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OT: Soccer thread

I don't really think Australia was ever in any threat to lose their place to Jordan. And they've acquitted themselves well enough against the top teams in the World Cup to demonstrate that they're not a flash in the pan, even if you think they play in a weaker federation (if it is it's not by much).

It's an Ideal situation for Canada to shoot for in any event. You can't tell me we can't finish at least fourth in CONCACAF. Of course, to add insult to injury it's embarrassing countries that we provide disaster aid to are kicking our asses routinely during the qualification process for major tournaments.
 
I can understand your frustration, Bosnia has lost many players because of the conflict in 92-95. Players such as Lovren, Corluka, Rakitic, and in fact a large portion of the Croatian NT is Bosnian. (born there, or parents that are from BIH)

I'm sure Begovic made that decision because he still values his Bosnian background, and an opportunity presented itself through soccer to assert his Bosnian background. If I had such a decision to ponder, I can see myself making a similar determination. Since I don't live in Bosnia, soccer is one of the limited ways to assert that indentity. This doesn't mean that I don't value Canada. I see myself as much Canadian as Bosnian. I also appreciate the opportunities the country has given me, and I'm proud to live here. And if I decided to play for BIH, there are still many ways I could contribute to Canada.

The Bosnian coach who coached Algeria this WC wasn't ever willing and still doesn't seem willing to take over the BIH NT, but it be wrong to call him out. Coaching the Bosnian NT is not the only way he can contribute to the country. In fact, he's given a lot of money to Bosnia and different causes. So is he a traitor? No.

But I also think that professional athletes are really gypsy's in nature, and their development is in large part thanks to many different sources. I'd argue that the clubs have more influence on development than the Canadian NT experience. This is their career, their passion, and they go to where they can get the most money, the best contract, where they could develop the best, and they keep doing this through their career. They are hardly in a situation to have loyalities to only one place.

JaysCyYoung said:
But seriously, guys like Begovic who were taken into the country when he probably would have gotten killed by a landmine or artillery fire at home and then **** off to their birthplace after thousands are spent on their development here?

**** them.
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Metal, you follow Everton right? I heard rumors(according to mirror uk and few other sites) that Muhamed Besic(played for Bosnia NT this WC) might join in the next 24 hours or so. I hope this happens. Totally love this kid. He's got incredible work rate, great defensively and has decent vision as well(next to Pjanic he was our best player). I know Barry was signed too so this could be a good partnership if they do decide to go with both at DM. Not sure what the depth chart is like.
 
Sounds like it...Everton might finally have a decent midfield this season in time for Europe. Too bad well likely lose Lukaku.
 
Re: Canada, we're simply not good enough yet.

Yes, so says Captain Obvious.

Here's what I mean: at the 2007 U20, we were terrible. Brutal. So, the elite guys who might play for Canada in the youth tournaments will switch flags if they expect the futility to continue at the senior level.* There needs to be a big enough core of good players, who play and mature and succeed together, to build some momentum and some confidence in the Canadian MNT. Something like this current "golden generation" of basketball talent.

The CSA really needs to work with the MLS and NASL teams to coordinate the academies. At a minimum, it's a 10 year project.

*It should also be noted that pro teams in Europe may encourage the switch. I bet the teams in England would rather see Begovic play with a better team against better competition in the WC and Euro qualifiers.
 
http://www.grandoldteam.com/2014/07/11/reports-everton-sign-muhamed-besic/

Everton have signed 21-year-old Muhamed Besic from Hungarian side Ferencvaros for an undisclosed fee, according to talkSPORT.

Berlin-born Besic was a stand-out performer in midfield for Bosnia-Herzegovina in the World Cup, attracting the attention of West Ham, Swansea and Cardiff.

But reports claim Martinez has got his man, with the fee believed to be £2.5m, plus add ons rising to £4m

Besic, who turned down the opportunity to represent Germany at youth level in order to play for Bosnia-Herzegovina U21s in 2010, can also play at centre-back.

The 21-year-old played in all three of Bosnia-Herzegovina’s World Cup games, as Safet Susic’s side bowed out after the group stages.

Born in Berlin, Besic began his career with Hamburg, though disciplinary problems limited his opportunities at the Bundesliga club.

In March 2012 he moved to Hungarian side Ferencvaros
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lecoqsportif said:
Re: Canada, we're simply not good enough yet.

Yes, so says Captain Obvious.

Here's what I mean: at the 2007 U20, we were terrible. Brutal. So, the elite guys who might play for Canada in the youth tournaments will switch flags if they expect the futility to continue at the senior level.* There needs to be a big enough core of good players, who play and mature and succeed together, to build some momentum and some confidence in the Canadian MNT. Something like this current "golden generation" of basketball talent.

The CSA really needs to work with the MLS and NASL teams to coordinate the academies. At a minimum, it's a 10 year project.

*It should also be noted that pro teams in Europe may encourage the switch. I bet the teams in England would rather see Begovic play with a better team against better competition in the WC and Euro qualifiers.
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This!
 
PKForce81 said:
Apparently many on that forum don't trust that talksport site and think it's probably bs. We'll see. They were talking about this for over a week with Martinez being impressed by his play at WC.
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Besic is travelling with Everton to Thailand on their preseason trip. His signing is a foregone conclusion at this point.
 
Metalleaf said:
Besic is travelling with Everton to Thailand on their preseason trip. His signing is a foregone conclusion at this point.
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Nice!

Looking forward to Everton games this season.

The only guy i know Besic can beat for playing time(as i don't know much about others) is Barry. Seen him play for City plenty and i think Besic is faster, stronger, better ball control, better defensively. Barry probably does have a better foot(Besic kinda sucks at shooting the ball). If they can sign Lukaku as well that would be very good and they can make some noise.
 
Martinez mainly used a 4-2-3-1 formation last season, but he tinkers from time to time. But if Everton can't retain Lukaku and it looks doubtful with Chelsea supposedly bringing in Drogba to mentor him...they will likely struggle to stay in the top 7-8 teams.
 
Pair available to the TFC game tonight. It's in a supporter section so standing, chanting, flags, etc for 90min (although we keep the flags down much of the time). section 127 row something and seats something and something. $40 for the pair


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