I am almost 100% positive that Nomar was a field player and not a keeper. I believe he crossed soccer paths with JMM in their youth days. Andy
LOL, I was almost thinking the same thing..."Dude, Jim Brown is old" was actually my thought...I guess I was meaning in his prime, and Jeremies at his thuggish best...
Now consider this. What if Ronaldo was on the American professional bowlers tour. No...hear me out... Now if we only assume that his fluid dribbling style translates into a gracefull approach to the lane, his cannon of a shot translates into a sharp release, and his uncanny field vision translates into uncanny accuracy - by God, the man would be a MONSTER on the lanes! Just think of the type of bowlers Brazil will be churning out in the next 10 years!
I love these threads. The one pro athlete I can think of that was simply born to play soccer is John Stockton. Gritty, smart, incredible vision, amazing coordination, balance, savy, durable, clutch, consumate team player, heart, and just enough of a mean streak... He should have been a 10 shirt.
hmm...Soccer players as football players? I'm not exactly sure about Thierry Henry. I think he has the speed (at least when he wants, I don't think I have ever seen a lazier striker). I suppose if he listef a lot he would be strong enough, but the biggest uestion I would have is he tough enough. These are guys who go down because they get shoved. Then again he grew up playing soccer...No idea but i think the biggest problem a soccer player would have transitioning from Soccer to Football is ability to take a hit and the speed. Soccer is much more of a patient game than football. And you don't have to worry about kicking a ball at your feet in football which alone makes it faster.
I question his knowledge of soccer if he thinks a team of 6'7" super athletes could dominate. And no, fast quick feet don't equal a good soft touch, years of playing in the street or in the yard against a wall is how you develop a touch. Look at some African countries when they play against teams like Mexico or Paraguay, the African side are far superior athletes, but does that scare the crap out of these teams? Not that I've ever witnessed and by no means are these smaller, less athetic teams outclassed or even outjumped. I know this thread is just for fun but I have to question the knowledge of what it is that makes a true class player in Gods sport
And I question your ability to read a post before responding to it. I didn't insinuate anything about height. Mike Vick is 6"0' , if you read the original post you would have noticed that. What did I say? Take Vick and his athleticism, and transplant that into soccer skill. I never thought that the African's were incredibally athletic. I always connote African teams with flair and offensive skill, and no defense. Diouf, Kanu, Etoo, Jay Jay Okocha, those are players who could dribble through an obstacle course at full speed, and look good doing it. What beats them is that usually they leave huge gaps on the defensive ends at times. Why do you think I ASKED about the quick feet? Obviously because I didn't know. I heard an announcer say something to that effect and was wondering how true it was. There are very few Countries in the world that are more athletic than everybody else, one of them is England. Another is America. The reason we beat Portuga, a more skillful team, was because we were athletically superior.
Henry would not get the crap kicked out of him... they would have to catch him first. Besides, soccer players go down because it is strategy, not because they can't stay up. There is a long history of players in the NFL, especially wide receivers, who made it without much training because they were really fast. Most of them were only track athletes. Henry already has the skills to play football...he can track a long pass, and knows how to position his body in relation to defenders to receive a pass. I am sure that he has adequate hand-eye coordination to catch it. There is no doubt in my mind that he could make an NFL roster. The different positions in football require VERY different skills, and some not many at all. Anyone can go out there and run a pattern, especially if they are one of the fastest, quickest people in the world. Henry is lightning, and no NFL coach would pass him by. The nuances of the game might take a little while to learn, but he is already a proven professional athlete, and could easily adapt.
Henry would have to add at least 20-30 pounds of pure muscle before he could even think about playing in the NFL. He may be a fast S.O.B., but that ain't gonna help you going over the middle against Zach Thomas or Brian Urlacher. And I'd like to see him run that fast wearing 30 pounds of gear, including movement-restrictive leg pads. Not to mention the fact that he'd have to learn to catch a football traveling 70 mph--for all we know, the guy has hands like bricks. No doubt he's a great athlete, but to say he could step into the NFL tomorrow and make any team in the league as a receiver is unbelievably ignorant. Maybe if he trained for AT LEAST 6 months to a year. Alex
Henry could probably use a little training, to learn the plays and such...but he doesn't need to gain that much weight. There are plenty of skinny guys in the NFL, and I would bet that Henry already hits the weight room. Lots of wide receivers are pretty slight. I am not saying necessarily that he could be an impact player right away, but even if it took him two years(it wouldn't) and not six months like was suggested, that is still waaaaay faster than any NFL player could hope to transition to a top level professional soccer team, if it is possible at all. As for the hands like bricks possibility... do you honestly believe that a person capable of catching a fifty yard ball at a full run on his foot wouldn't be able to do the same thing using his hands? All I am saying is that if I were an NFL coach, it would be hard for me to pass on one of the world's quickest, fastest athletes. He would at least have a chance out there. No NFL player would stand a chance in the EPL.
Plays QB for Falcons. In only his second year, he is the most physically gifted quaterback in NFL history. May very well be the most phyisically gifted of any player in NFL history. Regularly makes opposing defenders look like mere children pursuing a grown up. Consistently provides jaw dropping plays.
