Kylian Mbappe has just joined a long list of distinguished players to have missed a penalty kick at the World Cup finals. In fact just 32 of 49 have been scored. I put this down to penalty takers trying to make the goal keeper move early, using a stuttering approach but that reduces the pace on the ball, I’m sure a simple shot into the top corner will always be better.
Disappointed as I was at the result, there was one bit of last night's game I very much enjoyed. It was when Gianni Infantino's face appeared on the big screen and he was roundly booed by the crowd.
I reckon the French threw the game to avoid the embarrassment of taking the trophy from Trump.
With hydration breaks and an entire holiday in the middle of the final, it seems to be that this is no longer Football. Which should be 90 minutes, 15 minute break in the middle.
The length of the match is an important part of it. It tests stamina and grit. Next thing you know, the Boston Marathon will be run over a week in 5 mile sections to give people a chance to recover.
@la vie en rouge - you may be right about the French. They would like to win, but win a proper competition, not this shambles.
I'm not sure why preventing heatstroke would make it no longer football. Surely the defining feature is that it's a ball game played with the feet, not the length of the match? I think that's a strange argument and one that goes against the idea of adapting sports for more extreme weather as the climate changes. Football is supposed to be a game played for fun, after all, not a punishment.
If it really was about preventing heatstroke, they could dispense with in the air-conditioned stadiums like the one they were using yesterday. It's actually about selling advertising space.
I don't understand the issue with breaks for players. Surely it's possible for athletes to get heatstroke even in air-conditioned stadia? Hydration breaks seem understandable.
I suspect the pace of the game has increased: the pace of rugby union has certainly increased in the professional era thanks to rule changes and the players at the top level are bigger, faster and stronger. In the past there was a halftime break for an orange which was for about five minutes, but now players leave the field for fifteen minutes and there may be other breaks in each half. Generally time is added for stoppages which can increase a notional 80 minute game to 100 minutes.
I also recognise the fact that being able to sell ad space is a big part of it, but if it helps the players to perform better (especially in an international tournament where many players will have limited experience of playing in a hot climate) I see it as a reasonable trade-off. Hot weather puts enormous strain on the body, especially the cardio-pulmonary system.
With hydration breaks and an entire holiday in the middle of the final, it seems to be that this is no longer Football. Which should be 90 minutes, 15 minute break in the middle.
The length of the match is an important part of it. It tests stamina and grit.
Kids these days! Why, in my day, men were men, and there was none of this mollycoddling nonsense.
Next thing you know, the Boston Marathon will be run over a week in 5 mile sections to give people a chance to recover.
Of course, marathon runners hydrate as needed while they run.
Also, hydration (and food!) stations are a completely normal part of long-distance running - they just eat and drink as they run. Running isn't a contact sport so you can do that. Football is another matter.
In normal circumstances, you don’t need to rehydrate multiple times in the timeframe of a football match. The thing about long distance running, is that it takes a long time.
My rant was really that it was about selling advertising. Because that is all some of those involved are interested in. Not the game. Not even the result. Just the money that can be made.
There are other ways of hydrating people - in Rugby they do it in the usual stoppages.
So yes, care for the players is important, but that is not what this is about.
I’m sure residents of New York and New Jersey are at least annoyed at the venue for the World Cup final being described as “New York New Jersey”. Is it one or the other? There’s a whole river between them AFAIK.
MetLife Stadium is in New Jersey, but it’s where the New York Giants and the New York Jets play, so “New York New Jersey” isn’t a completely crazy temporary name.
MetLife Stadium is in New Jersey, but it’s where the New York Giants and the New York Jets play, so “New York New Jersey” isn’t a completely crazy temporary name.
Thanks, that makes sense now. We have football clubs named for town that play in different towns to their name.
My New Jersey-born and -raised partner is fine with it. (New Yorkers might feel differently.) Sometimes when we go to New York we stay in Jersey City - it's only 12 minutes on the PATH to lower Manhattan.
A more egregious example of the same naming convention is London Luton airport. If you land there, you're nowhere near London. Same for Gatwick, Stansted and Southend.
A more egregious example of the same naming convention is London Luton airport. If you land there, you're nowhere near London. Same for Gatwick, Stansted and Southend.
Or London Oxford Airport. Which is probably closer than Gatwick, mind.
