what do you think about nationalized soccer players?
451655
I FEEL THAT IN THIS DAY AND AGE WITH THE WORLD BE SO GLOBALIZED ANYWAYS IT ADDS A WHOLE NEW ELEMENT TO THE GAME. THE GAME ITSELF BENEFITS AND THAT IS REALLY ALL THAT MATTERS, I THINK THE RESOUNDING EFFECTS WILL BE SEEN ON THE PITCH THIS UPCOMING WORLD CUP... \n\nI GUESS ALL AND ALL IT IS WHAT IT IS I HAVE NO RACIAL OR SOCIAL QUALMS WITH IT, AND IT MAKES FOR GOOD GOOD PLAY.
387467
At our country, Argentina, is still amateur, and it is forbiden for the clubs to pay their players, you can get something playing for the national team though. I LIKE IT THAT WAY.
1023506
Come off it, stingking13.  Do you think the 11 that start for the US are not passionate about the sport?  Just because the nation as a whole isn't rabid about the sport doesn't mean the players on the field don't give it their all.
787627
Absolutely every players perrogative to decline to play for the national team. There may be better ways to decline an invitation to play with the national team. There's injury, rehab, all sorts of reasons to allow it to be politically correct.
930421
I quite like Man U. That's coming from a Spurs Fan. They have an excellent youth system. Not like Arsenal who buy youth and Chelsea who buy everyone who isn't nailed down. Man U keep things traditional and are bringing through the future of English Football unlike Chelsea who are crippling the English game. It's good we are seeing the cream of the crop in the premiership but not all in one team. And spending 20 million plus on players and leaving them to rot on the bench or the reserves.
795496
Have to agree with you there Daniele. These young fellows come along and have success and believe they are instantly the be all and end all of the team. Everyone has to earn their spot and respect, irrespective of talent. Form and seniority are not things he seems to have taken into consideration. Discipline must extend to attitude also. No one wants a loose cannon among them, even if they are promising.
1029368
i'm pretty sure that they don't get paid for playing on the world cup national teams. i do belive that the individual teams/countries do sometimes provide bonuses, but they aren't required to. \ni think for most of the players, it doesnt matter anyway. they all make good salaries for their club teams, and its an honor to be able to represent their country in the world cup.
791620
My personal thought on the matter is that African players haven't gotten the recognition they deserve simply because they haven't been able to develop their skills in Africa.  Many are required to leave so that they can access the facilities required to develop into great footballers, simply because many African governments have been too poor to fund nice pitches and hire coaches/managers that are required to run organized leagues and enhance competition thereby increasing the talent level, therefore only the elite of the elite make it in African football, whereas others with the sort of talent level to play on an international level, are simply never given the chance.  As Africa continues to grow economically the demand to see more African footballers will grow with it, more talented African players will make it into the elite leagues of Europe(and hopefully North America).... and remember friend what week doesn't pass by that you don't see footage of Didier Drogba(Cote D'Ivoire) or Samuel E'too(Cameroon).
307182
they are definitely not the 4th best soccer nation in the world. the ranking has never been so far from the actual quality of soccer' nation for as long as I have been following it (about 10 years!), they really need to fix it for it to reflect better the actual ranking in between nations or just stop with this non sense that they call ranking, teams don't even play against the same quality of opponents to start with so................
1082250
I totally agree!\n\nIn our country there are a "System" in which an X percentage of players in the team should be "Native". Last year I did not make the provisional team because of my skin colour. \n\nNot to be bitter or anything, but this is not right. A lot of players get chosen because of their Colour and not for their skills. Not only is it not fair to the guys who don't make the team but are good enough. It is not fair to that "native" player to know he is not there on merit. How should this guy feel proud when the National anthem is being played before the game
1018366
My best guess is that they are either first or second generation immigrants. France has solid players. But their play in this World Cup is less than impressive for some reason. I hope to see more out of Henry offensively. And as for Zidane, unfortunatley the last game might have been his last World Cup game for good. His play has been average.
866889
they get loads of dosh......not happy with their extravagent salaries they want bonuses too.......what ever happened to playing for the jersey......every schoolboys dream is to play for their country...now its gimme gimme gimme more money or else i'm not playing.......to me that sounds like premadonna time.....
1038100
It will be famous. Maybe not like in the rest of the world, but I think it will. I love soccer and have alot of passion for it (although passion for basketball too). We need passion. Not saying we don't but many people think that it's for wimps. They should see some of the nasty fouls in a World Cup and I bet you they'll figure it out. Our team is very good and we should follow through. I know that high schools and colleges play alot of soccer but I wish we could attract alot of young players and train them at the max. A few years ago, nobody gave a damn about us. We just have to show our real potential and play our game. We, as a country, should back our team up in every match. It's nice to know that more and more Americans like me are into soccer.
1148288
For the past seasons i've been a chelsea fan but now that i've heard players like shevchenko are going to chelsea i will think twice about being their fan come next season. Not that i hate chelsea but look at Real Madrid club right now and tell me where there are ranked as far as spanish soccer is concerned. They were a good team back then but once they started buying all superstars they stopped performing. Same will happen to chelsea if they are not careful.Good luck to Abramovich.
349469
As an Argentinian football fanatic, I never thought I would be admitting this, but I believe the United States has become a respectable football power. \n\nUnited States has improved their football program by "exporting" players overseas.  It's quite smart, really; you teach a kid to play soccer here in the states, and when he becomes old enough, you send him to Europe to learn the ropes of international soccer...\n\nUnited States has been doing this for years... I think they are finally ready to make a substantial difference in this World Cup.  Maybe not the finals because of lack of experience and the amazing pressure of the World Cup finals, but I believe they will be among the semi-finalists in June.\n\nHope this helps!
463359
I totally agree with you! That's exactly why Pele himself played in the MLS and also why the US team is rated number 4 in the world at the moment. Also, you are just dumb, you didn't even ask a question, you're just angry at your own lack of skills and are taking it out on a country you already have pent up agression against. Maybe someday you'll that the players in the MLS have to be super-commited because the majority of the people in the USA look down on soccer players, proving MLS players have as much, if not more heart than other players.
228419
I think they're great. Firstly, Australia have been doing well at them so there is the nationalistic issue.\n\nSecondly, we see athletes doing their best to compete for their country. The other day We saw an athlete from Papua New Guines win a gold medal, probably the first in the history of that country. I live events like the Commonwealth Games and the Olympics.