Yeah, except no one talking American football was arrogant to say that Vick or Urlacher or any of a number of other players would be able to step onto the USMNT or even an MLS club and start immediately. There's a huge difference between hypothesizing about a player's potential if he had chosen soccer and claiming that your favorite soccer player would come in and dominate the "inferior" American sports. Jerk.
Obviously would be a complete failure in a real sport like soccer because everybody knows that American football is really just an extraordinarily slow, simple game where a bunch of fat people who need oxygen after every play shove each other around in a crude imitation of rugby. It's a lot like how all basketball players would be huge failures in soccer because they're just genetic freaks playing some silly game where they jump around a lot, yet another inferior imitation of a worthier British sport, whose name currently escapes me.
OK, everybody who has played football before (HS, college, professional of any sort) is probably about as annoyed as I am after reading the last few posts. For one thing, catching a 50 yard bomb while being covered by someone is probably one of the hardest things to do in sports. Something Henry would not be able to do 10 out of 10 times. Unless he has been playing football for awhile. Umm...the average STARTING High School reciever weighs in at about 170 Ilb. benches about 185 and suats more than 250. He also has pretty good hand eye cooirdination. Thierry Henry would have major problems playing for a High School team in 6 months. Never would he get into the NFL. I've played both sports, and I love soccer.....well....forget it to finish this thought is not worth the personal attacks I'd have to take. Unless you grew up playing football, there is absolutly no way you can step in and play a skill position at the age of like 24 in a competitive league. Its the same with soccer. Unless you grew up playing that sport then you simply don't have the endurance nor the foot skills or foot strength to play in that sport. Of course none of this has anything to do with my original post.
What??!! Kids play football from a very early age. They don't play organized football, but they develop many of the necessary skills in pick-up games. This kind of "it doesn't count unless it's an organized league" mentality is exactly the reason we're not great at soccer.
You are right that youth soccer players should be allowed to just play around, but you can't compare that to playground football. The difference is that American football doesn't really rely on imagination, flair, and a certain playfulness that soccer requires. That's what pickup soccer games really teach. Backyard football is usually just run around until you get open and hope whoever is playing QB can chuck it to you. There are somethings that are beneficial such as being an elusive runner that backyard football can teach, but actual football is based on technique and reading a play like a Visual Basic program (if, then, else).
That is not only total BullSh!t but offensive to me as a football player. I can't even explain to you just how wrong that whole post was. If you think thats true come and try covering me or try and get open on me. Play like its "technique and reading a play like a Visual Basic program" I'll toast you till you cry and shut you down with out a catch.
actually, I played football. I was a reserve defensive tackle as a sophomore on a high school team that made the playoffs in Illinois. And the sport is crap. It's not a "man's sport" as its proponents always insist, it's a slave's sport. Players are given minimal opportunity to think for themselves. Everything is scripted, everything is designed, often by people watching the action from the press box. The best thing to happen to me was losing weight for wrestling, then being told by the coach I'd have to put it back on for football, and I decided not to. I got to discover that soccer is by far the better sport. And it's asinine to assume that we are missing out on anything because Kordell Vick doesn't play soccer. Has it ever dawned on you alternate universe-seeking geeks that these players would've been subjected to the same conditions that afflict our soccer players? Like mediocre coaching, little opportunity to develop against the highest competition, and the absence of a soccer culture? Our problem isn't that we don't have "great athletes" (whatever the ************ that means) playing soccer in the US, it's that we don't have great soccer players.
It always crack me up when I read this type of topics. "Imagine what if Michael Jordan played soccer ". It seems that the implicit concept under the statement is the following - "Imagine how good the US would be if we really put our best athletes in soccer". Maybe I'm wrong. Anyway, what many people don't realize is that there are world class athletes playing in different soccer leagues all over the world. Remember Angloma a French back? Or recently Rommedahl (sp?) a Danish forward. They had almost olympic type speed, and let me tell you that these players, although very good and members of their National Team, were not considered the best footballers in their respective countries. As a matter of fact, if you evaluate the best players ever, you would not find anyone who was also considered superlatively athletic. Pele, Maradona, Cruyff, DiStefano, Puskas, Bckenbauer, Eusebio, etc, etc, were legends not because they ran a 4.2 40 yds or because they were 6'4" and weighed 240 lbs or because they could benchpress 350 or whatever. They were outstanding because they had extraordinary ability to play soccer. Recent examples Zidane, Figo, Riquelme, Romario, Ronaldo are legends because of the magic they create with the ol' round ball ball. They have theat special knack of really knowing where to move, how to pass, how to shoot and when to stop and think what to do.
You are scary. Did you even understand that post? Did you think I was saying that football requires no athletic ability? I would hope that it would go without saying that it requires athletic ability, but apparently not. I was comparing the necessary skills and mindsets of soccer and football. No bashing of either sport, but apparently you're just looking for a fight someone. Soccer fans catch hell for being paranoid about what other people think about their sport, and you're acting the same way towards football. Chill, bro.