GOOD LORD, PLEASE GET RID OF THAT MAN!!! I can not stand struggling through a match with that IDIOT doing his commentary. he's so DULL and goes through so many silent spells. Talks pure jibberish and always tries to be funny, but ends up sounding pathetic. During the UEFA match the other day, (Man city v Lokeren) even NICK webster told him to put a stop to it. Wether it was serious or not, i don't know, but the thing is, it was said. he should be doing Hockey or BAseball. ANYWAY Max Bretos HAS to STOP. I don't mean to sound biased, but (as far as language goes) FOX should leave it to the English commentators. Agree.????
i have to agree with Patrick here. I actually like Bretos ......... but the guys he named are pathetic.
Max does fine I think Max does a fine job. Most the time he is in the studio watching the game on a TV monitor doing games by himself. He does games from all around the world. I like his silence. He lets the game talk for itself. I do think he does a horrible when he is in the booth with someone. During the Champions League, Georgio and him were awful. Max was trying to be a comedian and Georgio was terrible! When Max is by himself he does fine.
yeah, Max isn't great but the pair doing the WWC Brazil-Norway game were horrid. The phrase "boot it" was utter so much it could have been a drinking game.
For my money, he's one of the best ones in the country. And when he's on, he's the best one. Count me as a fan (but then I like Mallin too).
LOL. I wish i could put more emphasis on it. but that line is simply brilliant. You summed up my whole post in one short line.
Well, it seems like the majority of you don't mind him. Just out of honest curiosity, not taking the mick...........are all of you hardcore FOOTBALL fans??? Seriously, I 'm not joking. Casue I have NO idea how you can stand him, and on top of that, you're telling me that there's WORSE? It can't be. Surely there's a mistake here.!!!!! I'm used to hearing commentary from the brits all the time whenever it comes to footey. they are un-parallel to any one else when it comes down to it. I know that (maybe) being in the US stunts your knowledge and enthusiasm a bit, but the main reason why it sucks, is because they have access to the English commentary. Not sure why they don't let it through, but i've heard it sneek through now and a gain. C,mon lads, it's the UEFA cup, FOXSports HAS to do better than MAXIMUS. LOL!!!
He is annoying as hell sometimes, but one of his redeeming factors is you can't help but notice that unlike some announcers he has a genuine love for the game... So he may suck, have an ADD problem etc, but he loves his job... And if we had more of him, we'd be watching EPL, La Liga, etc on ESPN instead of KC vs Detroit in a meaningless baseball game....
Max does an okay job. I really hate the commentators that NEVER shut up so we can watch the game. Most of the time it's meaningless babble and it gets annoying. Max is okay considering that most of the time he's just looking at a monitor halfway across the world.
Max is my favorite English language announcer, and yeah, I consider myself pretty hardcore. He knows that game, usually knows a lot about the sides playing, isn't afraid to be critical when it's deserved, and above all, is having a really good time calling the game. I like the chemistry between him and Hopkins, too.
Don't be dissing Max. I think he does a very fine job and he is up to date with who plays where, who has played where, leagues around the world, etc... Lightyears beyond ty keough and the other sucks over at ESPN. I also like the fact that he's enthusiastic. some people do enjoy the more reserved commentators though, e.g. English commentators. they never yell or get really into it, just call the game, in their soft voices. it really comes down to personal preference
Ah, now we're getting to the heart of the matter. Is Bretos as good as or better than the top English broadcasters on Sky or BBC. The answer is no. I think even the biggest Bretos backers would generally support that, although there are those that are annoyed by the spare, impersonal English broadcasting style. (Dan Loney mad fun of it a few months ago on cybersoccernews.com for those who missed it.) Bretos and the English are apples and oranges. As already has been pointed out, Bretos broadcasts from a STUDIO thousands of miles away from the match. He also has some stinker leagues to try and fluff up. Take any of the top English broadcasters and put them in LA, have them broadcast Chilean league matches from the previous week, without knowing the players very well, with virtually no preparative press and tell me how good a job they'd do. Seriously. I would imagine that the reason those guys are good is (a) they're broadcasting a league they know and love very, very well, and (b) they actually AT the match. Bretos has none of these advantages and still sounds enthusiastic. Furthermore, do you think those guys would touch the US market? It's like saying "yeah, Twellman's an okay striker, but I'd take Owen any day." I don't mean to shock you, but Fox Sports World can't afford to hire those guys any more than MLS can buy Owen. The odd Commonwealth resident who does wash up on these shores and actually has some interest in the US game (i.e., Tommy Smyth) is not appreciably better than Bretos. Bretos is what we got and he's not that bad for what's here. You're in Canada, why do you guys play Dewayne DeRosario instead of Filippo Inzaghi? Um, because DeRo's Canadian, right? And yes, there are worse in this country. Much, much worse. Maybe if we were "hardcore FOOTBALL fans" we wouldn't listen to them at all and only listen to the beeb or Sky, but since we live here and listen to Bretos, we're inclined to say that he's not bad. By the way, careful of straying into dangerous Europoser land. (Notice I didn't raise that issue at all with you.)
I have to agree with the tenor of most of the comments here. I personally think that Max is as good as the rest of the EPL type guys, but it comes down to STYLE. People who have had access to EPL games all their lives and have gotten used to that style of broadcasting are going to say that it is the "better" style. For people like myself, who were just able to start seeing broadcasts of real professional matches in the comfort of my own home on FSW for about the last 2 years or slightly less, do not have our soccer memories tied to the British broadcasts. So to us, the British broadcasts are no more "normal" than is a guy like Max Bretos. Add to that fact that Bretos usually has much more difficult games to call under less than sterling circumstances, and you can see why many of us think that Bretos is A-ok.
Me as well. For every Mel Allen or Red Barber, you need a Harry Caray as well. Any broadcaster who responds to the news of 6 minutes of stoppage time with "Doug E. Fresh you're on" can broadcast for me any day.
I've ole Maxie's John Hancock, actually a mate of mine got it at an LA Galaxy game. Bretos is not bad a lot of the time, but the other night he was awful with Webster. He just took it over the edge a few too many times...I don't mind it every now and again, but he was just a bit nuts too often.
Well, I like Max better than JP Dellacamera, who should stick with broadcasting women's games. What, their league has folded, you say? Tragic. Max is, however, no Martin Tyler.
Re: Max does fine It must be a matter of taste. I thought the the Max and Georgio pairing was classic. It was funny how Webster had to tell him to cut it out during the Man City/Lokoren game. Also, I consider myself a hardcore soccer fan (As I don't watch anything else). Nothing comes to the Argentinean guys who call the games on Fox Sports Espanol. That said, you can count me in as a Max fan. You need some guys who can call the game in a fun way, or at least try.