelines 50 yards into the stands!
We definitely don't deserve to be there, but still CONCACAF pisses me the hell off.
October 12th, 2017 at 2:28 PM ^
they didn't do what they needed to do since they only scored once in that game. They were gifted the qualification.
October 12th, 2017 at 2:45 PM ^
Nice username.
October 11th, 2017 at 11:48 PM ^
My parents are Egyptian immigrants and my dad was literally the biggest Egypt Football fan ever. He lost his battle to cancer last year and I know he helped Egypt make the penalty kick to clinch their first World Cup bid since 1990.
Even if the US made it, I'd probably root Egypt over them in honor of my dad.
October 11th, 2017 at 11:57 PM ^
Allez lez Bleus!
Also Belgium is awfully fun to watch.
October 11th, 2017 at 11:58 PM ^
Poland, Italy, Iceland, wales
October 12th, 2017 at 9:29 AM ^
Ireland beat Wales on Monday and knocked them out of the next qualifying round.
October 12th, 2017 at 12:18 AM ^
France. I lived there for a time, got introduced to WC soccer (and PSG) while there, and it would be nice to have some sporps team that does something other than pop my soul dong. Plus you get to yell "Go Blue!" a lot, sorta.
ALLEZ LES BLEUS!
October 12th, 2017 at 12:24 AM ^
The best soccer tournament in the world is NOT the World Cup, but Champions League, the annual tournament of the best of the best of the Euro leagues, where all star teams with the best players in the world compete.
For those of you unfamiliar with the Euro leagues, they are organized by country (English Premier League, La Liga (Spanish League), Bundesliga (German League), French League, Italian League, etc., and their teams are comprised of the very best players in the world...leagues of all star teams full of world class players who play together for nine months. The Champions League tournament, which also lasts nine months (concurrently with the regular Euro Leagues), skims the top two or three teams from each Euro League and they battle it out once a month (home and away) to determine who is the best of the best, in a bracketed tournament that is similar to March Madness, except it lasts nine months.
The. Best. Soccer. In. The. World. = Champions League
October 12th, 2017 at 12:40 AM ^
EDIT: Deleted my first paragraph, which responded to a snooty post with more snootiness.
We know what the CL is, socal. We know how the sport is structured. The people who don't either skipped the thread or only came here long enough to post a "soccer stInks" comment.
Sides, there are CL threads posted on the regular ("for those who are unfamiliar with MGoblog...")
October 12th, 2017 at 1:56 AM ^
in the world because it doesn't carry the same global weight as the WC.
It does not allow for an entire Asian host country to rally around its underdog team to make the semis (S Korea).
It does not allow for South American countries whose players leave for greener ($) pastures in Europe to actually represent their home countries.
It does not start with 200+ countries representing six continents.
I'm sure fans of the clubs that make the CL (many of which are there every single year) prefer the CL, but for the rest of the world, it's the WC.
The WC might not be as high quality of soccer as the CL, but it is the best tournament in the world because of who many people care about it and share in the excitement.
October 12th, 2017 at 4:05 AM ^
It's not as good a tournament because:
-It's every year, so therefore lacks the intenstity of a tournament held only every four years
-The same few teams compete every time. The last eight finalists were: Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid, Juventus
Yes, there are only certain teams that truly have a chance to win the World Cup, but here's the list of the last eight finalists: Brazil, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Netherlands, Germany, Argentina.
October 12th, 2017 at 10:22 AM ^
Well said, my friend. Excellent comparison.
Also, what up, join-date buddy!!
October 12th, 2017 at 1:50 PM ^
Agree it's the best soccer, and for me that makes it the best tournament, too.
My point is, most of the fair weather American soccer "fans" who get excited once every four years to support the US team are unaware that Champions League even exists, and add to that the US team has never been very good; and the fact that it has made it far into the brackets of the World Cup a few times is more related to having an easy draw and playing a "park the bus" style of sitting back defensively and counter-attacking to occassionally upset a legit team. It's a strategy that can be used by an inferior team to force a low scoring game and hope to win 1-0, but it's a boring game to watch. Watch Champions League this year when teams like Real Madrid and Paris St. Germaine get into the semi's, and you'll see quality of play a level above any World Cup team.
