Ha! I know. Apparently even 7 million GBP won't get you out of the group stages. Shockingly low what someone who manages Argentina makes.
Yet more evidence that canning the England manager is not enough. The whole system is a mess and it starts at the top with the FA. Don't you see how vital it is that the Netherlands be protected? CONCACAF teams had already played their part in eliminating a host of European teams. Getting by Holland for a place in the semis could lead to all manner of insane repercussions. You might even have people suggesting that 13 slots is too much for a confederation that has had it's share of serial underwhelmers over the last two cycles...
The beyond blatant juicing up of Robben is attracting a bit of media backchat on twitter robben performance stats: 12667 metres; 54 sprints (second highest after borges); top speed 31.61km/h (second highest after bolaños)— Ken Early (@kenearlys) July 5, 2014 @kenearlys honestly don't know what they're giving him— Raphael Honigstein💙 (@honigstein) July 5, 2014 Of course all the players are juicing but sometimes it just gets a bit obvious
Everyone passes the drug tests Apparently no one has been caught since Maradona in 1994 Football has the most laughable testing possible
It would be nice to have proof to go along with the allegation. I know players in the BL that have not passed, so not everyone passes there at least.
Well Robben is not cheating any more than Ronaldo or Messi or Alves or Ferdinand back in 2004 They are all at it Its just sometimes it becomes a bit too obvious when a guys data at 30 years of age is suddenly so wildly off the chart. I guess he just has a better diet than when he was 25
That's just it, his performance looks quite similar to his season. I could see if some like Höwedes or Meatsacker all of a sudden became speed merchants or marathon players, but Robben has always been fast and has been a beast this season. I just like some proof with my innuendo.
There never will be any "proof" Football like most pro sports is still in denial Fans want to believe that Ronaldo is real. Or that 30 year old Robben can physically outperform his 25 year old self
for fack sake. every thing in this forum is a facking conspiracy against fifa. Go try makes your own federation and have your own tests and rules.
There is no conspiracy Its just like US Sports - if you have extremely lax controls, you don't find much Recently in Australia they had a big crackdown and found that drug cheating was endemic at every major club across codes. So Rugby's answer is basically to ignore it. Problem solved.
Yup, my point. I could get get behind the "everybody is juicing" bandwagon if Robben hadn't had the season he had where he just looked beastly. The Doping Control Board of the DFL is pretty good and has caught players before. So if Robben is doping he's using something they don't test for...and that would have to be something pretty special as they test for all known enhancements, recreational drugs and even several herbal cocktails. Not sure what FIFA tests for, but the DFL is pretty extensive. And given Robben passed one test in the late fall and another in April....and has shown similar form all season...it's hard to believe he's doping.
When he was 25 years old we didn't have the same quality of player statistics available. Robben has always been amazing when fit. Problem is that he is only fit for 25-40 matches per year.
Extensive? LMAO Anyway - I just posted what the Journos are saying including Honigstein Your Views May Vary
Yes, extensive. They [Wettkampfkontrollen der Deutsche Fußball-Bund] test for all drugs that are tested at the Olympics, UEFA competitions, FIFA competitions and a subset required by the DFB as a result of their own research. I understand they also test for drugs (and performance enhancing processes) now on the list after the Lance Armstrong affair. Like I said, unless it is a new process or drug the DFL tests for it. So while there may always be exceptions they are currently testing for more drugs than any other entity. I am trying to find the list online as an example. Just curious why you think their efforts are not extensive? Any reports you've seen to the contrary out of Germany? Something that's not Twitter? Because a reporter tweeting something is not news just because he works for a news outlet. News is fact based backed up by research and sources....not a reporter tweeting and allegation based on a specious comparison of stats. That's more like in Internet forum than news. Here's an except for a 2011 article in the SZ about drugs in the EPL and the DFL response: In Deutschland übernimmt die Nada im Fußball die Trainingskontrollen, die Wettkampfkontrollen der Deutsche Fußball-Bund (DFB). "Wenn es einen positiven Fall gibt, erfahren wir in Deutschland davon auf jeden Fall", sagte Mertes. Aber erst, wenn leistungssteigerndes Doping und kein Drogenverstoß festgestellt wird, zieht das nach einer Prüfung der Umstände eine Sperre nach sich. Wichtig ist dabei auch die Sportart. Während beispielsweise bei Fußballern ein leicht erhöhter Alkoholwert nicht als Doping geführt wird, zählt er bei Sportschützen wegen der beruhigenden Wirkung als leistungssteigernd und ist daher verboten.
Yeah, I fall more on the side of @LoewenBoy on this matter. I don't believe its impossible to be more physically fit at age 30 than 25. He's still in the range of his physical prime, and changes to his diet, exercise regime, etc. could've jump started this change just as likely as any drug.
The fact that he's been injured most of his playing career for at least half his seasons worth. Now this is pretty much the first time he's been healthy and in form for the entire season.
There was an 1860 player that test positive a few years ago for a Rogaine like substance which he did not know (read: did not bother to check) was a banned substance. One look at his stats would have shown that his performane was in no way enhanced...but they suspended him anyway.
And Rooney's never been quite the same since getting plugs... There needs to be a study done on this. Could it be that after thousands of years, Samson was actually the exception?
It's not impossible. First thing that goes is injury recovery. But in terms of results players become smarter & more confident. I always believed peak is 27 to 32
Hate to tell you, I know guys that have better numbers in their 40s than they had in the early 30s. These are peak ultra athletes who begain training differently, diet, exercise, etc. A guy like Robben who as access to more than my friends to could easily make gains between 25-30.