World Cup 2014

[DJFear]

In just 2 days yet another world cup of football (or soccer) is kicking off in Brazil. Its the first world cup hosted in Latin America since 1978 and no European nation has ever won it all in that part of the world. That makes Brasil and Argentina as the favorites and no doubt all the pressure will be on the host nation.

Now as for USA they got a pretty tough group with Ghana, Germany and Portugal, where frankly US can finish last. England also got a tough group and I predict Uruguay and Italy will qualify ahead of them.

With that said will US public even care about it? I know that the SuperBowl is the main thing over there but world cup happens once every 4 years and is arguably the biggest event in sports. So, thoughts? predictions? will you be watching?!

 

[Ronaldo7]

I got Portugal. This will be Cristiano's World Cup. Portugal going through, whether 1st or 2nd, will most likely face Belgium or Russia. Probably the most manageable draws from a top seed.

Forca Portugal.

 

[Jaylan]

As a huge Real Madrid fan, if the US dont make it out of their group, Ill be rooting for Portugal and Ronaldo. It would cap off a great year since hes already got the ballon dor, copa del rey, and champions league trophies this year.

Plus it would shut up a lot of people who constantly try to put messi above him.

 

[Ronaldo7]

As a huge Real Madrid fan, if the US dont make it out of their group, Ill be rooting for Portugal and Ronaldo. It would cap off a great year since hes already got the ballon dor, copa del rey, and champions league trophies this year.

Plus it would shut up a lot of people who constantly try to put messi above him.

Be real. The USA won't make it out of their group. Germany and Portugal will be the ones to advance.

Ronaldo has always been above Messi. The world will never see an athlete as dominant as him.

 

[Falcon]

Brazil to win it all. US looking good but in a tough group. I don't have them advancing. I play a lot of soccer for fun and a lot of people I know including coworkers will be into it.

I also want Ronaldo to do well, but unfortunately he isn't 100% and Portugal doesn't have the team to go deep into the tournament.

 

[DJFear]

^^^ Yeah Ron does have some sort of minor injury and with all the pressure on him to basically carry the team, that cant be a good thing. I can see Portugal qualifying for the knock out stage and then if they have to meet Belgium that wont be easy. Not many people realize but Belgium have a very talented squad and many of their players are in Premier League (Hazard, Lukaku, Kompany,Januzaj etc)

As for whos better between Ronaldo and Messi, I always felt that Messi is more a product of a very fine attacking system in Barca. He has a lot of very good playmakers that assist and make it a lot easier for him. Wheres Ronaldo doesnt need as much help and can just put a team on his shoulders and carry them through (like he did against Sweden with 4 goals to qualify for World Cup).

 

[DJFear]

As for the competition between messi and Ronaldo messi wins it hands down as he's won world player of the year/ballon d'or more times (4 to 2). This is fact. Everything else is merely rumour, speculation, and conjecture.

So now we are judging whos the best player based on who wins ballon d'or most times?? Never mind that the vote can be very biased and be influenced by how successful the team is (Barca has been winning more than Madrid untill this year). There is no doubt that both Messi and Ronaldo are very close but Ronaldo is the better overall player and athlete. Hes a lot better in the air for example than Messi. Hes also a better free kick taker and cross provider. And not that it matters but he also gets hotter women than Messi does

 

[DJFear]

Yes we are, because that's the only reliable hard fact that settles the argument by selecting who is better on a level playing field.

What you said is simply not true about Ronaldo being the better player, this is merely your opinion. Messi is the better player, and the world's top soccer managers and professional team captains agree with me. The people in the world who know about soccer most are all in agreement. That's why Messi won the honours of Top Player in the World four times and Ronaldo only won twice. Their opinions may be biased, but so are yours and their opinions carry far more weight than yours ever will.

As for girlfriends, I also disagree since Ronaldo's current gf looks like a used up ukrainian prostitute. I think Messi's gf is far hotter.



Gee, I wonder why

Well I guess Ronaldo needs to win atleast 2 more player of the year awards and then what? you will admit hes the best player now? lol

Barca were the better team until recently. Yes Messi is a big part of that but you take out Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets and see if they would have been the same. Bottom line is Messi cant carry a team by himself in same way Ronaldo can.

