Soccer Thread

[dabears10]

Originally Posted by Verloren

Are they gonna have AC in the stadiums? Cuz I see a lot of heatstroke happening for the players...Unless all the games are played at night which doesn't work for viewership at all, especially as FIFA schedules it so one match is played at a time.

Yes there will be AC in the outdoor stadiums, and they will carbon Neutral....

[Zycho32]

Let's face it- twelve years is a long enough time for Qatar to actually build those facilities it claims to be able to construct. And had the waiting time from the winning bid to the actual event been much smaller, it would've meant Qatar would've had to build these stadiums prior to the bid process, which would've potentially been a lot of sunk money one way or another.

All the same, the US would be best served by organizing and constructing a viable backup venue IF Qatar somehow fails to deliver. It has happened before in WC history- '86 being the prime example, only Mexico was the backup instead.

Also of note, keep a particular eye on the worldwide prospects for National Teams. If Qatar is of any indication, they may spend these next twelve years practically buying players- inducing them to switch nationalities and become Qatar citizens in time for '22. Plenty of players on the bubble for elite nations could jump at the chance.

[JoeJoeBrown]

Originally Posted by Zycho32

Let's face it- twelve years is a long enough time for Qatar to actually build those facilities it claims to be able to construct. And had the waiting time from the winning bid to the actual event been much smaller, it would've meant Qatar would've had to build these stadiums prior to the bid process, which would've potentially been a lot of sunk money one way or another.

All the same, the US would be best served by organizing and constructing a viable backup venue IF Qatar somehow fails to deliver. It has happened before in WC history- '86 being the prime example, only Mexico was the backup instead.

Also of note, keep a particular eye on the worldwide prospects for National Teams. If Qatar is of any indication, they may spend these next twelve years practically buying players- inducing them to switch nationalities and become Qatar citizens in time for '22. Plenty of players on the bubble for elite nations could jump at the chance.

12 years is plenty of time for them to use their slave labor to build a few stadiums.

I'm sure there are plenty of athletes among their slave pool that they can recruit from for their team.

And why do I say slaves? Their foreign, non-citizen labor pool outnumbers their citizens by 2 to 1 (In 2000, there were 600k laborers and 300k citizens).

These foreign laborers often have their passports taken away/thrown away. They are underpaid if paid at all. They usually live in squalid conditions. So little money and no way to go back home. Awesome.

This a huge problem all over the Arabian peninsula.

Congratulations to the World Cup for turning a blind eye to this.

[Zycho32]

Yeah, it was a blatant act of transparency really only seen in Reginald Rose teleplays.

Which part ticks you off more- the fact such a transparent act occured, or that it happened so transparently that you can't hide behind the 'Dark Conspiracy' veil?

By that I mean something that looks perfectly legitimate at first glance, a cut and dry affair, that allows you to 'safely' ponder the hidden agendas supposedly lurking underneath the surface. This, on the other hand, being so out in the open that all the pondering comes with a raw sense of anger and fear- after all, it's only a few steps or so from blatant and flaunted corruption, which can only be fought with blood.

As far as recruitable athletes- they want PROVEN players with legit experience elsewhere. That's the only way they're going to put up a fight in '22. These guys aren't North Korea in '66 or New Zealand in this last one. They are downright pathetic by national standards.

[iowatreat54]

Originally Posted by Zycho32

Let's face it- twelve years is a long enough time for Qatar to actually build those facilities it claims to be able to construct. And had the waiting time from the winning bid to the actual event been much smaller, it would've meant Qatar would've had to build these stadiums prior to the bid process, which would've potentially been a lot of sunk money one way or another.

All the same, the US would be best served by organizing and constructing a viable backup venue IF Qatar somehow fails to deliver. It has happened before in WC history- '86 being the prime example, only Mexico was the backup instead.

Also of note, keep a particular eye on the worldwide prospects for National Teams. If Qatar is of any indication, they may spend these next twelve years practically buying players- inducing them to switch nationalities and become Qatar citizens in time for '22. Plenty of players on the bubble for elite nations could jump at the chance.

That's the thing, the US can probably be ready to host a WC if need be next summer. They have every single venue ready, it would only be the organization that needs done. And I read something like 12 of the 16 proposed venues for their bid were East of Dallas, with the main ones being in New York, Boston, and Philly. The U.S. (and London for that matter) would have to do little to infrastructure to get ready to host a tournament. The biggest obstacle would be organization.

[Jughead10]

Originally Posted by iowatreat54

That's the thing, the US can probably be ready to host a WC if need be next summer. They have every single venue ready, it would only be the organization that needs done. And I read something like 12 of the 16 proposed venues for their bid were East of Dallas, with the main ones being in New York, Boston, and Philly. The U.S. (and London for that matter) would have to do little to infrastructure to get ready to host a tournament. The biggest obstacle would be organization.

England I think in their bid had to add on to a couple of stadiums whose capacity was lacking a bit. But thats easy to overcome. Brazil apparently isn't looking so hot right now for 2014. And England has their eye all over that. But like I said before, South Africa wasn't looking so good at one point either.

