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Aeneas Hunter Retired Number
Joined: 12 Jul 2005 Posts: 31763
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Posted: Wed Jun 12, 2019 6:33 am Post subject: |
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adkindo wrote: | ok...I barely know the basics of soccer, and only really watch World Cup and Olympics....but as far as who is good, I usually only know what I read and am told. Today was good on one hand with all the scoring, but not very entertaining because it was so one sided. |
Okay, quick primer.
USA is a little overrated in my opinion. We've been dominant for a long time, because women's sports actually matter in this country, at least a little bit. A lot of the other countries not only neglected women's team sports, but actually abused them. In England, women's soccer was actually outlawed by the FA (in that women could not use the facilities of the men's clubs). This was true until 1971. The level of funding for women's teams in other countries has been just plain embarrassing. I think Argentina's women's team had to disband for five years, or something like that. The dinosaurs in FIFA like Sepp Blatter just made things worse. Blatter said that women should wear tighter shorts to attract fans.
The transformation over the last ten years has been remarkable. The American pro league (currently the NWSL) used to be pretty much the only significant pro league. Now the big Euro clubs are investing in soccer, so that the women's Champions League final was Lyon vs. Barcelona. American players are actually choosing to play in Europe. This would have been unthinkable ten years ago.
So it used to be USA vs. Norway/Sweden/Canada/Japan/China and sometimes Brazil. Now the rest of Europe is in the hunt. Italy beating Australia was a big deal. Australia was up and coming and had given us fits in some tournaments. Italy was supposed to be second tier. Surprise, surprise. Africa and South America continue to lag due to lack of funding (Brazil being the exception because they had Marta, who is now past her prime).
So . . . France is my pick to win the World Cup. They are not as deep as the USA, but they have a talented starting XI and have home field advantage. I hate to say it, but I think they can beat the USA at home. They have some dangerous scorers like Eugenie Le Sommer. A lot of them play for Lyon and PSG.
Germany has been the best of the Euro teams over the last twenty years, but they lost their best player to a broken toe in the first game. The USA has abused them in recent years anyway. A lot of them play for Bundesliga clubs like Bayern Munich and Freiburg.
England is really good. They finished third in the last World Cup, and they have a lot of depth. Ellen White is a dangerous striker. The spine of the team plays for Man City. They were not impressive in the opening game, but England vs. Scotland is just one of those rivalries that can produce unexpected results.
The Dutch sort of came out of nowhere, but The Netherlands is a soccer country, so it's not a huge surprise. They won the Euro championship in 2017. Lieke Martens, who plays for Barcelona, was world player of the year a couple years back. They seem to have a lot of players on Arsenal.
Most people expected Australia to be a dark horse, but there are apparently internal problems with the team. Sam Kerr, who plays for Chicago in the NWSL, is their superstar. They need to bounce back fast.
So for me, the championship game is the quarterfinal match between the USA and France. A lot of people are talking up USA vs. Sweden in the group, but I think the USA is going to abuse Sweden. I think we're still mad that they beat us on penalties in the Olympics. |
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lakersken80 Retired Number
Joined: 12 Aug 2009 Posts: 38814
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Posted: Wed Jun 12, 2019 6:45 am Post subject: |
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Women's soccer is still in its infancy, this is why you have scores like this. You have huge disparities between teams at the top level and teams that are still trying to assemble a program. |
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LakerLanny Retired Number
Joined: 24 Oct 2001 Posts: 47594
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Posted: Wed Jun 12, 2019 5:06 pm Post subject: |
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Pour it on, let God sort it out.
Go USA! _________________ Love, Laker Lanny |
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Wolverine Star Player
Joined: 21 Mar 2004 Posts: 7846 Location: San Jose, CA
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Posted: Wed Jun 12, 2019 5:09 pm Post subject: |
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Aeneas Hunter wrote: | adkindo wrote: | ok...I barely know the basics of soccer, and only really watch World Cup and Olympics....but as far as who is good, I usually only know what I read and am told. Today was good on one hand with all the scoring, but not very entertaining because it was so one sided. |
Okay, quick primer.
