Yay! You won an argument I wasn't having with you! Just sulk off and stop digging. THIS Even more THIS. You win 10 internets.
Besides being born there and visiting every other year... And yes, Italy is having all kinds of anti-immigrant laws passed, but they never advertised themselves as the world's melting pot. Hey.. Is it my fault that the majority of terrorists are from muslim countries?
So wait...soccer ISN'T a force for multiculturalism and cosmopolitan harmony? That relates to your conflation of the riots in Egypt and the security situation in the Persian Gulf in 10 years...how, exactly?
Because all Muslims are terrorists, duh. It's his open mind that allows him to see that where our closed minds fail to let us see that.
It is easy to talk about multicultarlism when it is forced upon you by a history of slavery. All I'm saying is don't judge them with your American measuring stick. Terrorism knows no borders.. and ten years is the perfect amount of time to begin infiltrating the country and planning something.
I find your insinuations to be quite racist and disturbing. I never said that ALL muslims are terrorists, just that the majority of terrorists are muslim.. big difference.
Uh oh! The majority of the people in the room I am in (7 of 13) are MOOOSLIMZZZ!!!! Should I be afraid of a terrorist attack?
There are guys like Ray Lewis who are probably as athletic as Cristiano Ronaldo. But the answer to most of your questions above have to be "pretty damn good" if you are going to be a top-level professional soccer player. And not just "pretty good for the first 300 meters". There's a reason why peak-age in soccer is 24-25 whereas in baseball its more like 30.
I think the athleticism of many soccer players, even US ones, is not given as much credit as it deserves. First, watch any of the top teams in a given league in Europe and the speed and quickness throughout the team is usually a notch above midtable and lower teams. There are lots of examples but the Brazilian twins on ManU are a good one. I have never seen them outrun, just very quick AND very fast. Donovan, by the way, did not struggle to stay with Gael Clichy in the recent game v. Man City. Secondly, I have always wondered why we think our best athletes MUST be better than the top athletes in other countries--who are as drawn to soccer there as ours are drawn to the big three here. Lastly, so what sport would a Paul Scholes play in the U.S. or any of the other 5'5"-5"9" lightweights that fill out most soccer teams? I do think many US sports, especially basketball, could be more of a cerebal game. However, we over-coach the cr** out of our sports. I am assisting with my daughters 5th grade basketball team (I don't know anything) and opposing teams call out plays!!! Really? The kids can barely shoot, dribble or pass and having a play is important? BTW, most don't work because they can't pass, dribble or shoot. I tell my daughter the same thing I tell her when she plays soccer. Not being that athletic, I tell her to use her brain as most players don't.
I was surprised recently when I watched a pro football game for a few minutes after not watching any football for a few years and pretty much only watching soccer. NFL players really don't look nearly as quick as they used to to me and I'm talking about the running backs and the like. Then when you realize how big these guys are, it's no wonder they don't look all that agile compared to 150-175 lb soccer players.
Also, most of the players on the USMNT are probably world-class athletes by any standard. Michael Bradley and Clint Dempsey got through 4.5 games where they were covering 15 km per 90 mins, before running out of steam vs. Brazil. While running that much in a soccer game isn't necessarily a good thing (compare Xavi covering half that distance per 90 mins in the same tournament), it at least speaks to a certain level of fitness. I'm thinking those are probably the lightning-quick college point guards and high school running backs who are too small to have any shot at continuing past those levels. They're probably not more athletic on the whole than the guys already playing soccer at that age, but the law of large numbers says you'll find a few exceptional athletes in there.
breakaway speed? Vertical jump? Lateral quickness? This guy? This is while pinpoint positioning getting away from opponents, accelerating, quick stopping/turning, and running 10Km for 90min, controlling the ball with all of your body except your hands(hands are too easy and boring imo), continuous time/space recognition on the huge field, making constant instantaneous judgements for 90min, etc etc etc. You can find upper body strength at 'the world's strongest man contest'.
tell that to marathon runners. Those wimpy iron man competitors also need their butts kicked for not sprinting enough. How dare they claim to be athletic.
Can someone translate this into English and tell us how it relates to Chicharito being left all alone 7 yards out from goal with Ryan Giggs crossing to him? What? Do you seriously think I was denigrating marathoners/triathletes?
Laureano Ruiz wrote that comment about soccer players being in the middle of the pack in overall athletic ability among athletes in all fields in his book "Soccer Secrets to Success" which is pretty well-regarded in the field of soccer development and training. That doesn't mean it's the last word on the subject; just that it was an informed observation by an experienced manager and trainer who worked his whole life in soccer. Anybody who takes it as a slight on the athletic abilities of soccer players is being a little too knee-jerk.
I would have thought you could infer that I was saying that endurance is not the totality of athleticism like people who continually cite distance covered statistics when these arguments start up.