There seems to be a lot of fingers being pointed because of the off-field and some on-field issues, most of it towards CONMEBOL.

Last check CONMEBOL only handles South America soccer yet these games were played in US. Why is CONMEBOL being blamed and what do they have to do with security, stadium issues, field conditions, segmentation of fans/team employees/families, etc?

I know absolutely nothing about soccer, yet i’ve been heart that CONMEBOL runs a shitshow for years. Nothing else. They are the experts, they wrote the book.

CONMEBOL and shitshow are synonymous. When used in the same sentence it’s called redundancy.

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Congratulations to Argentina and Spain.

Both teams deserve to win the tournaments and well done

Last time that England was in the euro finals, it was a total shit show even worse compared to what happened in Miami. There’s a special on it on Netflix that shows a total mayhem of destruction that was left by the fans in the surrounding areas and how they rushed the gates and got into the game as well. The only reason there wasn’t a bigger shit show is that this tournament happened during Covid and that they only sold a limited amount of tickets so people would have space in the stands so all the people that rush the gates just filled in the seats that they didn’t have tickets for

Again, congratulations to Spain and Argentina!

Now onto the Olympics

quote:

Originally posted by corsair:
There seems to be a lot of fingers being pointed because of the off-field and some on-field issues, most of it towards CONMEBOL.

Last check CONMEBOL only handles South America soccer yet these games were played in US. Why is CONMEBOL being blamed and what do they have to do with security, stadium issues, field conditions, segmentation of fans/team employees/families, etc?

Based on what my Argentinian daughter-in-law and her family have told me about soccer down there, you would think these people would be prepared to deal with these antics.

The game was played in Florida.

quote:

Originally posted by PR64:
The game was played in Florida.

Understood. But, I’m wondering why someone didn’t say “Hey, we don’t have a lot of experience here, maybe we should talk to some people who do.”

On the other hand, we went to see Argentina play (IIRC) Honduras in Chicago during the 2016 Copa tournament and it was festive but not rowdy at all. So, maybe the powers that be figured it couldn’t be any different than an NFL game.

^^^^^^ People that normally can’t afford to eat on a daily basis according to their IRS declared income, have managed to show up in Russia, been jailed in Dubai with no resources or a dime to their names and somehow able to obtain an US Visa for the Cup.
They don’t cease to amaze me as i am not sure my own personal status will allow me to get a Visa as i don’t have a CC, for example.

Soccer fans from South America try to sneak into regular matches almost on a daily basis. Had homework been done previously, properly and wisely, what happened was and should have been expected and handled with no surprises and swiftly.

It was more likely to happen than not.

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I’m sure the answer is cronyism, but why are we hosting this stuff?

I was at a thing when a speaker was going on about how the World Cup could bring in 4MM tourists - but given the behavior/scale of tourism to Miami, it hardly seems worth it.

quote:

Originally posted by Aglifter:

why are we hosting this stuff?

Because it seems to me that the sports powers-that-be have decided they are going to make soccer a fifth national sport after football, baseball, basketball and ice hockey.

I just don't see it happening. Soccer is HUGE with kids my sons age but I just can't see it ever becoming a pro thing that people watch with the numbers and excitement of pro football and baseball.

Another factor in US soccer is that our best players go to Europe and play. That's where the money is.

Our MLS is a second tier league.

Some great players come here in their twilight years before retiring like Messi is doing now...

Being a complete ignorant on all things soccer related, methinks that the Beckam-Messi partnership has a HUGE gravitational pull.

The US was already an interesting location for ageing pros to retire with a juicy income. Messi might put Miami at the center of the soccer universe as he did with Barcelona. A new Mecca.

Now Messi is hosting Argentina’s soccer team every other day and he’s well known for keeping his soccer friends around with nice jobs as long as he can.

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Read somewhere that Messi's salary at 28 million per year is more than the total payroll of five of the teams in the league.

A) Soccer in the U.S. is a delusional pipe dream. (But, it’s probably a great way to fleece investors)

Unless there is a reliable pipeline of college scholarships, for male soccer players, every decent athlete will chose any other sport - track and field/swimming, included.

I think even lacrosse, sailing, gymnastics, fencing etc offers more of a scholarship opportunity. (At least, fencing and sailing are Olympic sports and there are sponsors there.)

B) No sport where the “professional athlete” is little more than a highly co-ordinated jogger, with excellent acting ability, is going to gain much traction.

C) A fondness for soccer would be a sign of the “otherness” of an immigrant, and is unlikely to have legs among the immigrant community past the generation which directly immigrated.

quote:

Originally posted by fiasconva:
Read somewhere that Messi's salary at 28 million per year is more than the total payroll of five of the teams in the league.

It wasn't Messi, but I recall reading that one of the other major stars (Cristiano Ronaldo?) made way more money from endorsements and social media than soccer salary. I can't remember the amount, but it was jaw dropping.

Coolrich59, I will have to disagree. According to an article in The Guardian in May his 20+ million salary is higher than all but 4 of total team payrolls in the MLS. I just googled it to make sure. You can look it up if you want.

quote:

Originally posted by fiasconva:
Coolrich59, I will have to disagree. According to an article in The Guardian in May his 20+ million salary is higher than all but 4 of total team payrolls in the MLS. I just googled it to make sure. You can look it up if you want.

No, I don't doubt you at all. And I could very well be mistaken in my recollection. Now that I turned 65, I remember stuff from 50 years ago clearly, but have a hard time remembering what I had for breakfast.

quote:

Originally posted by Aglifter:

Unless there is a reliable pipeline of college scholarships, for male soccer players, every decent athlete will chose any other sport - track and field/swimming, included.

A college soccer schedule does not develop you into anywhere near a Big 5 European league player. Total commitment from 14 on through a pro club sponsored academy system that separates the wheat from the chaff does. Besides, by the time a player is out of college (22-23 yoa) you are competing for playing time with 19-21 year olds that have been playing more games and more competitive ones at that.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Blackmore,

So again, no decent American/Canadian athlete will chose soccer.

The whole “sports academy/travel ball” thing is such a crock - maybe some are legitimate but most are clearly just a way to fleece people.

(If the kid really enjoys it, and it doesn’t financially interfere with the family, that’s something else.)

Mea culpa is you’re talking about something like the minor leagues in baseball.

If soccer has a professional system for young athletes, it’s not something I am aware of.

Here’s a chart of US soccer levels.

I played in D1 College and Semipro leagues.

The US professional league folded my senior year of college ball. The players that were on the earth quakes mostly folded into my semiprofessional league. I played with and against them for years.

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