take in mind this is for fun so all you NFL venom spewers ease up a little.... Anybody who has seen Michael Vick in action knows he is close to the greatest pure athelete on this planet. Seriously. Even football haters who have seen him toy with NFL defenders must be forced to at least consider this. Undoubtedly he has a strong leg but he has never tested it, for obvious reasons. But even so, let's pretend his kicking leg is as relativly strong as his throwing arm. Meaning he pretty much would have a stronger shot than any soccer player in the world. Add to that the accuracy he also has. Now with his athletcism and god-given skills (foot=arm, shotaccuracy=throwing accuraxy) how great of a soccer player would he be? And he be greater than Freddy Adu He is already faster than Landon Donovan (legit 4.2 40 speed), he is 6"1 (almost the same height as Brian McBride) and can probably bench press close to 350 Ilbs, he has the hips of barry sanders and the accelaration of cheetah. So let's translate all this into a soccer player. He has the fluildity of movement like a Figo or Zidane, is faster than Landon Donovan, can change directions and accelarate better than DaMarcus Beasley, can outjump almost any defender (just watch him jump for a TD) or fight through anyone. And then add the laser-guided cannon. Do you people realize that the US are producing atheletes like this? And that within the next few generations we'll probably find a player like this?
//Do you people realize that the US are producing atheletes like this?// I'd heard talk, but I was waiting for Sandon Mibut to post his list of "214,635 Americans Under 23 Who Are Really Good Athletes But Don't Play Soccer" before I went out on a limb and said something...
Re: Re: Just For Fun: A Michael Vick Soccer Thread only because he never played soccer before. And besides, I said pretend all those skills he has continue on on in soccer. Oh and a good sign of touch is how quick a persons feet is correct? Well just take a look at how he moves his feet when he scrambles
No think about his college teammate, Andre Davis, who is just as fast as him and stopped playing soccer in 11th grade to take up football. Also I've played basketball with Vick and let's just say that being a good athlete in one sport doesn't make you a good athlete in another sport. (Though since it was a pick-up game he was of course loafing.)
I didn't guard him, but he definitely would have torched me. The guy who was guarding him probably could have played college basketball, and he kept him in check.
I've seen Michael Vick play in high school and college live. I am currently at Warwick and his younger brother Marcus played here last year and he was pretty good too. I always wondered what it would be like if they played soccer. Also, like what someone said above, I think Michael Vick is one of the world's most athletic people.
American Football player, and more specifically the countriy's best pure athelete and maybe the world's. I was just pondering what would happen if we had an athelete like that for soccer, which I'm sure will happen sooner rather than later.
Michael Vick is the rare person who has the type of athleticism that would result in success in any sport he tried if he practiced hard enough. Like the rest of you, I wish he was a soccer player. After watching his abilities in his first eight starts, he is already a member of my "Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda Starting XI". (the main factors being athletic ability and competitiveness in a 3-5-2) FWD - Bo Jackson FWD - Walter Payton LWing - Mike Vick DMid - Kirk Gibson DMid - John Elway (Captain) AMid - Barry Sanders RWing - Dion Sanders LDef - Tony Gwynn CDef - Michael Jordan RDef - Terry Pendleton GK - Dominique Wilkins
I believe Tony Gwynn was a decent soccer player before he allowed himself to become overweight. I thought a MISL team drafted him.
Why do people always put these 7 foot monstrosities in goal? Sure he's got nice hands, but forwards would have a field day putting balls in the low corners. No more basketball players in goal, unless they are the same size as regular people.
Move Walter to D in place of Gwynn. If he wants to make a run forward, nobody's going to knock him off the ball. Then put Karch Kiraly in at forward. And if you ask "who's Karch Kiraly?" hang your head in shame. He's the greatest American volleyball player who ever lived; 6'6" with a 40"+ vertical leap, he could head in crosses that nobody else could get to...
7" monster? He was around 6"4' and had in his heyday could goto toe-to-toe with Michael Jordan (none of this Wizards crap) ina dunking contest. I think Freidel is like 6"2'.
