OK, whose idea was it to let Michael Ballack be a studio analyst for the Euro?

You're right. It's not about accents, but the guy clearly has limited training when it comes to studio analysis. He's staring down half the time, pausing too much while speaking, and not articulating his thoughts. He reminds me of Tim Hardaway doing the NBA in the early days of ESPN's coverage. They like to show off and throw any ol' name in there, but that's not the way this works.

 

Yeah he clearly needs improvement on his studio work and clearly he is struggling to articulate his thoughts well in English (or in general), so in that respect it isn't a great choice. Maybe he will settle in, we'll have to see. As you said, he obviously has been around at the highest level so I would love to hear what he has to say.


I prefer to hear him than Keller doing the game to be honest, sorry Kasey. I appreciate him as a GK but can't stand him announcing.

 

Thought Ballack was a bit better at halftime there.

 

Still better than Lalas. But who wouldn't be?

 

Better than Kasey Keller too, who I thought was horrible.

 

Here's hoping Michael Ballack gets better. Look at it this way - he has a month?

 

He can only get better. The guy has all the charisma of a wet paper bag.

 

Hopefully his producers will work with him. It seems like he got better throughout the day, but you could tell that Ley was ready to cut him off and fill the dead air everytime. Has Ballack done this in the UK before? I realize that their commentators aren't as yell-y as ours typically are.

 

The bigger question is why does ESPN always have Alexi Lalas as an analyst? First during the World Cup and now during the Euros.

I mean, at least Michael Ballack was a soccer player....

 

Lalas played for USA during World Cup USA 1994. Are you too young to remember?

Lalas always has something interesting to say. Not afraid of getting into topics that are "politically sensitive."

 

Just because someone could kick a ball around once in the day doesn't make him a soccer player. You know what I mean. Lalas is an idiot. He may sound impressive to some noob Yankee fan who is just learning soccer, but otherwise he is an annoying dimwit, who tries too hard to pretend as if he knows soccer.

 

I think he is trying to be an English style of commentator. No emotion and stale.

That said, he did crack a joke yesterday that made everyone laugh on air. I think he will get better as he gets used to the American way of doing things and is less nervous.

 

If Ballack is your minimum of what a "soccer player" is, you must not think there are very many soccer players in the world, let alone in the media...

 

I'm not going to argue with you regarding Lalas as a commentator but to say he's not a soccer player is unfair. He was certainly not at the level of Ballack but there are a lot of players that have made a living as soccer players who are far worse than Lalas.

 

Think Ballack has been much better today.

 

Well the annoying dimwit & idiot said that Denmark might be a surprise and he predicted that they would do well in the Group of Death in the Pre-Game - and now Denmark beat the heavily favorite Holland.

 

So that suddenly makes him an expert? Did Lalas ever offer any deep technical insight about the game ? (which is the reason professional players are called in to the studio)

ESPN should have brought in Donovan or Dempsey or Howard as guest analysts who have far more soccer cred than Lalas.

 

Um, don't you think those guys have other commitments at the moment?

 

what are you talking about he played in most technical and tactical league serie a in that time and he knows nothing. he has been coached by best coaches in the world again in serie a , what kind of experience does donovan or dempsey have their coaches probably told them just to run and run in epl.

 

Alexi Lalas... Ballack was the only one who could make Lalas look good by comparison.

 

...pretty hard for them as they're playing in world cup qualifiers. Even a non'expert' would know that. And please tell me how any of the three have more soccer credit than Lalas

 

Ballack has had some good points. I like him. Just because you know English doesn't make you a master in a foreign environment. Lalas should get off his high horse and stop acting like some bully know it all

 

if he did ESPN would fire him. Rebecca Lowe looked like she wondered what kind of saloon she wandered into when Lalas was saying "England should be happy! Have a beer! You got a draw!"