Funny thing is, I know what Rakuten is, but I have no clue what business they have in Europe, if any lol
Barcelona is is a global mark and maybe Mikitani wants to become one as well? And he likes to burn his money on football (like he does with Vissel every year).
I think this is the worst aspect. The option with 40 teams with 10 groups of 4 and only the 6 best runners up getting through seemed the perfect balance of expansion (which I think is worthwhile, for further spots for Asia and Africa) and retaining competitiveness at the tournament itself.
It means more games to test more players to assess the best 11. Not a bad thing, might mean more youngsters getting a chance to experience International matches.
Looks terrible from any point of view indeed but at least they got rid of the playoff idea. Can't wait to see what kind of nice fixed matches we will witness with 3-teams groups ! Oh but no worries, no extra time anymore, yay for immediate PKs! But the main issue is that at the moment for example the spots from Asia were well balanced. You could maybe add one slot, but 2,3,4 it'll likely mean getting 7-0d' by the top seed, so much fun for them. (Also friendlies won't matter anymore for the ranking, lol)
Not really. That's exactly part of what made this falsely attractive. The way it was done, it's basically just a stamp. In case it's not clear, I wouldn't be against opening the world cup to more teams, with the right format.
No, factually, being part of the World Cup is better than not lol. Working to get rich is rewarding but I sure as hell would be happy if someone handed me the money. I think 48 teams is too much and the main motive, money, is not noble at all but what can we do.
By that logic, if the world cup expanded to a 150 nation format where teams are gradually eliminated through a single elimination playoff (which was among the possibility) then it'd "still be better" - heh. Obviously money wasn't the point of view I was using here. You said it was "more fun" - we'll see how fun it is for some nations to be globally embarassed :/. Let's hope in decent draws
I'd rather go to Russia and get embarassed than be eliminated during the prelims. Indifference is worse than embarassement. Besides, exposure to a higher level helps players grow, inspire the youth to take on the sport, etc. might as well include 460 teams since we're exaggerating.
Good thing that's not the logic actually used in sports anywhere then and why there are qualifications for all things (olympics, champions league, whatever), relegations and promotions and so on. Embarassment is not better because instead of being "indifferent" (which seems a bad word when it's really just the greek fan not being familiar with the thai national team) you just laugh at them now and after the tournament everyone will be back to not caring anyway. "exposure to a higher level" for 3 matches means as much as your local club playing a champions league playoff against Manchester City when you are unable to string 3 passes because your players are technically not good enough anyway and it results in those teams having to play all the game behind the ball. So useful ! Surpassing expectations over time inspires the youths, not your nation getting hammered. You should've learned it from the tons of japanese docs... tournaments like the Suzuki Cup are closed for a good reason. Again, expanding the number of teams is possibly the best thing to happen to the world cup (in particular the automatic OFC slot should boost the continent's game a little), but the increase is very steep and the slot decisions risky. The format sucks, and it goes basically against the very purpose of having these teams play a decent amount of high level matches. By that logic, if the world cup expanded to a 60 nation format where teams are gradually eliminated through a single elimination playoff (which was among the possibilities) then it'd "still be better" - as long as you have the "world cup" text nicely written on your badge
If you go back to my old posts you'll see that I said 48 was too much and I was originally only discussing the value of your "not fun to go to the WC to get crushed" comment. It wasn't anything in depth. However it looks like we won't agree on the few points you responded to so be it.
The only Japanese soccerfan that got a six page special in a leading soccer magazine! https://www.vi.nl/pro/overig/japanse-tranen-om-fc-utrecht Japanse tranen om FC Utrecht 27 juli 2017, 10:00 uur Vanaf links: Yuki, Kazuya, Mayu, Yoko en Ryota Okazaki Door: Geert-Jan Jakobs In Balverliefd elke week aandacht voor de gang van zaken achter de schermen van het voetbal en opvallende gebeurtenissen aan de rand van het veld. Deze week over Kazuya Okazaki, de Japanse superfan van FC Utrecht. Facebook-bericht van Kazuya Okazaki, geschreven voor FC Utrecht-AZ op 28 mei: ‘Het is al ruim zes jaar geleden dat ik naar Utrecht kwam. Eindelijk is de dag aangebroken. Ik wou dat het niet zou gebeuren. Het is mijn laatste wedstrijd voordat ik terugkeer naar Japan. De dag dat ik bij FC Utrecht en FC U-supporters was, was zo genotvol. Ik wil je echt missen. Er waren zoveel woorden en gedachten die ik je wilde weten maar ik kon het niet omdat mijn Nederlanders erg arm waren. Ik wil gewoon met lachen eindigen! Kom op FC Utrecht! Geeft nooit over! Geen ingewanden! Ik geloof in je FC Utrecht! UUUUUU!’ Nieuwegein, een kleine twee maanden later. Kazu staart bedroefd voor zich uit in een spartaans aandoende huiskamer. Eerder vanmiddag kwamen verhuizers vrijwel al zijn spullen ophalen. Echtgenote Yoko, dochtertje Mayu (7) en zoontjes Yuki (11) en Ryota (1) gingen drie dagen eerder al voorop naar Japan. De 41-jarige Kazu blijft nog iets langer om zijn werkzaamheden in Nederland goed af te ronden, maar op 29 juli wacht ook voor hem onherroepelijk het vliegtuig terug naar zijn geboorteland. Hij ziet er enorm tegen op. Kazu somt op wat hij straks allemaal moet missen: bamischijven, frikadellen, kibbeling, zijn vele vrienden, de vrijheid in Nederland en, dat vooral, FC Utrecht. De gedachte alleen vult zijn ogen met tranen. Kazu rookt nog maar eens een sigaret op zijn balkonnetje en neemt daarna hoofdschuddend plaats op de stoel die de mannen van het verhuisbedrijf lieten staan. Wat hij dan zegt, in zijn FC Utrecht-korte broek en FC Utrecht-shirt, onder 11170
How familiar are you with Asian Footballers? If you are a fan of quiz games like me, take a look at these two games and test your knowledge. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.iluvquiz.guessasianfootballers&hl=en https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.iluvquiz.asiafootballlegendsquiz&hl=en
http://www.sandiegozestfc.us/2017/11/06/japan-men-soccer-pro-combine/ San Diego Zest FC would like to officially announce that it will host a 2-Day Japan Men’s Pro Soccer Combine on December 16th and 17th in Fukuoka, Japan