Let me also say this: we live in an increasingly dangerous, polarized world where extreme nationalism is on rise, and for me, I am less interested in supporting sporting events like the Olympics and World Cup for the reason that they help underscore the mantra of nation against nation ("us versus them"). Having the World Cup in Russia in 2018 is eerily reminiscent to me of the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, where authoritarian regimes put lipstick on a pig to promote their political ideologies.
October 12th, 2017 at 2:02 AM ^
You're the worst.
October 12th, 2017 at 5:25 AM ^
This is the type of shit people hate soccer fans for.
October 12th, 2017 at 1:08 PM ^
For those of you unfamiliar with the Euro leagues, they are organized by country (English Premier League, La Liga (Spanish League), Bundesliga (German League), French League, Italian League, etc., and their teams are comprised of the very best players in the world
Since we seem to be on a pompous/pedantic tangent, I'll just note that there is no such league called "French League" or "Italian League" but Ligue 1 and Serie A, respectively.
October 12th, 2017 at 12:49 AM ^
Because I live here. As far as the Champions League, Go Napoli!
October 12th, 2017 at 4:08 AM ^
....is still on the team, I root for Italy. (Even if he's not.)
October 12th, 2017 at 1:08 AM ^
IRELAND.. If they make it after the playoff. I'll be going there for the first time in March.
October 12th, 2017 at 1:37 AM ^
I root for China.
October 12th, 2017 at 1:39 AM ^
I want the whole world to win.
October 12th, 2017 at 1:45 AM ^
Switzerland (if they can qualify from the playoff) since I have lived here for 13 years and Mexico as this is my wife's heritage.
October 12th, 2017 at 2:11 AM ^
Italia. Forza Azzurri!
October 12th, 2017 at 2:21 AM ^
The what now?
October 12th, 2017 at 2:39 AM ^
Always Usa and Italy!
October 12th, 2017 at 2:46 AM ^
I live in Germany, so that is that.
October 12th, 2017 at 4:03 AM ^
I am a dual citizen of Germany, so that's a pretty good fallback option.
October 12th, 2017 at 4:26 AM ^
Deutschland
October 12th, 2017 at 5:32 AM ^
Will not be watching. I got my fill of soccer when my kids were in K thru 3rd grade. In 4th grade they switched to football.
October 12th, 2017 at 6:30 AM ^
I would have rooted for them even if the US was in it.
October 12th, 2017 at 6:55 AM ^
i always root for the ball, but it still gets the shit kicked out of it, every damn time.
poor ball.
October 12th, 2017 at 6:59 AM ^
I lived in Ireland and was there for Henry’s handball. That’s my team and like the OP, I hope they can win this home-and-away. I’m also a quarter Flemish so my backup has always been Belgium.
October 12th, 2017 at 8:41 AM ^
Has always wanted to move to Ireland. How was it?
October 12th, 2017 at 9:12 AM ^
The good: High quality of life, beautiful country, nice laidback people, great sports (hurling and rugby especially).
The bad: Can be expensive and the weather can really suck for extended periods.
All in all it was a great place to live. I'd recommend it if you can make it happen.
October 12th, 2017 at 7:02 AM ^
of the 10,000 kids who play soccer in my small town area, multiply that by 1,000 other small town areas in the US and we can't find 25 guys at a world class level?
October 12th, 2017 at 9:54 AM ^
Wow you have a big small town...
October 12th, 2017 at 11:01 AM ^
World-class soccer players need to be coached. That's the problem.
October 12th, 2017 at 8:24 AM ^
Italy (hopefully they win their playoff) and Poland. Grandmaon my mom’s side is from Italy and my grandma on my dad’s side was from Poland. Always root for the African teams to do well too.
October 12th, 2017 at 8:33 AM ^
England - root for the motherland
October 13th, 2017 at 11:03 AM ^
They will be led by Nordin...
October 12th, 2017 at 8:45 AM ^
My wife is from there. They always start will a lot of promise, then end up loosing to an inferior team through bad luck and poor officiating.
October 12th, 2017 at 9:04 AM ^
they must be very close cousins to some american football players i know....