Are we sure of that though? Not official yet. If he does though, it will probably just be to end off his career. I am also hearing rumors that he could take some staff role in the Azzurri.
Ya i only care for Iran and we probably wont make past a group of Spain and Portugal. My 2nd team was Italy and 3rd USA cuz ive been here for 25yrs now It sucks that USA didnt make it simply because it will get less attention and excitement from people and media
A friend of mine coached Steven Beitashour when he was in high school in San Jose on is club team I believe. He was just included in Iran's 35-man preliminary squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. I hope he makes the squad. that would be cool!
Oh thats awesome... ya i like him but there are already 2 experienced players at his position unfortunately so i dont believe he made the final list. I think hes young enough to make the next one hopefully
I think this is his last shot as he is 31. He could make the Asian Football Confederation squad but by the next WC , he will be 35. Too bad that he will be left off...
Ya unfortunately thats 1 spot we have coverage. If he was a midfielder he had more chances lol Its also circumstances too. Hes all the way in US so he has less exposure to the team and coach and its not so easy for him to hop on flights like European players would. But ya asian cup 2019 is in January so hopefully he can make the squad then. Didnt realize he was 31
The U.S.A. have probably been in every single world cup since you have been alive. minus this upcoming version.
It hurts my soul that Italy won’t be in the World Cup this year. What a horrible coached team. I’m hoping Italy works it’s way back to the glory days. Makes me so sad that I highly doubt I will watch the World Cup. My heart still aches from that loss in 1998 vs France...
Yes but half the time, undeservedly if you ask me. Seriously the Americans like to talk highly about their team, saying they are comparable with second tier European teams, and just that they missed the WC puts them in their place.
Italy missing the WC is much worse, I thought they're supposed to be a first tier European team. Guess they're not even as good as the Americans.
Ventura blew it. It would have been a miserable WC with him if they did qualify, so maybe the lesser of two evils with the team not qualifying.
I was thinking about actually. I did hear rumors about Ventura being sacked regardless of whether we made it or not, but I doubt they were true. If we made it, we would have had another group stage exit, possibly even more embarrassed than in 2010 and 2014. Might of been good for us not to. I still cannot believe how Ventura even got into that place. Seriously he was unproven, and did not really impress that much with Torino actually. Maybe they did beat Athletic Club in the 2014-15 Europa League, but thats just one tie though, and who knows how seriously Athletic Club were taking it. The fact is, after Ventura left Torino, and Mihajlovic took over, the club greatly improved. I saw a lot more urgency in the team under Mihaljlovic. Under Ventura, Torino averaged around 53 goals. When Mihaljlovic took over they scored 71 goals. Huge difference in attack. Not saying Mihaljlovic is that good of a manager but you could totally see the difference in front of goal after Ventura left. When Ventura got appointed I was pretty worried considering how Torino fared under him. Especially seeing the difference after he left Torino. I knew Spain were gonna kill us. No way we upset a bigger team under Ventura. I remember when he was competing against Montella and Di Biasi for coach of Italy, he was my last choice. I would have liked Di Biasi out of those three, and Montella would have been my second choice. How Ventura got there is beyond me. Tavecchio must have been really stupid. I always thought Tavecchio had a heart for the team until I witnessed what happened with Ventura, and then I completely changed my mind about him.
If they didnt go all out for Gigi's last few yrs you think they will now? Theyre happy going far and winning Scudetti. They are not breaking the bank until 5 yrs from now once they experience few yrs of profit. By 2023 i think we'll start spending.