Personally I thought the best bit of the entire tournament was when the Muppets showed up.
The Muppets got quite a cheer when they appeared, in the beer garden where I was watching the match. (That is, they appeared on the TV. I know, I know.)
The Muppets got quite a cheer when they appeared, in the beer garden where I was watching the match. (That is, they appeared on the TV. I know, I know.)
I'm not sure why preventing heatstroke would make it no longer football. Surely the defining feature is that it's a ball game played with the feet, not the length of the match? I think that's a strange argument and one that goes against the idea of adapting sports for more extreme weather as the climate changes. Football is supposed to be a game played for fun, after all, not a punishment.
Adding the hydration breaks converts the game in to a game of four quarters rather than a game of two halves, which does have an effect on the pace and the momentum. (Having a small pop concert at half time is worse, though.)
It may have been a necessary evil, given some of the unpleasant weather, but it clearly has an effect on the character of the game. Describing that effect as making it "not football" is hyperbole.
I see Infantino wants FIFA to sell parts of its operations, and that the company lining up to handle it all is run by the brother of Trump's son in law.
Ah, for the good old days when only 2 substitutions were permitted per side. ;^) If football (soccer) wanted to make a real innovation, they could use a stop clock rather than continuous time with an arbitrary amount of added time beholden to the referees whim of when they are going to blow the final whistle.
I'm beginning to think that there is a non-zero probability of the continental football associations setting up their own international football federation which would become the world governing body of the sport. If CONCACAF were to follow UEFA in the boycott, then FIFA is a lame duck.
I'm beginning to think that there is a non-zero probability of the continental football associations setting up their own international football federation which would become the world governing body of the sport. If CONCACAF were to follow UEFA in the boycott, then FIFA is a lame duck.
This reminds me of the international boxing organisations, of which the International Boxing Organisation is just one. At times there are unification bouts to reach a genuine World Champion at one weight or another but it takes time and horse trading.
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I used to but the police came and took it away.
I often say I have the body of a man half my age, but it's beginning to smell and I need to get it out of the cellar.
And my skin is peach-like.
Have you seen a 77 year old peach?
I reckon the French threw the game to avoid the embarrassment of taking the trophy from Trump.
The length of the match is an important part of it. It tests stamina and grit. Next thing you know, the Boston Marathon will be run over a week in 5 mile sections to give people a chance to recover.
@la vie en rouge - you may be right about the French. They would like to win, but win a proper competition, not this shambles.
Of course, marathon runners hydrate as needed while they run.
But yeah, sure. It’s only a matter of time.
There are other ways of hydrating people - in Rugby they do it in the usual stoppages.
So yes, care for the players is important, but that is not what this is about.
The only World Cup I've ever really paid attention to was billed on the logo as:
With even less space between the countries' names than I've shown there. They were written in the same font, but different colours.
Thanks, that makes sense now. We have football clubs named for town that play in different towns to their name.
Or London Oxford Airport. Which is probably closer than Gatwick, mind.
Personally I thought the best bit of the entire tournament was when the Muppets showed up.
That's what is known as an open goal!
Adding the hydration breaks converts the game in to a game of four quarters rather than a game of two halves, which does have an effect on the pace and the momentum. (Having a small pop concert at half time is worse, though.)
It may have been a necessary evil, given some of the unpleasant weather, but it clearly has an effect on the character of the game. Describing that effect as making it "not football" is hyperbole.
Dr. Heinz Doofenschmirtz is on the Ship??? 😮
I know he’s always trying to take over the tri-state area, though I’m not sure which tri-state area he is referring to…
Perry will sort him out, as always, of course.
(Please tell me someone is getting this joke…)
(Whenever I hear the phrase “tri-state area,” it’s always in the good doctor’s voice…)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Doofenshmirtz
This reminds me of the international boxing organisations, of which the International Boxing Organisation is just one. At times there are unification bouts to reach a genuine World Champion at one weight or another but it takes time and horse trading.
I know he didn’t actually say “sell off” the World Cup, probably more of a carpetbagging operation.
I expect they're as sick as parrots!
The World Cup is currently a Crown Corporation?
I doubt it.
So then, in what way is it not already a private business?
I thought its a non-profit organization. I think there is private and private, Infantino wants to monetize it.
The man stinks of Trumps soiled nappies.