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The Soccer/Football Thread

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I know very little about soccer. Is Messi still a top tier player?
 
I know very little about soccer. Is Messi still a top tier player?


I mean he's not as dominant as he once was cause he is 36 after all but his technical skills are all still there and he was a key factor to his national team (Argentina) winning the World Cup about 8 months ago, so yeah I'd still consider him a top tier player.
 
I know very little about soccer. Is Messi still a top tier player?
He almost had the Golden Boot (most goals scored) at the World Cup in 2022 at age 35. He's obviously not as fit as he used to be, but he played all 690 match minutes for Argentina, too.

That free kick goal last night was craaaazy for a bunch of reasons: the lift, the accuracy, the speed, the moment, etc.

So yes, top tier.
 
In a Women’s World Cup where the USWNT was largely unwatchable from a time-zone perspective, the team got the support they deserved.

With exception of Lavelle, most of the “stars” had pretty poor performances. The coach reminds me of when LeBron was bossing Blatt around. No strategy and no balls to make changes.

Rapinoe, Morgan, and Ertz we’re amongst the worst players out. Such a stark contrast to when Abby Wambach was near the end of her career but could still come in a physically dominate in the box and on set pieces. Carly Lloyd also would have been a big help.

Clean house. Can’t just “show up” in the WWC anymore and expect to be in the final. New coach, new philosophy, and hopefully no women over 36 by the time 2027 rolls around.
 
In a Women’s World Cup where the USWNT was largely unwatchable from a time-zone perspective, the team got the support they deserved.

With exception of Lavelle, most of the “stars” had pretty poor performances. The coach reminds me of when LeBron was bossing Blatt around. No strategy and no balls to make changes.

Rapinoe, Morgan, and Ertz we’re amongst the worst players out. Such a stark contrast to when Abby Wambach was near the end of her career but could still come in a physically dominate in the box and on set pieces. Carly Lloyd also would have been a big help.

Clean house. Can’t just “show up” in the WWC anymore and expect to be in the final. New coach, new philosophy, and hopefully no women over 36 by the time 2027 rolls around.
He did make an adjustment to the formation that seemed to help against the Swedes. They looked better than they did against Portugal. That said, Morgan seems to have declined. Smith should replace her for starters. Yes, they do need to get younger.
 
In a Women’s World Cup where the USWNT was largely unwatchable from a time-zone perspective, the team got the support they deserved.

With exception of Lavelle, most of the “stars” had pretty poor performances. The coach reminds me of when LeBron was bossing Blatt around. No strategy and no balls to make changes.

Rapinoe, Morgan, and Ertz we’re amongst the worst players out. Such a stark contrast to when Abby Wambach was near the end of her career but could still come in a physically dominate in the box and on set pieces. Carly Lloyd also would have been a big help.

Clean house. Can’t just “show up” in the WWC anymore and expect to be in the final. New coach, new philosophy, and hopefully no women over 36 by the time 2027 rolls around.

So I think this team just was poorly constructed and the coaching staff didn't really help to try to get everything to work.

Ertz was playing out of position, she would play center midfield (where Horan was playing) before, she was asked to be end of line defender. Morgan is someone who always needed someone to set her up, she isn't going to fight her way into the box with the ball. Rapinoe's skill set was something this team really needed but she is too slow now but there isn't any viable replacement to what she could potentially give. She can set up players with good passes into the box and also give good passes on set pieces.

Lavelle being out this game hurt the team but also force them to make adjustments. Horan isn't made to cover the center of the midfield on defense. Her passing isn't great. She was better as an attacker but I could see another coach go in a different direction and take Horan out. She just doesn't fit this team from a speed and passing stand point. Basically she doesn't have the speed to keep up with the other attacking players and she lacks the passing to help set them up.
 
He did make an adjustment to the formation that seemed to help against the Swedes. They looked better than they did against Portugal. That said, Morgan seems to have declined. Smith should replace her for starters. Yes, they do need to get younger.

I think Morgan just didn't look good because they really lack good passers to set her up. I think she realize she has to save her energy and not try to attack with the ball to try to wait for her teammates to set her up. Morgan has never been that great at attack and getting by defenders with the ball. She is really that player that beats defenders off the ball and get good shots from on time passes to her.

I think Smith got tired too quickly because she was attacking with the ball but couldn't get anywhere. I'm not sure Smith is really Morgan's replacement. She seems to be trying to attack with the ball but it doesn't work on this level for her. I think she might have to adjust her game for the international level to be effective.

I'm not sure it's just about getting younger. They need to find effective passers to pair with their attackers. Lavelle and Rapinoe were their only good passers. Rapinoe is just too slow now. Lavelle can't be the only good passers on the field to set up the offense, they need to find more good passers going forward. Also Lavelle is a good passers off set pieces but isn't a consistently good passer during normal action.
 
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Even with such high expectations for his arrival, Messi is performing better than expected.

I'd argue it's the first time ever that the MLS, or any alternative US soccer league, is near-appointment television for the mainstream and casual fan. I wasn't around for it, but I've Pele's book, and I feel like his journey to NYC in the 1970s is the only real comparison to the 'mania' around Messi being here. Similar to Messi's cut of the Apple TV money, Pele was famously paid as a 'recording artist' by Atlantic Records to help ease the financial burden of his, at the time absurd $1.4 Million salary on the team. Nearly every main stream sports commenter is at least acknowledging his prowess thus far.

If you would have told me, "Messi will just have more fun here", as a reason why this would work out, I wouldn't have believed you. He's really enjoying himself, and is still two or three notches above anyone else on the field. Behind only Taylor Swift, Messi is the next hottest ticket in the country when he comes to town.

Last night he had another two goals, and scored his PK in the shootout that brought them the win. Interested to see how he can uplift the team as the regular season moves on, as Inter Miami is in last place in the conference. I'm bought in!
 
Even with such high expectations for his arrival, Messi is performing better than expected.

I'd argue it's the first time ever that the MLS, or any alternative US soccer league, is near-appointment television for the mainstream and casual fan. I wasn't around for it, but I've Pele's book, and I feel like his journey to NYC in the 1970s is the only real comparison to the 'mania' around Messi being here. Similar to Messi's cut of the Apple TV money, Pele was famously paid as a 'recording artist' by Atlantic Records to help ease the financial burden of his, at the time absurd $1.4 Million salary on the team. Nearly every main stream sports commenter is at least acknowledging his prowess thus far.

If you would have told me, "Messi will just have more fun here", as a reason why this would work out, I wouldn't have believed you. He's really enjoying himself, and is still two or three notches above anyone else on the field. Behind only Taylor Swift, Messi is the next hottest ticket in the country when he comes to town.

Last night he had another two goals, and scored his PK in the shootout that brought them the win. Interested to see how he can uplift the team as the regular season moves on, as Inter Miami is in last place in the conference. I'm bought in!
The Puma Messi, and Cheetah Gerda, are doing quite well, as well.

Screen Shot 2023-08-07 at 8.11.38 PM.png

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