 

[Jaylan]

Considering the corrupt organization that is Fifa, Ballon d'or say nothing for me when it comes to comparing players.

I care about stats, cups, and strength of league. Ronaldo has success in two different domestic leagues (league, cup, and champions league titles in both Spain and England). Can anyone deny the greatness of someone who wins a career treble in two different top leagues....leagues which are considered top leagues in the world? Hes also a physical freak. With the exception of messi's softer dribbling touches, I dont think theres a thing messi can do that Ronaldo cant.

On the other hand Ronaldo beats out messi when it comes to jumping, headers, and speed. Ill stop giving Ronaldo the edge when I see Messi have success outside of Barca and outside of Spain. We have seen Ronaldo accomplish greatness within different systems. Thats how I see it. Barca midfield feeding messi plays a lot into his game.

Mark my words...Ronaldo will win the Ballon'dor again next year. Especially after winning the Champions League already this year...and I predict him having a very good world cup.

 

[Jaylan]

You missed the point of my criticism of FIFA.

Player performance on the pitch shows us fans whos great and who isnt.

The Ballon'dor is all about subjective voting and favoritism. Personally I feel Ribery deserved it this year...considering what Bayern did last year...but oh wells. Popularity matters more to the voters. It didnt matter to voters that Ribery led his team to a treble. People only care about the two guys at the top.

Lemme make a cross sports comparison with the NBA. Karl Malone, one the greatest power forwards of all time, had 2 MVPs. Shaquille Oneal had 1 MVP, and many consider him the best center to play the game of basketball. Malone has no championships, while Shaq has 4. No basketball fan in their right mind would put Malone over Shaq based on having more MVPs. Shaq dominated in a way that Malone never did...and he has the rings to back it up.

What you do on the field (court), always matters more than popularity contests based on subjective voting.

 

[Jaylan]

Yeah, and selecting Qatar for a world cup was a great democratic thing wasnt it? I know plenty of Messi fanboys who wouldnt put it past Sepp Blatter to rig Ballon Dors in Messi or Ronaldos favor.

Lets not pretend there is not a bias for either of these men when someone can win a treble and still lose the award for best player of the year. Field Results will always outrank popularity contests in my eyes. Especially with how many of us know FIFA operates with regard to votes.

 

[DJFear]

Qatar deserved to host a World Cup.

Yeah hold your horses on that one cuz FIFA and other officials are under investigation currently over bidding corruption allegations. Also, vice president of FIFA has said that if there is proof found then there could be a re-vote to decide the host. So yeah all of this looks really messy for FIFA and does not do a lot of good to its reputation.

 

[Ronaldo7]

I can't wait to watch the world cup, Thursday can't get here soon enough.. the bars and streets are gonna be full of hot bishes and I'm gonna be out with my buddies watching some damn good football/soccer and i know we'll be seeing some pretty fantastic performances from messi, ronaldo, neymar, modric, gerrard, aguero, balotelli, pirlo, saurez, ozil, schweinsteiger, iniesta, dzeko, schneijder, van persie, and.. well the list goes on and on!

Brazil will be solid, but with messi and aguero up front I'm expecting a lot of goals from Argentina. I don't know how Belgium got players in such top teams like Chelsea, Man u, and Man city, but I wouldn't expect much from them. 3 or 4 good players a top contender does not make. Same goes for Portugal. The Belgians topped their group over Croatia but the Croats always save their real energy for the actual tournament. Looking for big things from Modric and Mandzukic, and hope Eduardo and Olic hit the field and make some magic. The Germans and the Dutch, as usual, are fielding strong teams. German Ozil and the Dutchman van Persie are both at the top of their game right now.

Man oh man I can't wait looking so forward to it I feel like a little kid on Christmas eve I haven't been this excited since the beginning of the last world cup.

As for the competition between messi and Ronaldo messi wins it hands down as he's won world player of the year/ballon d'or more times (4 to 2). This is fact. Everything else is merely rumour, speculation, and conjecture.

LOL. Are you seriously basing it on that? Ronaldo has more goals than he has games for Real Madrid. He broke the record for most goals in a Champions League campaign. The Ballon D'or is in part a popularity contest as well. Ronaldo isn't the most liked player either. As he once famously said, "People are jealous of me because i am rich, good-looking and a great footballer."