[Rosebud]

Yeah, the WC has often looked like it could be a sketchy affair and so far it usually ends up working out smoothly. I'm stoked to see the world cup going to Russia, that's going to be a lot of fun.

[iowatreat54]

Originally Posted by Rosebud

Yeah, the WC has often looked like it could be a sketchy affair and so far it usually ends up working out smoothly. I'm stoked to see the world cup going to Russia, that's going to be a lot of fun.

I just read/realized that as it stands now, the WC will be hosted at 4 straight risky environments (South Africa, Brazil, Russia, and then Qatar). It's strange that they went for repeats in risk, as opposed to some of the safer bids that could easily pull it off without any worries and generate much, MUCH more revenue (US, England, Portugal/Spain, and to an extent Australia). However, I really don't have a problem with Russia and if they get over themselves long enough to host the tournament, it could actually be pretty awesome.

Originally Posted by Jughead10

England I think in their bid had to add on to a couple of stadiums whose capacity was lacking a bit. But thats easy to overcome. Brazil apparently isn't looking so hot right now for 2014. And England has their eye all over that. But like I said before, South Africa wasn't looking so good at one point either.

I've heard the same about Brazil, but you have to remember all the rumors circulating about how South Africa wasn't going to be ready even like 6 months before the tournament. While I don't exactly know what problems there were, South Africa managed to pull off the tournament without any major issues. I think the fact that South Africa succeeded made the committee more open to hosts that aren't necessarily prepared right now or that have other non-soccer related issues at the moment.

I'm still amazed that they didn't even just throw one sure-thing safe host just in case. 4 straight high risk hosts is pretty ballsy.

[Jughead10]

I'm not sure how much this really matters in putting together a World Cup, but it seemed that South Africa had the support of the whole world. These upcoming countries likely will not. Especially with England and the US looking to take their bid if they fall on their face.

[Giantsfan1080]

Weren't most of the reports from South Africa pretty bad from the fans? Also the stadiums were very empty for a lot of the opening round games. I guess that didn't factor into the Qatar equation.

[JoeJoeBrown]

A few things:
Brazil = Plentiful, hot hoores
Russia = Plentiful, hot hoores

[Verloren]

Originally Posted by Giantsfan1080

Weren't most of the reports from South Africa pretty bad from the fans? Also the stadiums were very empty for a lot of the opening round games. I guess that didn't factor into the Qatar equation.

The biggest issues in South Africa were knowing where to go and finding places to stay during the WC. My friend ended up in the same hotel as the Netherlands team.

Qatar is far too small and it looks like staying there will be an even worse problem. Not enough space to distribute the teams and fans, so places will be overbooked and prices will skyrocket.

You always see problems in the run up to any major sporting event. Vancouver had issues with the speed skating arena, snow, and some construction fine tuning. South Africa before the WC. Korea/Japan before theirs as well. People saw things in Beijing that turned out fine. It's because of the newspapers trying to sell and people looking over things through a magnifying glass that these issues become magnified.

Currently, the only worry I have about Brazil is whether they will have people taking potshots at players of other nations (a la Jensen Button).

[Giantsfan1080]

Champions League Round of 16 Draw:

AS Roma vs. Shakhtar Donetsk
AC Milan vs. Tottenham Hotspur
Valencia vs. FC Schalke
Inter Milan vs. Bayern Munich
Lyon vs. Real Madrid
Arsenal vs. Barcelona
Marseille vs. Manchester United
Copenhagen vs. Chelsea

[Jughead10]

Arsenal really screwed themselves by letting Shakhtar win that group.

[cdmPSU17]

WOLVES!!! That is all.

[SuperMcGee]

Not bad for their first away win. Second over a Europa team, too. Brutal schedule for them after the Hammers game, though.

[cdmPSU17]

Odds are they'll sh*t the bed next week, they have a tendency to lose games they should at least draw. But considering we're only 4 points out of 11th place, and the way we played today, I think we have a decent shot to stay up. Especially when we get Jody Craddock and Kevin Doyle back so we can play more 4-4-2.

[cdmPSU17]

Suck it Chelsea.

[yodapoop]

Good point for City tonight!!! Its gonna be hard to catch United with them being unbeaten and all and having two games on us. But a good result on the road at Arsenal, and bull crap red cards for both teams at the end there.

[SuperMcGee]

Yoda roots for city!?

I'm so happy!

Though I did just blow the result for myself by coming in here.

[UKfan]

******* Woy Hodgson...

[SuperMcGee]

I've never really followed it, but the local women's team just signed Marta, so that's pretty cool.

A sort of expected letdown in the second half of yesterday's game. United just doesn't lose. I'm just hoping Blackpool can keep Adam as long as possible.

[SuperMcGee]

Torres out, Suarez and Carroll in at Anfield.

David Luiz and Torres to Chelsea.

Some big old numbers going around.

Most importantly, Charlie Adam looks to be staying at Blackpool :D

[Giantsfan1080]

I still can't believe Liverpool threw that much at Newcastle for Carroll.

[Jughead10]

Originally Posted by SuperMcgee

Most importantly, Charlie Adam looks to be staying at Blackpool :D

Probably only until the summer.