http://www.teamtalk.com/teamtalk/Top_Stories/0,1569,,00.html#548280 http://sports.yahoo.com/m/world/news/reuters/20021105/reu-eurowales20021105.html So clubs gain another foothold over national team matches. And you ask how this will affect the MNT? A later release for Euros might hurt the Nats down the road in qualifiers come 2004--especially since players will have to fight jet lag and such. Discuss.
Wow, Sky Sports reported just the opposite on last night's show. FIFA must have changed their minds!!! Looks like US needs to make sure all qualifiers are scheduled on International Qualifier days and not friendly days and we can count out getting any European guys back for US based friendlies.
It looks like they changed their minds because although it is a qualifier for Euro 2004, the date is for friendlies. Wales changed the original date from one that was for qualifiers to the Nov. 20th date which is set aside for friendlies. From the yahoo article- "November 20 is a designated slot for friendly internationals and because Wales chose to move the Euro qualifier from its original date in June, FIFA have ruled that normal friendly rules apply. "Four days is the general rule but as this is only a day for friendly internationals it becomes 48 hours," a FIFA spokesman told Reuters on Tuesday." Apparently the FIFA spokesman didn't realize Wales had moved the match to a date set aside for friendlies earlier which is why the following was reported earlier. http://www.soccer365.com/EUROPEAN_NEWS/Rest_of_Europe/page_109_41327.shtml FIFA spokesman Nicolas Maingot said: "The date, November 20, is set aside for international fixtures. "If the Wales game had been a friendly they would only have been able to ask for their players 48 hours before the game. But the match is a competitive one in the European Championship. "That means the ruling is that Wales can have their players four days beforehand. "It is as simple as that, full stop, and clear in our regulations. "Why should we send out anything further in writing when it is already clear in our rules?"
Doesn't Concacaf choose the Qualifying dates? You would think they'd choose the appropriate dates, but you never know. However, I'm pretty confident that the US can now qualify with a team of MLS players, at least they should be, but of course that all depends on who continues to play in the MLS.
Yes CONCACAF chooses the qualifying dates and, in the last HEX, all qualifying dates were the "appropriate dates." Therefore, unless it is expanded or CONCACAF gets stupider, this ruling is not a problem.
I don't see this ruling as a problem. If we keep the qualifiers in line with the official competitive international dates, we should be fine.
Does scheduling a home qualifier on our west coast (as opposed to the east coast) adds much to the jet lag of a euro-based player?
I believe CONCACAF will keep the qualifiers in line with the other dates. With more countries in the region having players overseas too, the TFC schedulers would get an earfull if they couldn't get their players in time to play.
Friendlies in Europe I suppose we would try to schedule more friendlies in Europe. There's still January and the summer as well for home friendlies with the Europe-based players.
Re: Friendlies in Europe No, like always most friendies will feature MLS players or out-of-favor Euros, of which we seem to have less these days. Exceptions will be friendlies in the off-season and a few friendlies on international dates in Europe. Qualifiers will be on international dates with full squads. In other words, Arena will stick with his established practices!
The time difference is three hours greater on the west coast: 8 hours away from the British Isles and Portugal, 9 from most of Europe, and 10 from the far-flung places like Turkey and Greece. For me, coming home from Europe is much harder than getting there. The first time I came back, I crashed at about 4pm PST. Most recently, I was perfectly fine and went to bed about midnight. I am not a professional athlete, but either way I felt fine by the next day. With drugs that can make you go to sleep earlier or stay up later than is natural, jet lag should not be a massive problem.
there should be an exception for games so obviously important as euro qualys, world cup qualys, etc. Screw the clubs. The international aspect of the game is just as important as the club level in keeping soccer, footbal, in the publics mind and eye. Hurting one will only hurt the other. This is dumb, they should get their players.
Speedcake got it exactly right. International competition benefits the clubs in the long run. It's a pity that the NBA and especially MLB haven't learned this.
That's true here in the US, where International soccer is much larger than club soccer. But I doubt that's true in Europe, where club soccer generates most of the money and clubs have large investments to protect. Sachin
How many billions of people tune into the world cup every four years? take it away and tournys such as the Euro championship away and we'll find out what status soccer has globally. The clubs do have alot at stake financially, but for the good of the game, and therefore the good of the clubs, the international game has to be protected. The two aspects go hand in hand, and that is what is being forgotten by the euro clubs in recent years it seems.
the international aspect of soccer is what makes it so unique than other sports. Name one other sport which draws that much attention across the globe? The clubs are not doing any favors for themselves right now.
There is no one single sport with such tremendous support for its international half. Nothing even comes close. It just seems as if clubs are starting to take for granted the international game. It could and probably will bite them in the butt, sooner or later.