Vick Interesting thread. I think the world may have an inkling of how bad things could get on the international scene if guys like Vick and his cousin Aaron Brooks, actually decided to strap on the shin guards, rather than the shoulder pads in their twenties as well as their teens. Vick with 10+ years experience of playing soccer, and taking to it as well as he did football, would scare the living ---- out of the rest of the world. There is no one on the planet who could handle him if he could translate those skills to soccer, through experience. That may be part of the reason so much of the world has taken great glee in the difficulties the US have had on the world soccer scene until recently. They can see the writing on the wall. They know the only reason the USA doesn't dominate the world in soccer is because their isn't a strong enough fan base, or a prosperous enough league, or enough country wide support to make it worthwhile to our best athletes. I will grant you the waxing our b-team in Hoops took over the summer in that international contest took was a bit unsettling, and a nice emphatic display of what is wrong with basketball in the USA today, and what is right with it in much of the rest of the world. I think Brazil, Germany, England, et all, should breath a deep sigh of relief knowing that guys like Michael Vick, Seneca Wallace, Antwaan Randel El, Kobe Bryant, and some of the previous players mentioned chose other sports instead of Soccer. The world stage would like mighty different (and perhaps a little bit more boring?) if soccer were as popular, and desirable in the US of A, as it is in Europe, Latin America and the rest of the world (just think of how improved the Japanese National Team would be if soccer weren't baseballs weak step-child in that country. They are another mighty good example. Nearly all their best athletes play baseball, although that's slowly changing).
Wilkens is 6-8, not 6-4. IIRC, Nwankwo Kanu is 6-6. John Carew is 6-5. Jan Koller is 6-8. Is Koller really a better athlete than Dominique Wilkens? Just like 5-6 is not too short to play soccer, being 6-8 is not too tall to play soccer and not just as a 'keeper. There are alot of guys in the NBA that have the foot skills and athletic ability to play soccer. Shaq might be one that is too big, but his foot skills are tremendous. IMO, the guards and small forward types would've been good - if not great - soccer players. I also think linebackers, defensive backs, running backs, receivers, tight ends, and quarterbacks would've been good - if not great - soccer players. Keep in mind someone like Brian Urlacher or Ray Lewis would not weigh 250 pounds if they were soccer players. They would probably be around 190-210 (where Urlacher was when he started college). Some o-lineman and d-lineman could also play soccer if they didn't bulk up. Look at Nandi Pryce's brother (Trevor?) with Denver Broncos or someone like Jason Taylor of Miami Dolphins. Obviously most baseball and hockey players (how good could Canada be?) are the ideal size. Nomar Garciaparra anyone (I think his brother was a D3 All-CIF player in California back in 1999)? I remember reading the London Times back in 1994. A comment that went something like this is so true: "we don't want the sport of soccer to become number one in the U.S. because you will have 6-2 220 monsters dominating".
Speaking realistically, not from dream world, how would Henry make out in the NFL? I bet he could play wide reciever with little or no training. Plus he would be a decent kicker for sure. I could easily name twenty other EPL players who have the speed to play in the NFL, and the kicking skills. No NFL player could compete in the EPL, at any position.
That's silly. Henry would get the snot knocked out of him. It's not a fair comparison. He could probably do well as a kicker, but so does Martin Gramatica. So what? Henry is a stick man compared to other NFL players. If he took a couple of years to bulk up, and then proved he could catch a Brett Favre bullet, and go over the middle against Ray Lewis or Rod Woodson, then sure. Same for soccer. Players have spent their entire youth working up to the point where they can perform at the highest levels. So that's a huge "if". That's about equivalent to me saying that Priest Holmes would be in the top 10 in goal scoring in the EPL. It's ludicrous. He might have the athletic ability, but the sport-specific skills wouldn't be there. You can't compare. By the time a player makes it to the NFL, he's spent years developing his body and skills to be able to perform at that level. So to suggest that Henry could just come over and be dropped into any other position than kicker isn't connected to reality in any way whatsoever. Maybe if he were born American, and Holmes French, it would be different. But it's moot.
