do you agree with baggio?

[Suprah]

in american football maybe but those old soccer players used to be strong too...the ball was alot heavier back then

and football back in those days was HARD and BRUTAL

Many of the fouls of those days would have even led to calls for a lifetime ban today

The only thing football lacked, and I have to say it lacked alot, was pace and the speed of play back then

[EKBATAN]

i understand wut he's sayin but the game has evolved and to survive and be a great player these days u hav to become wut the game has become, but better...the game has become faster and more physical because of the players becoming faster and stronger so as a result u get fast and strong stars w/ less skill
can u imagine one of the stars of 40yrs ago playing in today's league? he'd get run over! just like NFL greats from yrs and yrs ago, i hav a patient now who told me played football and i asked him wut position and he told me he was a linemen at 180lbs!!!!! that's a wide receiver today! lol

in american football maybe but those old soccer players used to be strong too...the ball was alot heavier back then

[milad]

If skill and technique was all that was needed the Korean ball juggler would b the best player in the world.

what has juggling got to do with football except for the fact that there is a football and same part of the body are used?

[persianbruin]

The best part was, that game was played at Anfield and the winner by Michael Thomas happened in the last seconds of the game

you dont have to tell me that!!! I could not believe it!!

[LoriMagician]

/that freestyle looks ugly for some reason

[mayhem]

If skill and technique was all that was needed the Korean ball juggler would b the best player in the world.

[ShahHouman]

i understand wut he's sayin but the game has evolved and to survive and be a great player these days u hav to become wut the game has become, but better...the game has become faster and more physical because of the players becoming faster and stronger so as a result u get fast and strong stars w/ less skill

can u imagine one of the stars of 40yrs ago playing in today's league? he'd get run over! just like NFL greats from yrs and yrs ago, i hav a patient now who told me played football and i asked him wut position and he told me he was a linemen at 180lbs!!!!! that's a wide receiver today! lol

[KasraKhan]

what a genius article, and what a genius he was

FORZA IL CODINO

[EKBATAN]

1- Baggio is THA MAN!


2- I got to disagree with him a little bit. It's true that it takes away from skills but i think its more of a combination of both strength and skill. The height factor is basically because now days kids are taller in general as a few decades ago. All my younger cousins are pretty much taller than me, so its normal.

[abtin_32]

Il Codino (Baggio) has been the player I have adored all my life. I have never loved any player as much as i did him. His posters were all over my room when I was a kid. HOWEVER, I'll have to disagree with him on this one.

The fact that pace and physical strength has become essential in modern football is a good thing, not a bad one. The fact that you HAVE to be an athlete first to be a good footballer ADDS to the value of the game.

I HATE sports that do not require athleticism. I wouldn't call that a sport. Maybe football was a bit more "authentic" in the early 90s (which is as far back as I remember) but it is a more complete game today. Now, a player who just has talent cannot become a world-class star just thanks to his skills or technique. He will have to TRAIN HARD. This way, players who are dedicated and hardworking can distinguish themselves from lazy ones who just wanna take advantage of their talent or "technique". NOW FOOTBALL is almost on the same level as RUGBY when it comes to the physical requirements and the training needed. This is a step forward for the game.

[Suprah]

This is what I have been saying for 19 years ( First time I said it the day arsenal beat liverpool in the last game of the season to win the EPL in 1989)
Countries with a lot of street football produce a lot of talents (Iran, brazil, and most of the latino countries. Countries where more of the football is organized class oriented football (like germany) produce less

The best part was, that game was played at Anfield and the winner by Michael Thomas happened in the last seconds of the game

[PFS]

i hav given up on playing soccer in my school now because its impossible to dribble, because they just push u away and usualy it isnt a foul.

but in brazil everybody is abou skills u will never see anyone that has only speed or physique

[persianbruin]

This is what I have been saying for 19 years ( First time I said it the day arsenal beat liverpool in the last game of the season to win the EPL in 1989)

Countries with a lot of street football produce a lot of talents (Iran, brazil, and most of the latino countries. Countries where more of the football is organized class oriented football (like germany) produce less

[yashar_fasihnia]

im guessing the reason is not many countries can produce talented players and skills.

i think its a basic phenomenon of exploiting ur best features to maintain a competitive advantage.
if u cant match the other teams in skill, then overcome them in features ur superior to them like physique or speed. and since the number of technically skilled teams are low in number, so the non-technical teams have discovered a way to stop them and are growing in number and dominance.

these are the countries i think produce enough skill or technique:
spain
portugal
italy
holland
mexico
brazil
argentina
iran (in asia atleast )
+ 5 or 6 more south american teams

a maximum of 15 countries from 200+ countries.

no compare them to speed and/or physique dominating countries:
whole of oceania (mostly physique)
whole of africa
whole of east europe + germany, czech republic,france
whole of north europe and schandinavian countries
all the ex soviet union countries
all the east asian countries (speed, no physique)
whole of north america excluding mexico.

so basically its south america + west europe VS rest of the world.
obviously rest of the world dominates in terms of numbers!