Originally Posted by Damien435

I don't get it, everytime I turn around another player is down, "Oh my god, so you tripped, well cry me a ing river!" I tore my ACL and 15 minutes later I was back in the game, you have shin guards and the hardest "tackle" you will ever face in the World Cup won't even involve you sprawling on the ground with the entire defensive line of the Chicago Bears lying on top of you. These soccer players need to hit the gyms or something, I can understand if you perhaps faceplanted right after making a spectacular save (Did you guys see the save England had against Trinidad!?) but seriously, after it happens so many times shouldn't you get used to it? LIke basketball players, I remember playing b-ball, I rolled my ankle at least once per day, why do you think people who play basketball as well as other sports are less likely to get minor ankle injuries? It's either all or nothing for them.

There are a lot of ways you can look at it. Yes, there are dives which include a lot of acting. This is usually in order to try and make the ref hand out a yellow card or earn a penalty kick. Let's be honest... this is the World Cup - if you lose your footing somewhere on the field, maybe just outside the other teams box, you would try and play it off as a foul to get a free kick. It's just like anything, when the ball goes out of bounds both teams' players will raise their hands like it is their ball. Also, if you play soccer, you know it can get tiring as hell running around like that for 90 minutes. I know it does for me sometimes in an intense game. Sometimes it just feels good to lie on the ground a bit and catch your breath. So, the players just pretend they are hurt for a little bit so they can sort of recover for a few minutes. However, even with these points made about the all the players going down, people still don't give enough respect to the physical nature of soccer. Soccer comes just behind rugby and running for having the most injuries. Some of these fouls don't look like much at all, but if you play soccer you know that all it takes is one little tweak. These players are running full speed (not to mention trying to dribble and pass while running... where do you see that anywhere else? basketball you run around, but you use your hands, hockey you skate, and have a stick, lacrosse - stick, football - hands ... soccer has you run around, while also using your feet to play the ball) and one little clip can just take your legs out from under you and give you the slightest tweak. As for soccer players hitting the gym, look at their quads and legs... imagine running a sprint, and someone just puts their whole leg in front of you... oh sure, feels good - let me just get back up ... give me a break dude. You obviously have never played soccer before so don't talk about it like you have. You make comments like we have shinguards? It isn't kevlar you know. Someone spiked me with their cleats on my shins, my shinguards just got pushed out of the way and i had 2 bloody holes in my shin. I play both varsity basketball and soccer for my school in the baltimore area. Basketball is very competitive, my team gets dunked on by 6'8 players... and in my soccer conference last year we had a team that was ranked #2 in maryland. I can honestly say that soccer is more physical for me... not only because of the fouls but because of all the other stuff that isn't called / that people can get away with. A soccer ref 'can't just call foul shots' when someone gets taken down in teh box, he knows a penalty kick will change the game most likely. Anytime there is a corner kick or all the players are running around in the box, people are having their jerseys ripped, hands grabbing around players. This one kid just decided to punch me once. Let's look at all the basketball players who scream in pain when driving to the basket, only to see the replay where they weren't touched or how many times they complain about a slap on the hand. Let's look at last night's NBA finals game... where the refs called a foul and put Dwayne Wade on the line to win the game - and after watching the replay the commentator said it looked like he wasn't even touched. That hard foul on Stackhouse makes him sit out a game.. I got kneed in the face by a soccer goalie when we both tried to get hte ball... and if you didn't think that is intentional, keepers are told to stick out their a knee when they go up in the air. I think all sports demand a variety of physical challenges especially contact sports. I've played my share and know this... but it just kind of gets old when people throw soccer under the bus...

Originally Posted by Damien435

These soccer players need to hit the gyms or something

let's take some looks at brian mcbride...

looks like he hits the gym, works out right... ? how is that supposed to help him with this ...

Hear,hear.

Yeah Popeye, you frickin genious, try and refute my statement that a lot of soccer players are taking dives by showing a picture where a player was clearly not faking an injury (nor did he even go down on the ground) and trying to milk it. Bravo mate.

Oh yeah, also, umm, did you see McBride lying on the ground in agony after that hit? Did you see him lying there screaming and making it appear he had a carreer ending injury on his hands? I didn't, not like so many of these players who go down, take a nice little break and then four minutes later they are back up and going again like nothing happened. I tore my ACL playing basketball, played soccer for a couple months on said torn ACL before injuring my knee again playing football, IMO if I can play on a torn ACL and not cry once these guys should be able to handle a trip here or there.

