I hate the international comp. weeks Euro 2004 qualifiers happen this week and I must say, as an American, I hate this. Take away an opportunity to watch my beloved Gunners and substitute it with meaningless competitions. Does anyone really think Malta or Cypress have a chance? With things going so well I want to see the momentum carry and I need my Arsenal fix. Plus the conversation seems to abate when the Gunners dont have a weekend fixture.
I would imagine that most football fans can get almost as excited about watching their national teams playing as watching Arsenal. And no, most of the time, the likes of Malta or Cyprus don't have a chance against bigger international sides, but that's like saying Wrexham have no chance against Arsenal. Sometimes it does happen, Cyprus beat Spain only a couple of years ago. Aren't the US team playing this weekend? I thought the international calendar was meant to have been harmonised by now.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! That was a good one. Will you be playing at a comedy club near me soon? FIFA can't agree on which hand to use to wipe their collective asses, the US will win the WC before they get that one figured out.
If the US were playing than, yes, I could be more excited. Actually if England or Sweden were televised Id be more excited but in a football poor country I wont get that. Thats why I qualify my statements with "as an American".
Well, England are on PPV here in the States at 2:30 in the afternoon next Wed against Macedonia. As for the US team, their next match isn't until mid-November against El Salvador. So much for bringing the World Cup Winners to Giants Stadium in an effort to raise money for the 9/11 relief fund (as was bandied about by USSF.)
As I've stated before, club over country. I'd rather watch Arsenal play than any national team. While I'll support my national team (USA) and be happy about their results - I still HATE several players on the team because they play for rival clubs. I still don't understand how any non-Leeds supporting English fan can actually cheer for Danny Mills or Lee Bowyer or Alan Smith. In addition, international games are another opportunity for star players to get injured! If Pires had gone down playing for France, I'd personally be harrassing the FFA about their slack-jawed policies of dragging players around the world for meaningless games! Good luck to England, France, Netherlands & Ukraine in qualifying. (Gotta support the Arsenal Boys)
I feel the same way. A friend of mine came back from England this past summer and gave me an England t-shirt as a gift. I was excited until I saw that there was a name on the back - Beckham. I understand how crucial he is to the England team, but he still plays for Manure, and I just can't get around that.
The lull in club play is excruciating. Who wants to see the action stop when we're playing this good? There's plenty to be happy about so far. Personally, the slaughtering of Leeds (the one English team we failed to beat last year) and the addition of Silva have been the biggest things to smile about, IMO. Chime in anyone.
England are also on this Saturday on PPV as well - Slovakia is it? For a mere $20 you can watch as England stroll to a win. Want to solve fixture congestion? Why not have the lesser lights like Macedonia and Slovakia have to face each other to qualify for the chance to play a team like England somewhere down the road. Kind of like the bigger teams joining the FA Cup in progress. France, along those same lines, play Slovenia and Malta this week. Seriously, do we have to jeopardize our French contingent's health just so some guy from Malta can get the thrill of exchanging a jersey with a superstar after getting hammered by 4 goals?
I've seen this debate before on other boards round here. It seems that it would be a good idea on the surface, but the smaller teams would argue that they will never become any better unless they are let play the good teams. If they play a poor standard all the time, how would they improve their football and how would they judge how far they have come? As I mentioned above, small teams do sometimes beat bigger teams, I gave the example Cyprus beating Spain above, but only last month Scotland didn't come up with the expected thrashing of the Faroe Islands. This kind of dream is what football is all about after all. We only have to look at the Summer, who would have thought that the likes of South Korea, USA and Turkey would be getting to the latter stages of the competition? Will Igor Stepanovs ever become any better if Latvia aren't allowed to play the bigger teams? (Personally I think he's a lost cause, but you get my drift).
Join the UEFA Fantasy League and Prediction game. Then you will have some interest in the results. Euro 2004 should be a great competition. Who will qualify??
the only thing that would keep me interested on these weeks would be if north and south america had a competition kinda like the euros, with prestige
North America...soccer...prestige. I'm not sure those three ideas belong in the same sentence just yet.
I hate the international comp. weeks Wow this conversation thread has certainly provided a convinient umbrella for all kinds of angles. I am personally enjoying a week without Arsenal as I work myself into a bit of a frenzy before every fixture--largely due to irrational notions of fate and personal well being. Also I'm a firm believer that absence makes the heart grow fonder. I'll be even more excited when the Premiership resumes next week As far as the US team I was gutted to see Reyna put in such a poor performance against Arsenal last week as I found him so inspiring during the World Cup and although I might feel different if he played for ManU I would gladly wear a Sunderland jersey with his name on it. Keller and the scum is probbaly stretching thins though!
What about a Blackburn jersey with Friedel's name? I like the idea of "absence makes the heart grow fonder" but truth is, I'm in a funk without a match to tune into this weekend. I looked ahead to the matches we have in December. It'll be a tough stretch--Liverpool, ManU, Middlesborough, Tottenham. Let's hope Gio is all systems go by then and RP7 comes back his old self.
I would have to wholeheartedly disagree, I love Arsenal through and through, but international football's appeal is that it doesn't come around that often. I love these weeks... the endless gossip regarding england, ireland, et all. The announcement of a "classified injury list" for England, the drama of Scotland losing to Iceland and on top of it all, some pretty decent games, and the ability to either watch them live AND see highlights that night on Sky Sports News.
I hate the international comp. weeks There have been a lot of good points raised under this thread which I won't go into individually, but will try to generalise on. Having just watched England (unfortunately not) "stroll" to a 2 -1 win over Slovakia. (A draw would have been a fairer result), but it takes me a week away from Arsenal. I would much rather see Arsenal win the "Champions League" than England win the Euro 2004. Not that I am unpatriotic, far from it, but having to cheer for Man. Ure, L'pool, and (although not today) the odd "scum" player, goes against the grain. Also I am not willing to hear the "but you cheer for French, Nigerian, Brazilian, Urkainian, Cameroonian, etc. etc."). "YES, I DO". Because they represent MY CLUB and not my country. And yes, there IS a difference. Maybe some time in the future the same players might be playing for another club, but at the present, they don't. They represent Arsenal. "'Nuff Said". (As they say at Millwall). No England players there either.
Don't know if I agree with the statement that international fixtures don't come around very often. With WC and Euro every two years, you essentially get a non-stop stream of qualifiers, friendlies, and tournaments. And the drama is usually reserved for the tournaments themselves and maybe the WC quals (since only eight teams go through instead of 16 for Euro.....IIRC).