DAWG
[Reply]

ridiculous.
[Reply]

Soccer is less reliant on great athleticism than almost all football positions and NBA players. Before I started watching it more closely I assumed the most athletic players would easily prevail but its alot of acquired skill. They have too many players on the field for there to be many 1v1 battles in which supremely athletic players would have a chance to shine. Also dribbling seems to be a huge deal and the best started when they were 2 years old perfecting their technique. Then, offsides eliminates alot of opportunities where the fastest guy could beat people for goals.
[Reply]

I am gonna disagree with your first statement. Soccer players are some of the greatest athletes out there, imo. Maybe not the flashiest but still.

Take into account soccer players will run upwards of 7 miles in a single match where WR's and CB's will run between 1.0 -1.5 miles. Basketball players run between 2-3 miles in a game. Oh, and those guys get to have subs and take breaks.

Why Soccer Players Are the Best Athletes (here’s Why)
https://soccerblade.com/why-soccer-p...best-athletes/

Soccer players are the best athletes because the physical range is nothing compared with other sports. From running long distances to short sprints – shoulder to shoulder with tall physical players to dangerous tackles – the whole body is worked.

Here are the main reasons why soccer players are the best athletes;

Running distances
Short and long sprints
Activity on turf which is more demanding
Jumping and volleying
Slide tackles
Physical battles
Short players vs. tall players
Between 40 and 94 domestic games per season
[Reply]

The ability to run a long distance continually is being in shape and has little to do with athleticism. Being athletic is being able to move quickly in short bursts, to jump high, to have quick twitch fibers to be able to move laterally very quickly. I'm not saying soccer players aren't good athletes, but to be great you don't need to be Tyreek Hill necessarily. To be a great NFL DB, WR, or DE you usually need to be a freak of nature.
[Reply]

Dude, this isn't cross country running. Do you watch soccer? Tyreek, who is an elite athlete, also only has to perform for around 10-15 seconds at a time while getting breaks between plays, subs and when the defense is on the field.

Soccer players are constantly moving in short bursts, sprinting long and short distances and guess what, they don't get to go sit down and catch their breath.

I am not taking anything away from athletes in any other sport as each sport requires its own unique abilities, but overall professional soccer players are better athletes than just about any other sport. Football has an actual 15 minutes of live playing time. For a 1 hour game that isn't much. Couple that with it being split between players who play only on offense or defense. Soccer has about 55-60 minutes of live playing time and the players generally play the entire game. No subs, no "squads", etc.

Put it this way, Cristiano Ronaldo could be a good WR easier than Tyreek Hill could be a good soccer player.


I think the topic overall comes down to opinion. My opinion favors the player that has to do the most. A WR, for example gets to focus on an extremely small amount of things they have to do, whereas other sports, say basketball, a player has to focus on offense and defense.

I place Soccer at the top for the mere reason that they are playing on the largest field for the longest time. Football and Basketball and even Hockey players get subbed. No so with Soccer. You are always on your feet, even when play is stopped you are still generally on your feet. Over the course of 90 minutes that takes it's toll.
[Reply]

[Reply]

Let me put it to you this way. If Messi and Tyreek had never played their respective sports before, and at age 18 decided they wanted to be professionals in that craft. Which one would have the best chance to be a pro? It would be Tyreek with football and it isn't even close. Sheer athletiscm can get you there. In soccer, it cannot.
[Reply]

:-)....read what you posted a little slower. Also, based on some of the things you have said, I don't think you understand the game of soccer very much. I mean the part of "continuously running" was humorous, along with your "dribble seems important". I don't think you quite understand soccer.

What you basically just said was it's easier to play football than soccer but somehow you don't have to be a good athlete to play the tougher sport. :-)

Try doing what Tyreek does only with your feet. Try doing the same jukes, sprints, etc. but you don't get to use your hands. You have to literally pass, catch and run with the ball using your feet. Oh, and you have to defend with your feet too. You know, none of that takes athletic ability at all. Tyreek gets to catch the ball with his hands, make a juke and then outrun 1 or 2 defenders.

Meanwhile, Messi has to dribble a ball with his feet, will dribble and juke through 3 or 4 players and shoot. One is considerably more harder than the other and takes no less if not more athletic talent to do so.

Either you are just biased towards football, don't understand soccer or don't know what it means to be an athlete. Or a combination of the 3. That's my opinion on your take anyway.
[Reply]

I don't think he understands soccer very well. I don't say that as a slight, I didn't either until my son started playing and I really started learning the game and paying attention.

Those guys are some sick athletes. The training they have to do is insane.
[Reply]

It's just casual running up and down the pitch. No sprints or anything like they do in "football"...

Oh, and when he is done sprinting. He has to turn around and keep playing. No stopping. No going to sit on the bench while the defense comes out, etc.


[Reply]

Why do you think a country as small as england is as good as they are despite having very few natural great athletes? Its because soccer is ingrained in their culture. All kids play soccer right when they start to walk. I know plenty of guys from the UK via poker and the story is all the same. England has 16% the population of the US does. They arent as good as they once were but they produce many great soccer players due to kids simply starting to play incredibly young and the soccer academies they have there. They get great via acquired skill and advanced motor function.

I think we are simply in disagreement of what a good athlete does. Yes, most positions in football are MUCH easier to become good at without playing it your entire life because athletic ability is so important. Take a slightly above-avg athlete. Such a guy would have NO chance to play most positions in football in the NFL...but if starting early enough under the right tutelage and guidance in soccer would still have a chance to become a pro.
[Reply]

You do realize that England is the joke of the soccer world right? They invented the sport, but instantly had it taken from them by the more athletic countries in the world. They haven’t even been able to beat the US yet. If athleticism wasn’t a huge factor in soccer the whole world wouldn’t steal all of the players out of Africa to keep up with the pace of the game.
[Reply]

Fucking Messi is showing that he's still the best player in the world. Fucking buried a free kick into the top right corner of the goal to tie the match at 4 in the 85th minute. A perfectly placed ball that would take an absolute miracle to block. Dude is just amazing. 4 goals in 7 matches and turned a pretty bad Miami team into a legit contender.
[Reply]

backwards, 7 goals in 4 matches.

Miami, last 4 games with Messi: 13g (7 of them from Messi)

2-1 (15 min, 1g, last min to win it)
4-0 (78 min, 2g, 1 assist)
3-1 (2g)
4-4 (2g, last min to tie it, send it to PK's, win in PK's)

And while the 2 other goals in this game do not have an assist to Messi, he put a ridiculous pass to Jordi Alba (who got the assist) and the own goal that was headed in by Dallas was off his free kick.
[Reply]