Tondheim: Norwegian women in saunas. I know he's married and all, but you never know.... Columbus: Coeds struggling with the "Freshman 15" Nuff said. Sachin
Aren't the foreign player limits in Norway really small? I remember hearing that their are only 1 or 2 foreign players allowed on a team? Is this true?
Careful about doggin' Norway. It's a beautiful country... with some very beautiful women. A shame their best teams are not in Oslo or Bergen... Bergen is really fascinating + pretty - especially bearable in that time of year. If I was a player, I wouldn't mind it so much at all really. Play a few years in Norway and then move on. It'd be good for a young player or someone in their twilight IMO. However that's could be because I imagined myself as a superstar.
Trondheim is actually an extremely nice town. It is over 1000 years old (civilized long before Europeans knew about this side of the pond) and is a beautiful city, right on Fjord. The University NTNU is considered the "MIT of Europe" and they brew an oustanding beer there as well. There is a bar called "good neighbor" that is a great bar. The city has a very lively night life, great downtown shopping district and some great resturants. Great entertainment and the devotion of Norwegian society to family makes a great place to live. RBK is a powerful team, very wealthy and has developed some very fine players. They are struggling a bit this year and are currently well out of Champions League berth (it is all about Lyn!!!) at present. To say they don't do well in Europe is a bit naive. In fact, they are the only club to make Champions League Group play six times in a row. Players in the Tippeligen generally are better paid than MLS players and several make some serious cash.
Trondheim sounds like Oklahoma City! Rosenborg are struggling this season for a berth in the 2003-04 Champions; League. Not that Red&Black did not mean this. I just want to make sure others don't get the impression Rosenborg are not in the Champions' League this year (2002-03). Rosenborg play either Brondby (Denmark) or Dinamo Tirana (Albania) in the UCL 3rd qualifying round. If they win the tie then they advance to the 1st group phase. They have yet to lose in a qualifying round in the last seven years. BTW, they've been in the group phase of the Champions' League the last seven years, not six. If they make it this time it would be their eigth in a row... 1995-96: 3rd in group. 1996-97: 2nd in group. Lost in quarterfinals. 1997-98: 2nd in group. 1998-99: 3rd in group. 1999-00: 1st in group; phase 1. 4th in group; phase 2. 2000-01: 3rd in group; phase 1. 2001-02: 4th in group; phase 1. If they were to make it out of the 1st group phase (6 games for McBride), I don't see them getting out of the 2nd group phase (6 more games). That would be 6 quality games for McBride - if he starts - at minimum, with the potential for 12 or more. I would wait to see if Rosenborg qualify for the group phase before moving over.
But realize that the Champions League has a deadline of early August (the 8th, I believe) for rosters to be finalized. If Rosenberg, or any other club, was to buy/sign/loan any players after that date--they can only add him in a window come January. And by then Rosenberg could be out of the tournament.
Sweet Jesus! The guy may as well go play in the A-league? Rosenberg? Can they even pay as much as the MLS? ANd what they offer beside a very weak league, a very weak league, and a couple Euro games in which they play boring football and try to scrape out a tie or a quasi-miraculous win?
Only the weaker teams even have to bother going through a qualifying process to get the CL group phase. Rosenberg doesn't offer anything great for Brian. Face it, it's like grandpa always said, ya can't polish a turd.
No Rosenborg is not out of the league yet, in fact, they came to Oslo and beat Lyn (after a crappy no call on a clear foul in the box on Lyn's best player--the cops had to escort the ref off the field) on a rare Monday night game this week. I seriously doubt some of you comparing the Tippenligen to the A-league or questioning the resources of the league know much about it. I am quite sure that Lyn, RBK, Molde or Odd would do pretty damn good in MLS. Guys like Berg, Swift, etc. are better than most anyone in MLS at their positions. The bigger clubs like RBK are very well off, much wealthier than any MLS team. Salaries are public in all jobs in Norway. You can easily find that the top players in the league make more than MLS' top salary. I don't know much about Oklahoma City, but I bet it ain't as cold as Trondheim. BTW--in my opinion, i think Mcbride would do very, very well in Norway, the high ball remains a big part of the football--he'd get better service than he gets at columbus.
You mean weaker teams like Bayern Munich, Man Utd, Barcelona, Inter Milan and AC Milan, all of whom have to play in the same qualifying round as Rosenborg this year?
Money I have always wondered about the money side of things for nats going abroad. Less endorsements and higher taxes may mean that triple his salary is really no more then he is making currently. Thoughts?
In Cleveland we like to call Columbus "our hillbilly neighbors to the south", who are famous for their "urban cows." Come to think of it that would have really been a better name for the Crew, the Columbus Urban Cows. But of course that's most likely cause we're jealous of a clean, prosperous city that manages to get new industries. But just remember, our Progessive will kick your Nationwide's ass!
I don't understand why I see so much of this kind of idea. It seems to me that if he's got a kid at home and he's getting older, money isn't the most important thing any more. I would want to be at a place where I'm happy, where the people around me speak the same language, and where my kid can grow up in the most positive environment possible. Call me naive, but those are my priorities, anyway. When you're 23, though, go for the money, if that's what you want. Now if McBride's wish is to play in Europe again, then that's cool, but going for the money seems a little off. It's not like he's not well off as it is, with sponsorships, Nat's payoffs, etc.
Because his kid is still young.... when he/she enters grade school, McBride should be thinking of going home. I am of same age as McBride. My daughter is 16 months old. I have been thinking about money alot lately. Believe it or not, I am starting to save money for her college education, etc. McBride is richer than I am, but I think all parents think that way. "Can I provide for my kids????"..... For McBride, he would be retiring in a few years.... he should think about his financial situation even if he made alot of money. Of course, there are some parents who wanted his kids to stay closer to home.
I've been to Norway, and I can't imagine how it wouldn't be a postive environment to raise a kid. BTW language comes around quick in immersion.