Realistically, a guy like Maradona in the US... um, he probably wouldn't be one of the best players ever in one of the US sports. Great athletes the US has plenty of. The US is only the world's 3rd most populous country, with a high protein diet. Even with the other sports, the US will have some of the best athletes in soccer. Superbly physically gifted athletes do not equal to brilliant play makers and passers. Especially since the skill level of your average 12 year old playing soccer in the US is below, say, Ireland's- much less Brazil. Is there some magical height level were we don't see midfielders above? The tallest world class midfielder I can think of is Ballack, and he's 6"3'. Hmm, Jason Kidd as a center midfielder...
I agree. Especially with soccer, where physical skill isn't as important as the ability to understand the game, and the fine motor-control and balance skills required to excel. In fact, I suspect that we'd be hard-pressed to find any team that measures player strength and speed the way that NFL teams do here. In football, explosiveness, strength, and speed are valued. Those are important in soccer, too, but fitness, patience, and understanding of the game are more important. Soccer clubs undoubtedly know how fast their players are, but it doesn't really matter unless that speed can be translated into an advantage on the field. If a player doesn't play intelligently, it doesn't matter how fast he is. Witness Heydude. Which makes me wonder about Tiger Woods. I bet he would be an excellent soccer player, since he's dedicated, independent, mentally tough, and fiercely competitive. I don't know how athletically gifted he is, but I don't think it matters so much in soccer, unless he was fast on top of all that.
Well we do have one individual to point to and evaluate. Notre Dame (obviously not NFL level, but certainly top collegiate) has a defensive back that gave up his soccer scholarship after his freshman year to walk onto the football team, and was starting at least at one point this season. His name is Shane Walton I think. I was watching a game a few weeks ago and they did a half-time story on him and the soccer/football conversion. It was actually quite good, not a soccer bashing as I would have expected. One interesting point made by his current defensive backfield coach was that Shane liked football because he had more time to react to the play as it was developing! He liked being able to read the quarterbacks eyes and anticipate where he was going to throw the ball. The decision making in soccer was much quicker. Apparantly he had played both sports growing up so was relatively well skilled in both. I believe they mentioned the prestige and potential money were forces pushing him to football. So to tie this in with this thread, I'd say we have at least one defensive back that made a pretty decent soccer player.
GK: Brad Friedel D: Bill Guerin, Zach Thomas, Kobe Bryant, Brian Leetch MF: Randy Moss, Allen Iverson, John LeClair, Marshall Faulk F: Michael Vick, Donovan McNabb Bench: Jerry Rice (GK), Brian Rolston, Nomar Garciaparra (D), Jason Williams, Marvin Harrison, Mike Modano (MF), Ricky Williams, Antwain Randle El (F) Can you imagine a creative trio of Vick, McNabb, and Iverson, with LeClair sweeping up behind the midfield and Moss and Faulk flying up and down the wings?? Alex
I think you have to put Magic Johnson or Pistol Pete Maravich at A-Mid. Who would be a better playmaker?? I like 'Nique out there, since he is my favorite basketball player ever. I think someone like Nomar or A-Rod might make a good GK just for their sheer hand to eye coordination. I would want Jim Brown in his prime at D-Mid, just watch Jens Jeremies try to f&$k with him!! You definitely stick Michael Vick at LWM, I guess we are assuming he is a lefty footwise as well?? According to locker room reports, he would have no trouble sneaking a pee out the side a la DMB as well. Lucky Bastard!! Rickey Henderson on the right side. Defenders: Butkus, Chuck Cecil (AZ Cardinals) Ronnie Lott, Lawrence Taylor. It's all about that agressive attitude, and those guys have it. Maybe a good b-baller that likes to get in people's faces like Isaiah Thomas or Clyde Frazier. Barkley might be good in central defense too. As for Thierry Henry, if he were groomed to play football, WR or whatever, he would be great. The guy is an amazing, and fast, athlete, he would do well at football or b-ball if he wanted to. Up top, I go with Gayle Sayers and Jason Terry (personal preference)