USA is a little overrated in my opinion. We've been dominant for a long time, because women's sports actually matter in this country, at least a little bit. A lot of the other countries not only neglected women's team sports, but actually abused them. In England, women's soccer was actually outlawed by the FA (in that women could not use the facilities of the men's clubs). This was true until 1971. The level of funding for women's teams in other countries has been just plain embarrassing. I think Argentina's women's team had to disband for five years, or something like that. The dinosaurs in FIFA like Sepp Blatter just made things worse. Blatter said that women should wear tighter shorts to attract fans.
The transformation over the last ten years has been remarkable. The American pro league (currently the NWSL) used to be pretty much the only significant pro league. Now the big Euro clubs are investing in soccer, so that the women's Champions League final was Lyon vs. Barcelona. American players are actually choosing to play in Europe. This would have been unthinkable ten years ago.
So it used to be USA vs. Norway/Sweden/Canada/Japan/China and sometimes Brazil. Now the rest of Europe is in the hunt. Italy beating Australia was a big deal. Australia was up and coming and had given us fits in some tournaments. Italy was supposed to be second tier. Surprise, surprise. Africa and South America continue to lag due to lack of funding (Brazil being the exception because they had Marta, who is now past her prime).
So . . . France is my pick to win the World Cup. They are not as deep as the USA, but they have a talented starting XI and have home field advantage. I hate to say it, but I think they can beat the USA at home. They have some dangerous scorers like Eugenie Le Sommer. A lot of them play for Lyon and PSG.
Germany has been the best of the Euro teams over the last twenty years, but they lost their best player to a broken toe in the first game. The USA has abused them in recent years anyway. A lot of them play for Bundesliga clubs like Bayern Munich and Freiburg.
England is really good. They finished third in the last World Cup, and they have a lot of depth. Ellen White is a dangerous striker. The spine of the team plays for Man City. They were not impressive in the opening game, but England vs. Scotland is just one of those rivalries that can produce unexpected results.
The Dutch sort of came out of nowhere, but The Netherlands is a soccer country, so it's not a huge surprise. They won the Euro championship in 2017. Lieke Martens, who plays for Barcelona, was world player of the year a couple years back. They seem to have a lot of players on Arsenal.
Most people expected Australia to be a dark horse, but there are apparently internal problems with the team. Sam Kerr, who plays for Chicago in the NWSL, is their superstar. They need to bounce back fast.
So for me, the championship game is the quarterfinal match between the USA and France. A lot of people are talking up USA vs. Sweden in the group, but I think the USA is going to abuse Sweden. I think we're still mad that they beat us on penalties in the Olympics. |
Thanks!
I've been a big fan of the Portland Thorns for many years in the NWSL (closest team geographically to California) but didn't really know much about women's soccer at an international level (outside of Team USA). Appreciate the Cliff's Notes! |
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adkindo Retired Number
Joined: 16 Jun 2005 Posts: 40345 Location: Dirty South
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Posted: Wed Jun 12, 2019 5:40 pm Post subject: |
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Aeneas Hunter wrote: | Okay, quick primer. |
thanks. I get what you mean by funding....that article from the NY Times I posted spoke about the wealthy insurance lady in Thailand providing most of the funding for the team, but the team members actually work at the agency selling insurance when they are not training! That is good for them compared to the alternative, but I assume it is hard to be truly competitive with teams where players are being paid to play all year. |
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Aeneas Hunter Retired Number
Joined: 12 Jul 2005 Posts: 31763
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Posted: Wed Jun 12, 2019 6:12 pm Post subject: |
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Here is an interesting article on the growth of the women’s game globally:
Quote: | With more resources, European clubs are attracting more of the world’s top players, and the most successful women’s soccer organization in the world is not an American franchise but France’s Olympique Lyonnais, which has won six of the past nine Champion’s League finals. France has the highest-paying women’s soccer league in the world, according to Sporting Intelligence’s 2017 global sports salaries report. The average player salary in France’s top league was $49,782, compared with $43,730 in Germany, $35,355 in England and $27,054 in the American NWSL. The maximum salary this year in the NWSL is $46,200, while Lyon reportedly pays several players in the six figures. Fifteen of the club’s players are on World Cup rosters: eight for France and seven spread across six other countries. |
