Olympic Soccer Thread

[MC KAos]

its right around the corner! who do you guys think will be in the finals? who will win? and what group games are you looking forward to?

 

[MC KAos]

i the men's tourny, i like uruguay, mexico, brazil and spain to win their groups, with brazil beating spain in the finals

the womens, i think the US will run over everyone! with my lover alex morgan leading the charge!

brazil and spain have stacked teams, mexico's group is pretty easy, and uruguay might have lots of unknown guys, but they are good! and having cavanni and suarez up front will be huge! they are my dark horse to win it all, but still taking brazil overall.

 

[casmith07]

lol they play soccer in the olympics?

 

[RastaRocket]

I'm hoping Brazil wins.

 

[daschoo]

Rarely pay much attention to football at the olympics, still really angry that there's a British team - hopefully they lose all their games.

 

[joseephuss]

i the men's tourny, i like uruguay, mexico, brazil and spain to win their groups, with brazil beating spain in the finals

the womens, i think the US will run over everyone! with my lover alex morgan leading the charge!

brazil and spain have stacked teams, mexico's group is pretty easy, and uruguay might have lots of unknown guys, but they are good! and having cavanni and suarez up front will be huge! they are my dark horse to win it all, but still taking brazil overall.

I have to agree with your picks.

I'm liking the Cavanni to Chelsea talks.

 

[jterrell]

uruguay imho. spain is not as strong at u23 as they are overall....

love the ocsar to chels move.

brazil v uruguay for gold.

will be interesting to watch england w sturridge.

 

[daschoo]

still really angry that there's a British team

will be interesting to watch england w sturridge.

Thanks for demonstrating why I'm against it.

 

[StevenOtero]

lol they play soccer in the olympics?

 

[casmith07]

It was a joke. I'm a soccer fan.

 

[MC KAos]

It was a joke. I'm a soccer fan.

i wish they would just let them play full squads, it would be an awesome little appetizer for the world cup every 2 years. im hoping they will end up making a true "copa america" soon, there have been rumors that in 2016 it will be a 16 team tourny with teams from concacaf and conmebol, first one in the US, that would be pretty awesome! and id prob pick brazil to win it all

 

[joseephuss]

I like that it is U23 squads at the Olympics. I wish basketball would do the same at the Olympics. I know the Olympics is no longer about amateur athletics and has not been for a long time, but a U23 squad is more in line with that type of spirit than a full squad team.

It would be very difficult for teams playing in the UEFA Euro Cup to field full squad Olympic teams. That is a lot to ask of players to compete in two straight major tournaments. And those players would also be missing time preparing for their club seasons. There will be a few current U23 players that will be doing just that, but if you open it up to full squads you would have quite a bit more trying to pull off that type of schedule.

The appetizer for the World Cup already exists in the regional cup championships. We had Copa America last year and the Euro Cup this year. There is also the Gold Cup. You could even consider the Confederations Cup as a little teaser.

The Olympics is the be all end all for most sports. People don't really watch swimming or gymnastics or track and field until the Olympics. It is a showcase for sports that don't have much of a following. Soccer has it's major showcase in the World Cup and plenty of fans following club teams every season. It doesn't need the Olympics.

 

[Arch Stanton]

Thanks for demonstrating why I'm against it.

Agree 100%.

They also have Pearce who couldn't coach himself out of a paper. *fist pump*

 

[jterrell]

I like that it is U23 squads at the Olympics. I wish basketball would do the same at the Olympics. I know the Olympics is no longer about amateur athletics and has not been for a long time, but a U23 squad is more in line with that type of spirit than a full squad team.

It would be very difficult for teams playing in the UEFA Euro Cup to field full squad Olympic teams. That is a lot to ask of players to compete in two straight major tournaments. And those players would also be missing time preparing for their club seasons. There will be a few current U23 players that will be doing just that, but if you open it up to full squads you would have quite a bit more trying to pull off that type of schedule.

The appetizer for the World Cup already exists in the regional cup championships. We had Copa America last year and the Euro Cup this year. There is also the Gold Cup. You could even consider the Confederations Cup as a little teaser.

The Olympics is the be all end all for most sports. People don't really watch swimming or gymnastics or track and field until the Olympics. It is a showcase for sports that don't have much of a following. Soccer has it's major showcase in the World Cup and plenty of fans following club teams every season. It doesn't need the Olympics.

agreed 100%. i dont follow the youth clubs all that closely but enough to know by 21 or so who is good. getting under 23s experience on this level is magnificent.

i can see EPL, serie A et al for overall greatness but these under 23 squads are pretty Olympic specific for me.

i'd also prefer it for basketball because these kids have less chance of career-threatening injury and generally make a lot less money.

 

[Wishbone82]

I like that it is U23 squads at the Olympics. I wish basketball would do the same at the Olympics. I know the Olympics is no longer about amateur athletics and has not been for a long time, but a U23 squad is more in line with that type of spirit than a full squad team.

It would be very difficult for teams playing in the UEFA Euro Cup to field full squad Olympic teams. That is a lot to ask of players to compete in two straight major tournaments. And those players would also be missing time preparing for their club seasons. There will be a few current U23 players that will be doing just that, but if you open it up to full squads you would have quite a bit more trying to pull off that type of schedule.

The appetizer for the World Cup already exists in the regional cup championships. We had Copa America last year and the Euro Cup this year. There is also the Gold Cup. You could even consider the Confederations Cup as a little teaser.

The Olympics is the be all end all for most sports. People don't really watch swimming or gymnastics or track and field until the Olympics. It is a showcase for sports that don't have much of a following. Soccer has it's major showcase in the World Cup and plenty of fans following club teams every season. It doesn't need the Olympics.

You may get your wish. Stern supposibly hinted at it for the next games (according to this weeks SI article). I'm all for it if true.

 

[Cythim]

You may get your wish. Stern supposibly hinted at it for the next games (according to this weeks SI article). I'm all for it if true.

Stern has no say in who can play in the olympics. I wouldn't mind it being U23 either but FIBA would be the deciding organization. Having an NBA all-star team out there will draw more money than a U23 team so I doubt anyone besides Stern is willing to do this.

 

[Wishbone82]

Stern has no say in who can play in the olympics. I wouldn't mind it being U23 either but FIBA would be the deciding organization. Having an NBA all-star team out there will draw more money than a U23 team so I doubt anyone besides Stern is willing to do this.

Yep at the end of the day, the money usually does the talking. We'll see what happens.

 

[MC KAos]

well, looks like the ladies got it going well in the first game! started like crap, but had a nice comeback! my future ex wife alex morgan had a nice game!

 

[daschoo]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...nub-National-Anthem.html?ICO=most_read_module

Proud of them

 

[MC KAos]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...nub-National-Anthem.html?ICO=most_read_module

Proud of them

didnt knock giggs was from wales! that is pretty epic!