Nations League 24/25

TemporaryFan

TemporaryFan

Well-known member
Karma's bitch.
Scotland punished Poland for being a calculating, minimalist side.

My reflection of the day is that these small nations like Portuguese, Dutch, Croatians can be football-wise supreme all the time, while Poland - 40 million, is unable to deliver anything of substance for the last 40 years.

Maybe football there is overrated. They'd rather watch it than practice it...it's all I can come up with.
There's also money. Lots of young talented players leave the country to burn down prematurely, trying to find bonanza before they have fully developed their skills.
There's DNA too, or there isn't?
Once I thought these human 'races' of shorter legs and longer torsos are better predisposed for the sport, they have naturally built-in technique... the feel for the ball.... ....I am 198 cm, I sucked as a football player in 1980s...I was only good at swimming. But n the other hand, those Dutch, Germans or English are tall too, so this 'racist' - sortof theory doesn't fly, does it?
What gives?
🤔
 
Maradona37

Maradona37

Well-known member
TemporaryFan said:
Once I thought these human 'races' of shorter legs and longer torsos are better predisposed for the sport, they have naturally built-in technique... the feel for the ball.... ....I am 198 cm, I sucked as a football player in 1980s...I was only good at swimming. But n the other hand, those Dutch, Germans or English are tall too, so this 'racist' - sortof theory doesn't fly, does it?
What gives?
🤔
Click to expand...
I have said before that being short is an advantage for a footballer, in all areas other than GK and CB (and striker if playing as a target man).

I am short and I don't think I would be as good a dribbler as I have been, and have the ability to twist and turn on a dime, if I was taller and less coordinated. Amplify that a lot for the actual short elite players and it is a massive advantage. I sometimes joke that I would love to be 6 foot 2 in general but shrink myself down to 5 foot 6 temporarily when I play football.

At 6 foot 5 or 6 as you say you are, you really are much too tall to be a winger, or to turn quickly, or to dribble at speed. Maybe at 6 foot 2 max someone can be a tricky winger, other than the odd anomaly. It isn't your fault, it is just that you'd be better suited to the positions where a tall player has an advantage, as outlined above.

You mention three countries that are tall - but even their most creative players tend to be shorter or at least average or a little above height ie 6 foot max generally. There are exceptions though, of course.
 
TemporaryFan

TemporaryFan

Well-known member
Maradona37 said:
I have said before that being short is an advantage for a footballer, in all areas other than GK and CB (and striker if playing as a target man).

I am short and I don't think I would be as good a dribbler as I have been, and have the ability to twist and turn on a dime, if I was taller and less coordinated. Amplify that a lot for the actual short elite players and it is a massive advantage. I sometimes joke that I would love to be 6 foot 2 in general but shrink myself down to 5 foot 6 temporarily when I play football.

At 6 foot 5 or 6 as you say you are, you really are much too tall to be a winger, or to turn quickly, or to dribble at speed. Maybe at 6 foot 2 max someone can be a tricky winger, other than the odd anomaly. It isn't your fault, it is just that you'd be better suited to the positions where a tall player has an advantage, as outlined above.

You mention three countries that are tall - but even their most creative players tend to be shorter or at least average or a little above height ie 6 foot max generally. There are exceptions though, of course.
Click to expand...
Let's not forget that the football 40 years back was not as position specilized...I don't remember that specifc nomenclature being used as it is today. There were strikers. stoppers, wingers, midfielders..., the latter two quite interchangable too. All of them run a lot...Everybody, on the pitch, looked like a triathlete, not a body builder.
Remember the total football of Netherlands of 1970s?
There, everything was fluid...no rigid structure but the evolvement of football did not go quite exactly that route...

P.S. Hey Scotland did it....Congrats!
 
Maradona37

Maradona37

Well-known member
TemporaryFan said:
Let's not forget that the football 40 years back was not as position specilized...I don't remember that specifc nomenclature being used as it is today. There were strikers. stoppers, wingers, midfielders..., the latter two quite interchangable too. All of them run a lot...Everybody, on the pitch, looked like a triathlete, not a body builder.
Remember the total football of Netherlands of 1970s?
There, everything was fluid...no rigid structure but the evolvement of football did not go quite exactly that route...

P.S. Hey Scotland did it....Congrats!
Click to expand...
Fair points mate, and thanks, yeah it was a nice winning goal. Hope fortunes improves for the Poles.
 
soul24rage

soul24rage

Senior Member
As long as Portugal doesn't win, we're cooking.

Gc_H73QWoAAGZty
 
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