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-close-is-the-rest-of-the-world-to-catching-the-u-s/ |
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lakersken80 Retired Number
Joined: 12 Aug 2009 Posts: 38814
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Posted: Wed Jun 12, 2019 7:55 pm Post subject: |
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Aeneas Hunter wrote: | Here is an interesting article on the growth of the women’s game globally:
Quote: | With more resources, European clubs are attracting more of the world’s top players, and the most successful women’s soccer organization in the world is not an American franchise but France’s Olympique Lyonnais, which has won six of the past nine Champion’s League finals. France has the highest-paying women’s soccer league in the world, according to Sporting Intelligence’s 2017 global sports salaries report. The average player salary in France’s top league was $49,782, compared with $43,730 in Germany, $35,355 in England and $27,054 in the American NWSL. The maximum salary this year in the NWSL is $46,200, while Lyon reportedly pays several players in the six figures. Fifteen of the club’s players are on World Cup rosters: eight for France and seven spread across six other countries. |
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-close-is-the-rest-of-the-world-to-catching-the-u-s/ |
The first itertaion of a women's professional soccer league in the USA, WUSA, failed spectacularly, and that was with $100 million in funding. I'm not sure there is much of a market here considering how competitive the pro sports market is in the US. It might be more successful in Europe considering how much better funded those European clubs are. |
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Aeneas Hunter Retired Number
Joined: 12 Jul 2005 Posts: 31763
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Posted: Thu Jun 13, 2019 5:43 am Post subject: |
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Yep, the economics of women’s soccer is difficult. I don’t know of any pro league that isn’t subsidized by someone, and it is not clear whether this will change in the foreseeable future. There are a handful of players like Alex Morgan who have managed to parlay their fame into small-scale wealth, but most of them are playing just for the game. I find this refreshing. |
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adkindo Retired Number
Joined: 16 Jun 2005 Posts: 40345 Location: Dirty South
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Posted: Sun Jun 16, 2019 9:38 am Post subject: |
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the B squad looks good taking care of Chile with ease....but they look more mortal than the A squad... |
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emililadjet Sixth Man
Joined: 19 Dec 2018 Posts: 45
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Posted: Sun Jun 16, 2019 11:06 am Post subject: |
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jonnybravo wrote: | Jesus there needs to be a mercy rule. I don't follow soccer really but I don't think I've ever seen a 13-0 beat down like this. |
a 13-0 result is normal in women's football _________________ I have cables for construction projects, marine, offshore, OEM's and renewable energy plants. |
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focus Star Player
Joined: 23 May 2012 Posts: 2526
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Posted: Sun Jun 16, 2019 11:43 am Post subject: |
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Chilean goalie was amazing and the star of a game her team lost 3-0. What an athlete. |
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Aeneas Hunter Retired Number
Joined: 12 Jul 2005 Posts: 31763
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Posted: Sun Jun 16, 2019 5:34 pm Post subject: |
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focus wrote: | Chilean goalie was amazing and the star of a game her team lost 3-0. What an athlete. |
She was outstanding. For me, the big takeaway from this game is that Julie Ertz is more influential than I thought. We were tearing Chile apart when she was in the game. After she was subbed, we still dominated, but we didn’t have the same edge, even though Chile was so fatigued that they could barely run. |
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adkindo Retired Number
Joined: 16 Jun 2005 Posts: 40345 Location: Dirty South
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Posted: Sun Jun 16, 2019 7:59 pm Post subject: |
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emililadjet wrote: | jonnybravo wrote: | Jesus there needs to be a mercy rule. I don't follow soccer really but I don't think I've ever seen a 13-0 beat down like this. |
a 13-0 result is normal in women's football |
but we are talking about Women's Soccer |
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Steve007 Franchise Player
Joined: 21 Jul 2006 Posts: 13234
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Posted: Mon Jun 17, 2019 8:31 pm Post subject: |
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How good is Japan now compared to previous years? They were 2011 champs, runner-up in 2015 and I think they finished 2nd in the 2012 Olympics. Looks like they didn’t even make the 2016 Olympics. |