Damn the kickoff between Brazil and Croatia can't come soon enough..

Portugal will indeed make it deep into the knockouts. This is Belgium's first World Cup since 2002 and their squad is young and not experienced. Portugal carry with them the GOAT.

A player in the Champions League as relentless and as powerful against top-level opposition has never before existed. Some flicker. Some have a season or two. None measure up to what Ronaldo can do.

 

[Ronaldo7]

Yes, the ballon d'or is the official recognition of the best player in the world, and it is awarded by the organization that sets the official rules and statistics for the sport of soccer. How else can you pick the best player in the world except as voted the most times by top soccer coaches and professional soccer players in the world and officially ratified by the organization which makes the rules for soccer?

Alright. Let's see how much football you really know.

1. The Ballon D'or is also voted by regular journalists from the top newspapers in the world. Journalists that have already a biased opinion on whom they prefer. The coaches and the CAPTAINS of each national team also have their respective votes.

2. There has been captains/journalists that have come out and said that they voted for Messi because they did not like Cristiano's attitude and arrogance. They didn't base it SOLELY on performance, but also on personality.

There's really nothing to debate here. The awarding of the trophy to the best player in the world is the official recognition of top soccer athlete by the governing body of the sport and everything else is merely opinion.

Ok. 2008-2009 - Messi won it fair and square. Absolutely magnificent season. Keep in mind the votes are later shown to the public.

2009-2010 - The votes were split between Xavi and Andres Iniesta. Messi was the benefactor of this and won. Why were the votes split? Because that year Spain won the World Cup and it was hard to choose between Xavi and Iniesta. Messi did not win a CL and disappointed in the World Cup. He scored 0 goals. Iniesta and Xavi had a brilliant World Cup and were unfortunate to be caught in the situation where Messi won. Wesley Sneijder, if you know who that is, won Serie A, Coppa Italia and Champions League. He also reached the World Cup final with the Netherlands. He won it all. Demonstrate your argument for Messi winning it that year. PLEASE.

2010-2011 - Messi won it fair and square. He won CL and La Liga. Great season.

2011-2012 - Messi only won Copa Del Rey. Real Madrid won La Liga. Chelsea won the CL. How did Messi win the award by winning a minor trophy vs Ronaldo winning the league title? That's beyond me. Ronaldo also finished top goalscorer in La Liga.

2012-2013 - THE GOAT WON IT.

2013-14 - The GOAT lifted the 10th CL in the history of Real Madrid, won Copa Del Rey and therefore will win the award again.

You guys can proclaim your undying love for Ronaldo all you want, but it won't change the fact that Messi has been picked by his peers and by the governing organization of soccer as the best player in the world twice as much as Ronaldo.

As for your argument that Ronaldo is being discriminated against because he is "young rich and good looking" this doesn't really fly since pretty much every soccer player who has every been eligible for the ballon d'or is young, rich, and good looking.

True, but they've never publicly said so. Ronaldo said it in a live interview. It made the rounds in every newspaper in Europe.

And you're making the same mistake Jaylan and DJ Fear made, you're looking at relatively insignificant official FIFA statistics (ie most goals scored in only one form of competition) to "prove" Ronaldo is the best, yet you're ignoring the only official FIFA statistic that actually matters in this debate: and that is the fact that Messi has been voted best player in the world by his top class professional peers twice as much as Ronaldo. And this voting procedure is the democratic process that FIFA - the governing body that makes the rules for soccer - has deemed the appropriate one for selecting the top player in the world. Whether you like the decision or not, you have to accept it as being official just as much as you have to accept the fact that the ball going over the white goal line without being called off means a goal has been scored.

Ronaldo has 1+ goal ratio for Real Madrid. In case you do not know what that means, it refers to the fact that he has more goals than he has games for the club. IN LA LIGA AND IN CL. Do show me another player that has that on their record. La Liga and CL are both FIFA statistics. Look them up and you'll see.

Like I said before, everything else is just the opinion of guys who aren't good enough at soccer to get paid for it.

The fact remains that Ronaldo is better than Messi overall. Ronaldo is fast, tall and powerful. Messi is really limited outside a system that does not cater to short passes.

