It is DEFINATELY part of the game. In a tight match if you can get your opponents to lose their heads it can be the difference between winning and losing. A bit of needle spices up the match and makes the post game victory beers wash down all the better. It can backfire on occasions though. I remember one game where one of the opposition was carrying a bit too much weight and our captain bad mouthed him for all to hear calling him a pie eater, toffee man, candy boy etc. etc. The crowd were laughing (even some of his own fans) but the guy went into a rage and played the game of his life although he still finished on the losing side. Kind of respect them more when they respond like that. To summarise my opinion on bad mouthing it kind of finds out which players have the stomach for it and which ones don't and are potential weaknesses in the opposition. It is definately worth doing. One thing that pleases me the most about my teams double championship season is that EVERYONE else in the league didn't care who won it as long as it wasn't us. All of which made the moment of raising the trophy extra sweet.
Going into a game with the intent on insulting the other team's players is like going to school on a Sunday... no class. If you can't beat your man with your skills and you have to revert to getting into his head with language, then you need to hit the clinic and get your skills checked. Class A players act like one.
I agree that when your team is losing it is poor taste and you end up looking worse by doing it. But when your team is winning most of its games (like ours was) it often adds the extra sweetness to a victory knowing that the opposition lost their heads and were given a sound beating at all levels.
ummm... how does he know that much about the other team lol. thats way too much research. my philosiphy is work hard and play. not keep your mouth shut and play but work hard and play. you have to protest calls of course
IMHO, insulting is NOT part of the game. The mental part only comes in at the beginning before the game starts. Once the game begins, all it matters is skill and teamwork. I guess if I'm the ref, I would've red carded the kid.
Couldn't have said it any better! So you're saying if you're winning, it's NOT poor taste and you don't end up looking bad if you're insulting them? I think you look worse if you're insulting them while you win. Respect your opponent, whether you're winning or losing, instead of making childish and immature remarks.
[/QUOTE] So you're saying if you're winning, it's NOT poor taste and you don't end up looking bad if you're insulting them? I think you look worse if you're insulting them while you win. Respect your opponent, whether you're winning or losing, instead of making childish and immature remarks.[/QUOTE] Respect an opponent only when they have EARNT your respect. I think the problem for half of these people who are saying it is wrong to sledge is that they can't take it themselves when someone is having a pop. Once you cross the white line the successful teams have a win at all costs mentality wheras the weak sides don't. However it is important to remember that what is said on the pitch should remain on the pitch IMO. The time to be pally with the opposition is after the game in the bar not during it.
No. My problem is people who act like that are generally fuckwits, and I have a low tolerance for fuckwits. Get a clue. Acting like an utter tool has nothing to do with the difference between successful and weak teams. In fact, the majority of the really successful teams I've come into contact with have by far the best sportsmanship and discipline on the field. As someone said, A Class players act like it. If you need to do it in order to win the game, then you should quit acting so immaturely and fix your skills. If you don't need to do it to win the game, then it's pointless and merely displays an utter lack of class.
Yeah that's it! You fool, if you find insulting people during the game part of it, maybe you forgettin why you're there.....to play football, most people who have to insult can't play football and are usually intimidated by what they've heard about the player. The problem is, i don't feel the need to insult people while i play, i go in hard but fair and if the player has a problem with that he can try and insult me, but the tackles will get harder, why talk to someone you don't know or maybe don't like, didn't your mother ever tell you that! Not to talk to strangers!
if you're insulting the other team , you have to at least be ready for retaliation, whether verbal or physical. so if you're saying insults the whole time and get popped in the mouth, you shouldn't complain or be surprised.
True. But that's the point of insulting -- to get inside the other players head. So if he hits you, you know he's no longer concentrating on his game, and he can get a card.