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Aeneas Hunter Retired Number
Joined: 12 Jul 2005 Posts: 31763
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Posted: Tue Jun 18, 2019 4:52 am Post subject: |
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Steve007 wrote: | How good is Japan now compared to previous years? They were 2011 champs, runner-up in 2015 and I think they finished 2nd in the 2012 Olympics. Looks like they didn’t even make the 2016 Olympics. |
They are supposed to be in a rebuilding phase. |
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adkindo Retired Number
Joined: 16 Jun 2005 Posts: 40345 Location: Dirty South
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Posted: Tue Jun 18, 2019 2:18 pm Post subject: |
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France....who has the 2nd best odds of winning did not look great yesterday via reports and the score....beating Nigeria 1-0 with a late match goal. |
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loslakersss Franchise Player
Joined: 31 Dec 2008 Posts: 11853 Location: LA
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Posted: Wed Jun 19, 2019 6:46 am Post subject: |
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I was hoping we'd get at least 1 good game like the USA-Canada from a few years ago or the USA-Japan games. Hopefully France puts up a fight. |
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lakersken80 Retired Number
Joined: 12 Aug 2009 Posts: 38814
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Posted: Thu Jun 20, 2019 11:03 am Post subject: |
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US strikes first. 1-0. |
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adkindo Retired Number
Joined: 16 Jun 2005 Posts: 40345 Location: Dirty South
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Posted: Thu Jun 20, 2019 11:12 am Post subject: |
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lakersken80 wrote: | US strikes first. 1-0. |
yeah, that was fast....they have almost had a couple more |
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adkindo Retired Number
Joined: 16 Jun 2005 Posts: 40345 Location: Dirty South
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Posted: Thu Jun 20, 2019 11:17 am Post subject: |
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Sweden is clearly better than anyone the US has faced in the 1st two matches. |
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adkindo Retired Number
Joined: 16 Jun 2005 Posts: 40345 Location: Dirty South
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Posted: Thu Jun 20, 2019 11:21 am Post subject: |
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Sweden could easily have the lead in this match...had some really good looks. |
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lakersken80 Retired Number
Joined: 12 Aug 2009 Posts: 38814
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Posted: Thu Jun 20, 2019 11:39 am Post subject: |
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adkindo wrote: | Sweden is clearly better than anyone the US has faced in the 1st two matches. |
Yep, but since Team USA has already made it to the next round I wouldn't be surprised if they are just playing it safe. |
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ribeye Franchise Player
Joined: 10 Nov 2001 Posts: 12638
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Posted: Thu Jun 20, 2019 1:05 pm Post subject: |
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I only watched the second half but I was most impressed by the speed of the US, especially the quickness in closing, as well as their fundamentals: passing and heading with accuracy, catching and controlling, working one on two, and the anticipation and movement without the ball.
I can't say much about the new goalie as she was not really challenged but she definitely doesn't have the leg of Hope.
All in all, this is indeed a really good team. _________________ "A metronome keeps time by using a Ringo" |
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waterman40 Star Player
Joined: 17 Jun 2003 Posts: 6287 Location: Central Coast
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Posted: Sat Jun 22, 2019 1:15 pm Post subject: |
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USA Women's Soccer is so much more interesting than men's soccer. Its probably due to the other pro sports draining off the best athletes. The women in comparison, are much better funded than many of the other countries competing. Some of the lower tier countries, like Jamaica barely have money for uniforms, play few international games, and struggle for the basics. _________________ LAKERS 2019-2020: NBA World Champions! |
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lakersken80 Retired Number
Joined: 12 Aug 2009 Posts: 38814
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Posted: Mon Jun 24, 2019 8:10 am Post subject: |
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USWNT scoreless streak over...1-1 in Spain vs USA game so far. |
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