Ronaldo, Romario, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 50% of the Belgian national team including those that now play in the premiership, etc. all started their international career in the NL precisely because it's seen as a good start of a career in Europe's elite. I don't even know what this comment is about. The Dutch Antilles have a population of about three hunderd thousand if I'm not mistaken, and football isn't even the most popular sport over there. It's baseball.
It's not just about the quality of the football, it's about the quality of the system in general. Which league has a better reputation for developing young talent, both domestic and foreign, for example? How many Dutch coaches are managing foreign teams, how many Mexican coaches are managing foreign teams? Again the Dutch league has pretty big financial limitations. In terms of young players getting a high quality technical and tactical education though, the Dutch league is very highly regarded still. It's precisely because of a lack of financial resources that clubs are forced to get the most out of their investment in youth development. Dutch clubs NEED to improve their players as they live off buying on the cheap and selling for big bucks.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Z9xqtKkdMI"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Z9xqtKkdMI[/ame] Mi amigo, la ignorancia está por todas partes.
This is off topic but...MLS is improving but it's no where near the Mexican League....MLS still has no international achievements...I know they have only been around for like 15 years...but with the money they have compared to Central American leagues...they should at least have 1 CONCACAF title...but they don't....Alajuelense and Saprissa have 1 title each and a couple of 2nd place...and Olimpia has 1 title. Back on topic...i'm 100% positive that Bryan Ruiz wouldn't have improved as much if he was in the Mexican League instead of starting in Belgium (where he became much stronger because he was a twig playing with Alajuelense) and then moving to Holland and learning so much tactically and improving a lot to where now he has teams like Sevilla, Villareal, and Everton interested in him. IMO comparing the Mexican League to the Dutch league is like comparing the MLS to the Mexican League...but w.e i know most of the Mexican's here will bash this comment .
not really.......MLS has no teams their all equal unlike MExico and Holland who have prestige clubs.....
MLS is designed to keep clubs at the median and in many ways it makes sense, but it basically ensures we won't have a super club like Saprissa or Olimpia to represent the national league. However MLS is better top to bottom than every CONCACAF league save Mexico. Not that the bar is that high.
I feel that even on a very good day for a MLS team and a very good day for a Honduran team.....Honduran team can rape anyone in MLS.
Top to bottom? No. Once you get beyond the best 2 or 3 teams in most of the Central American leagues the bottom really falls out. If you look at the history of the MLS playoffs in the past, you can get teams that finished well behind the leaders win or advance to the title round on a regular basis.
This isn't necessarily a good thing. It'll be a long time before the MLS is competitive internationally if the talent is spread thinly throughout the league. Just going off statistics/international results (Saprissa and Alajuelense mainly) you would think the Costa Rican league is better than MLS.
I agree that its a definite drawback on the international scene and leads to teams like the 2008-9 NYRB (who were horrendous for the most part) as a representative in the CCL, but its probably the best format to ensure domestic growth in the league and to a certain extent thats all that matters. the US/Canadian market is large enough and rich enough that as long as MLS keeps growing (and if it reaches the even an NHL level of popularity, it will be much wealthier than every other league outside of the Big 4/5), the parity won't really matter. I fully agree that its a detriment in the short term though.
It was actually an FMF vs Dutch league thread...and then it morphed into an FMF vs MLS thread. My answer to the thread question, it's arguable.
Sevilla is the biggest team in Spain that has shown interest so far, right? Hopefully they get into the Champions League for next season.
this guy is retarded....wasnt the last match between the two between dc united and olimpia?? i think dc united won 4-1 in honduras and 2-1 in dc
Well there were rumors of Atletico Madrid and Villareal also having interest....but Sevilla seems to be the one team that keeps showing strong interest since Fabiano might be headed to Italy and Kanoute isn't getting any younger. Everton scouts were Twente's match vs Sparta 2 weeks ago where Ruiz scored a hat trick...but i don't think he'll go there. There were also rumors of Arsenal but Ruiz main goal is to play in one of Spain's top 4-5 clubs and Sevilla is looking to rebuild incase they make CL.
Yes! Isnt Ruiz the highest scorer in Holland right now? His touch, ability to dribble and see passes is world class. I have a feeling he will make the jump to one of the top 3 and continue doing well. Sevilla or Villarreal would be interesting.
Charrua Luis Suarez leads the Eredivisie with 29 goals and Bryan Ruiz is 2nd with 23 goals. Bryan Ruiz has proven to be a 1st class player on and off the field....he is very humble and a hard worker...during the winter vacation he practiced with his old club Alajuelense in Costa Rica instead of taking a few days off like the rest of the Costa Rican abroad players. He has the same work ethic Wanchope had...too bad our other players don't think big like Ruiz .