I dont say anything, don't play dirty, it's my personality. My friends call me zidane minus the skill, ha...but I don't like kids that talk a lot and all of that, no point
You call it acting a tool I call it doing what needs to be done to win a game of soccer. The reason you find the best teams are sporting is probably that your not giving them a game. If you were challenging them you would almost certainly see a nastier side to their game, but this is the side to them that makes them winners. There are plenty of teams that we thrashed 4-0, 5-0 who would say we were a great sporting side, friendly etc. However the truth is these teams just roll aside and we were always so confident that we would win that we knew there was no need to act like that unless they started it. I am talking about matches when the game is "up for grabs" and the tackles are going in between two closely matched sides. Reading this thread it looks like some people just don't "get it". They have probably never played for a team that wins consistently over a long period and are the sort of guys who are happy to finish mid-table losing half their matches and then console themselves after defeat thinking of well at least we were polite and played a sporting manner wrongly assuming that these "qualitites" earns them respect.
This is ridiculous. What gets me about people that woof and taunt on the pitch/field/court is the way they manage to convince themselves that it actually contributes to their teams chances of winning. They've got their heads so far up their own asses they don't notice negative responses from their own teammates, they forget about penalties called for unsportsmanlike behavior, they don't notice the way it distracts them from the job they're supposed to be doing out there, and they treat any response from an opponent as positive evidence that their having exhibited their personality flaw during the game is actually a winning strategy instead of what it really is: a public embarrassment. Last but not least, they wouldn't know respect if it gave them a blow job.
Sorry man. If you need to win a game of soccer by talking sh** to the other team, I hate to break it to you but... you suck. My advice... learn to play the game better. Maybe you won't need to resort to talking sh** anymore and maybe you'll win games with your skills instead. Sorry again mate. I've played this game at it's highest level for 23 years. I've been on plenty of teams that went undefeated all season. I have many state, regional, and national championship trophies that we've battled teams for. My teams were successful with our determination, skill, fitness, and love for the game. For me to say that we did it by talking sh** would be a disgrace to our abilities. Can you say that, or are you sticking with the idea that your teams proudly won by talking sh**? Must be something to be proud of. I think there is only one person not getting here. So by saying that, do you think that talking sh** to the other team is what REALLY earns respect? The only respect I've ever given any team, is how well they play on the pitch, not what is spraying out of their mouths. Look... all in all don't take this personally. We have all talked a bit of rubbish on the field before. Its only human nature, but what we're all trying to tell you is that you shouldn't be so damn proud of it. It really makes you look bad when you say that your team is better because of it. As much as you say you play for a successful side, you are really making it look like your team ain't sh** without your mouths. You don't want us thinking that do you? If you can win without your mouths then why use em? Some sort of a complex perhaps?
Hey... I am for talking ******** and all, but if you can't talk it back, or you can't hit back when the game gets more intense, don't do it.
Lets see, talking smack to the other team for 90 mins might result in a red card; not for the trash talking tho, but for the one who couldn't take it no more and break the trash talker's nutz through a powerful kick. Red card for your nutz? Well, if you think the game is worth it........Have I seen people like that? O ya.....I've also seen the game-aftermath parking lot scene; whoooo, smoking...... I don't talk trash, period.I usually am too busy communicating with my teammates and yelling commands and position info at them that I can't hear much else. I deal with trash talking 2 ways, either I "accidently" physically hurt him; like "accidently' shoulder to his stomach and lift him up during his jump for a header (which is legal btw if you do it with skill); or a "secret elbow" works well, but make sure he is down for the count if you use elbow because he might come back to hurt you. The lifting thingy tho can be so dicrete he might not even know you mean it. esspecially if you "apologize" for it right after he eats sand. Ok, so maybe I am in a good mood, another way I deal with trash talking is to have a weird conversation with him or my teammates or myself. Like weather, underwear, bras. You know? If you talk women with them, sometimes it works well they might actually join in the conversation and stop the trash talk; like, "I wanna F*&* that supermodel," and follow with very explicit details. Talk about disney is cool too. My favorite: I keep mumbling to myself in some sort of "crazy"/"psycho" way, plus now and then I slip in a phrase like, "SH*& I forgot my medication this morning." And then I scream all of a sudden and grin and crack a smile at him. Think "joker" from batman. Yes, I am a scary little cat. ~out
My personality, is go in hard but fair, if the player keeps talking to you go in harder and harder then just smile if he gets pissed off and swear and you'll find his smack talking isn't getting him anywhere and you're turning it all back on him. Also the reason i go in hard but fair is for them to feel my presence and if they go in hard on me, fair dues i don't mind, infact i like it more because it builds a rivalry.