LOL, when you start to feel the afterefects of playing the hero, walking around grimacing and looking tough, let me know. Because it will happen. A good friend of my dads and me barefoot waterskiis and he has had operations on both knees...I have no doubt that playing the sport that works your ACL the most with a torn ACL will have its repercussions.

As to the faking injury...It gets the fans in the game. It gives them that 12th man. When the crowd sees their star player on the ground, have you noticed they start getting more verbal? It also might not be faking...There are videos out there of players getting hit in the Achilles tendon and collapsing, but you don't have to get hit too hard there to get hurt. I've seen hits in football that look like they should be able to cope, but when the replay ran through, he landed wrong and twisted an ankle. There are plenty of reasons why a guy might look like he is faking it but he is genuinely hurt.

All in all, I agree that professional players do often exaggerate fouls, but sometimes, they are the real deal injuries.

I just think that soccer is too lenient on those who fake an injury (if you get hauled off on a stretcher you should be done for the game, in the interest of the player's own safety of course.) while also being too harsh when an actual foul is committed (the Red Card against Italy, IMO that should only have been a Yellow.) if these guys really are as tough as is being claimed them them prove it.

I never said soccer players were the toughest players ... i just said soccer is a lot more physical than what the average person thinks.

I showed two pictures of tackles... now which one of these again is a fake? The guy in mid flight completely vertical to the ground which the opponents leg up against his as he reached for the ball or the one where the guy is sliding in front of the other, clearly making contact with him and cutting off his path to the ball?

It seems you are getting a little upset about my response. In fact, I agreed that players do take dives etc. - you just made it seem as if every foul was just a little bump... and nothing is ever serious enough to actual cause an injury.

By the way, I like your comment about the shin guards and then making a reference to 'american football' ... when they wear leg pads, butt pads, hip pads, shoulder pads, chest pads, and helmets complete with facemasks.
I don't see rugby doing that

In all honesty, soccer is in the top 3 for most dangerous sports, meaning injury wise (rugby, running, soccer) The idea that it isn't as physical as the others is incorrect... and while some players do dive ... sometimes, as Henderson said, just one little tweak can actually cause a lot of pain. (on that note poor michael owen for england today huh?)

Anyways, we've mentioned some favorite teams - but who are your favorite players?
My two favorite as of now are...
Hernan Crespo
Zinedine Zidane

better yet ... if you could put together any starting squad who would be your top 11?
(try to pick a full team... goalie, defenders, midfielders etc.)
i'll think about mine

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...=football+foul

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...otball+tackles

Originally Posted by Damien435

I just think that soccer is too lenient on those who fake an injury (if you get hauled off on a stretcher you should be done for the game, in the interest of the player's own safety of course.) while also being too harsh when an actual foul is committed (the Red Card against Italy, IMO that should only have been a Yellow.) if these guys really are as tough as is being claimed them them prove it.

The red card against Italy was a blatant foul. As being a referee, we are tought that blatant fouls(obvious fouls/harmful fouls) are red cards. When a player makes another player bleed profusely, that is considered harmful. The red card was well placed. from a referees stand point...and i already have a second opinion. the WORLD CUP referee who gave it.

Originally Posted by Ollie Garchy

How much money did you bet?

lol i didn't bet...as a policy i never bet on teams i support....they tend 2 get get hammered...but lol i wudnt mind losing money if they won the cup....anyway, if they beat sweden, chances are they'll probably play argentina in the quarterfinals...

the ecuador game was great! btw was klose this good in 2002, or did he score most of those 5 in the game against saudi?

also...what is the opinion on huth....is he good enough to get into the first eleven? and what is the general opinion in germany on lehmann... would people have rather seen kahn in goal?

How did England manage to tie that game against Sweden, they had two opportunities to win and each time they let Sweden back in the Game. The last goal was less than a minute left. I think the trouble with England is that its Defense is not as good as its Offense. Personally I liked Seaman as Keeper more than Robinson.

Shame about Owen too, I guess Rooney was lucky to come back when he did.

England has not beaten Sweden since 1968 and its supposed to stay that way!

Shame about owen