 

[DJFear]

In other news, US coach Jurgen Klinsmann is already writing off USA for the tournament before it even begins by saying : "For us now talking about winning a World Cup, it is just not realistic. If it is American or not, you can correct me."

Now obviously hes probably right but still thats not really the mindset and attitude you wanna hear from your coach ahead of the tournament. I mean if he doesnt believe then why should the players? It all starts at the top and if they already have some doubts, it doesnt do any good for their confidence. Not really a smart comment to make.

 

[Ronaldo7]

In other news, US coach Jurgen Klinsmann is already writing off USA for the tournament before it even begins by saying : "For us now talking about winning a World Cup, it is just not realistic. If it is American or not, you can correct me."

Now obviously hes probably right but still thats not really the mindset and attitude you wanna hear from your coach ahead of the tournament. I mean if he doesnt believe then why should the players? It all starts at the top and if they already have some doubts, it doesnt do any good for their confidence. Not really a smart comment to make.

That is the absolute truth. Germany & Portugal are better than the USA. Ghana is their only "even" rival. He is not deluded.

 

[seagull]

I got Portugal. This will be Cristiano's World Cup. Portugal going through, whether 1st or 2nd, will most likely face Belgium or Russia. Probably the most manageable draws from a top seed.

Forca Portugal.

Belgium are a very strong side this year. Take out Ronaldo and they are probably stronger than Portugal.

 

[Jaylan]

Belgium are a very strong side this year. Take out Ronaldo and they are probably stronger than Portugal.

Exactly. Minus a fit Ronaldo, Portugal is a middle of the pack squad. People forget all the Premier League talent on the Belgium national squad.

The fact remains that Ronaldo is better than Messi overall. Ronaldo is fast, tall and powerful. Messi is really limited outside a system that does not cater to short passes.

You made a lot of great points.

All people have to do is look at all the haters in social media, and see what journalists who vote against Ronaldo say....They hate on the guy because they dislike his attitude. They wish he was more humble. But the dude is a competitor. Hes super competitive.

And if you look at various comments made about Ronaldo, Ronaldo was right when he said he has haters because of his looks, skills, and money. A lot of people connect with Messi because hes this short guy who beat a growth deficiency and represents the little guy.

Ronaldo represents the have it all lifestyle. Hes in great shape, he performs well, hes rich and hes good looking. People tend to hate on folks with these attributes if they arent super humble. However, Ronaldo's "arrogance" is a lot of incorrect perception from haters. The guy does LOADS of charity...and gives his all for his team. People have a misconception of Ronaldo because of bs the media feeds people. And also people love to hate on the guy because he dares to give a damn about dressing well and looking good.

People tried to tear down Beckham back when he was at the top of the football world because he was this pretty boy footballer with a hot wife, skills and money. Anyways, I wish people would stop trying to minimize the greatness of Ronaldo. Im very sure that if you flipped all the stats, people would still hate Ronaldo because they like to root for the little guys. But people forget that Ronaldo used to be this skinny poor goofy looking kid before he transformed at Manchester.

 

[Ronaldo7]

Belgium are a very strong side this year. Take out Ronaldo and they are probably stronger than Portugal.

Belgium had not qualified since 2002. Their current coach, Marc Wilmots, was a player back then. In the World Cup, experience prevails above all. The Belgium squad is too young for my liking. Portugal have an easy route to the QF. Russia and Belgium do not seem too daunting. In an atmosphere as competitive as the WC, inexperience is exposed in a ruthless manner.

One of the reasons i love Ronaldo so much is that "arrogance". He does not care what anyone thinks. That is exactly why he has reached the top. Ronaldo is the embodiment of hard work, perseverance and discipline. He worked VERY hard for what he has. Who dares tell him to simmer down? He has more goals than games, breaks every record and won the most coveted trophy for the most coveted club. 12 LONG years before Real Madrid lifted the 10th Champions League. AND GUESS WHO SCORED 17 goals to take them there? THE GOAT.

 

[beatjunkie]

Hold up. Reality check fellas;

It's either going to be brazil, spain or germany. Those who posted above talking about how a certain national team has many premier league players need to wake up and realize the premier league is not the best. if it were so and the effect were to carry on to national teams then England would be a strong contender.

All of this is just talk. CAN"T WAIT FOR KICK OFF!