You don’t think there are people of African origin in other parts of the world?
Seriously?
Peyton Manning would suck, but could you imagine AP or Megatron on the soccer pitch if they had been playing since they were little kids and received the kind of training they received as football standouts?
Ok, Eli Manning then. He does have twice as many rings.
Megatron wouldn’t be anything exceptional on a soccer field.
Just like Cesc Fabregas would be worthless in an NFL uniform.
Resources, Resources, Resources. Numbers, Numbers, Numbers. The US spends more money on sports leagues/facilities/developement than any other country in the world, probably by multiples and there are approximately 37 million African Americans (that’s almost equal to the entire population of Argentina).
If Americans decided to grace the world by playing soccer all the games would be high scoring. [video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGXzlRoNtHU]
Really? So a guy who’s 6’5", 235, and faster than Messi would just be some scrub if he’d spent his entire life playing soccer and been given access to the best facilities in the world and exceptional coaching. Remember, my thesis is that American Football doesn’t exist and African Americans fell in love with soccer 30 years ago. I’m not saying take guys off of NFL rosters and throw them on the pitch. I’m saying have them grow up in the game.
Having followed soccer for a long time. Yes, I repeat, he would not be anything exceptional. Could he make it as a pro? Certainly, but would he have the same status in soccer as he does in the NFL? Nope.
I could easily flip this question around. Would Sergi Busquets, Ilkay Gundogan, or Arjen Robben be superstar NFL players? I highly doubt it.
They didn’t go through hundreds of years of eugenics in other parts of the world though. Ours are bigger and faster than theirs.
There are positions in soccer, primarily on the wings, and sometimes at striker and centerback, which prize speed, athleticism, and size (more so for CB). But mostly, soccer prizes over all else, technical skill, and ideally pace mixed with it.
And yet, some very…slow and weak and small…players have made it to become world class players.
I would be willing to bet that Soccer GMs would prefer the next Xavi to Megatron’s soccer twin.
im not trying to be rude but this is utter bullshit.
american sports are all about size,power and speed.Basketball is for the abnormally tall,gridiron for the abnormally big and baseball for the abnormally fat.I’m not hating them for it but it’s the way it is.An average guy has little to no chance even if he’s as good technically.
There is a reason football has become so popular world over and it just isn’t marketing and british coloniolism.It’s because the game is all inclusive. Having speed,size agility all helps and are plus points but the beautiful thing is that the game can be interpreted in many ways and it’s how you read the game that sets you apart.
The african’s use what you mention above,the spanish use intelligence and touch and high technique,the brazilians flair and the british kick and lump.
while it’s true that generally resources and size play a large part football remains an exception.A country called uruguay-population less than my backyard won the world cup twice…and the dutch-population less than my city re-invented the game twice
holy hell
edit: I’m not sure how useful this debate is, but I’ve got to think that if soccer had the history that US football does in the US, we’d be a world power in that, too.
I used to work with Serbians that considered African Americans as a totally distinctive race when compared to Africans or black. To play devils advocate, many south american places were harbors for slave breeding and thus the gene pool is ripe with athleticism (brazil is a good example). Furthermore, places like Jamaca were breeding grounds and though their athletes are great, i dont see them winning the world cup.
NFL players who I think could be really good at soccer:
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Danny Amendola
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RG3
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Charles Woodson
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Marshall Faulk
off the top of my head.
This is how the americans would have tried to play
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlo0WGscyyM
this is who they would’ve been dismantled by
This is actually interesting but it would depend on who you’d have been influenced by.
if by your anglo roots then no chance because quite frankly the english suck and have always been a decade behind continental europe.
if by your latin population then maybe perhaps though im not sure of your latin influence those days.
and soccer was apparently big once upon a time in the usa…google new your cosmos
Let’s control for resources. Why does Brazil, with a large african origin population, field white players?
You know, France has basically done what Higgmond is suggesting. They’ve heavily recruited black players and built teams around strength and speed.
France in 2006: http://www.soccerstat.net/worldcup/images/squads/France.jpg
I dont’ think they’re better than all-white Spain or Italy though.
Let’s compare these guys to Megatron:
Busquets: Shorter, lighter, slower
Gundoga: Shorter, lighter, slower
Robben: Shorter, lighter, slower
The last time I checked, most sports (soccer included) value speed, height and size. You can certainly make up for the lack of one by having a relative excess in another (see Allen Iverson), but these guys can’t match Megatron in anything. If you brought them in today would they be better soccer players than him, of course. If you raised all of them playing soccer, would you honestly put your money on one of them instead?
Busquets, Gundogan, and Robben would wipe the floor with Megatron in one area:
Passing, dribbling, and ball retention.
Why? Because these are some of the very best players on the planet at it.