I was speaking about Cristiano and his versatility in comparison.
As for Messi, yea, it's really tough to make a case for him now. Shame.
**Official 2014 FIFA World Cup Thread**
- Thread starter DJCandle
- Start date
I was speaking about Cristiano and his versatility in comparison.
As for Messi, yea, it's really tough to make a case for him now. Shame.
I think ppl say that because he didn't score......
and the fact that he was on the ground most of the times from flopping and fouls.
But despite his injury he was one of the best midfielder in the whole tournament.
He wasn't ghost throughout the whole knockout round.
World Cup Final most watched match ever in US
Even without the home team involved, the World Cup final between Germany and Argentina set a television viewership record in the United States, capping a tournament that exceeded expectations for interest on both ESPN and Univision.
The month-long World Cup also was responsible for more than 3 billion interactions on Facebook and 672 million messages on Twitter, the social media companies said on Monday.
An estimated 26.5 million people in the U.S. watched Germany's extra-time win on Sunday afternoon, the Nielsen company said. The game had 17.3 million viewers on ABC and another 9.2 million on the Spanish-language Univision. In addition, just over 750,000 people were watching the game during a typical minute online through services provided by each network.
In Germany, a record 34.65 million people watched Sunday's World Cup triumph -- the highest-ever viewing figures for German television.
The 2010 finale between Spain and the Netherlands, along with the U.S. team's 2-2 draw against Portugal earlier in this year's tournament, both had 24.7 million viewers.
Given the growing interest in the tournament as it went along, the size of the audience for the final game wasn't that big a surprise, said Scott Guglielmino, ESPN senior vice-president of programming. The tournament as a whole exceeded expectations for ESPN, and surprised Guglielmino in the way it permeated U.S. culture as no World Cup has before. The average viewership for all 64 World Cup matches was up 39 per cent over 2010 on ESPN and its sister station ABC, and 34 per cent on Univision, Nielsen said.
"We all knew that everything was in place to be well-delivered to the audience and we needed a good performance by the teams, and that happened," said Juan Carlos Rodriguez, Univision sports president.
At least until some cautious games in the knockout round, play was more wide-open with increased scoring and that was appealing to viewers, the executives said. The event also had stories that transcended the games itself, with Uruguay's Luis Suarez suspended for biting another player and host Brazil's historic meltdown against Germany.
On ESPN, tournament games averaged 4.56 million television viewers, compared to the 1.04 million viewers for games in the 2002 World Cup that were in Korea and Japan.
World Cup organizers FIFA said that more than a billion fans worldwide accessed information about the tournament through its digital platforms. "This has been the first truly mobile and social World Cup," said FIFA president Sepp Blatter.
Facebook said 88 million people made a total of 280 million posts or "likes" about the final game. The most social "moment" of the tournament on Facebook, however, was right after Germany scored four goals in seven minutes during its semifinal victory against Brazil.
On Twitter, the Brazil-Germany match exceeded the final game for most tweets.
Both ESPN and Univision invested heavily to make the tournament an immersive experience, signing up former players for hours of discussion between match times.
Univision went high-tech, with virtual reality displays that pitted famed players from different eras against one another. The company also worked with an Israeli company to invest in technology that allowed its feed of games to appear on the network some five or six seconds before its English-speaking rival.
"We're the real home of soccer in America, regardless of language," Rodriguez said. He predicted that ratings for the Copa America Centenario tournament in 2016, which will match the best teams in North and South America, will exceed this year's World Cup on his network. The ratings performance was a little bittersweet for ESPN and Univision, however. Both networks were outbid for the rights to broadcast the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
So there was a little gamesmanship involved. Guglielmino said the intention was to create a "high bar" for Fox when it broadcasts the 2018 tournament. Given that the games in Russia will take place at inconvenient times in the U.S. market, Fox may be hard-pressed to beat these ratings.
"At the end of the day, a lot of us are just as competitive as some of the people we cover," Guglielmino said.
http://www.espnfc.us/fifa-world-cup...occer-game-in-us-historymore-than-26m-viewers
Even without the home team involved, the World Cup final between Germany and Argentina set a television viewership record in the United States, capping a tournament that exceeded expectations for interest on both ESPN and Univision.
The month-long World Cup also was responsible for more than 3 billion interactions on Facebook and 672 million messages on Twitter, the social media companies said on Monday.
An estimated 26.5 million people in the U.S. watched Germany's extra-time win on Sunday afternoon, the Nielsen company said. The game had 17.3 million viewers on ABC and another 9.2 million on the Spanish-language Univision. In addition, just over 750,000 people were watching the game during a typical minute online through services provided by each network.
In Germany, a record 34.65 million people watched Sunday's World Cup triumph -- the highest-ever viewing figures for German television.
The 2010 finale between Spain and the Netherlands, along with the U.S. team's 2-2 draw against Portugal earlier in this year's tournament, both had 24.7 million viewers.
Given the growing interest in the tournament as it went along, the size of the audience for the final game wasn't that big a surprise, said Scott Guglielmino, ESPN senior vice-president of programming. The tournament as a whole exceeded expectations for ESPN, and surprised Guglielmino in the way it permeated U.S. culture as no World Cup has before. The average viewership for all 64 World Cup matches was up 39 per cent over 2010 on ESPN and its sister station ABC, and 34 per cent on Univision, Nielsen said.
"We all knew that everything was in place to be well-delivered to the audience and we needed a good performance by the teams, and that happened," said Juan Carlos Rodriguez, Univision sports president.
At least until some cautious games in the knockout round, play was more wide-open with increased scoring and that was appealing to viewers, the executives said. The event also had stories that transcended the games itself, with Uruguay's Luis Suarez suspended for biting another player and host Brazil's historic meltdown against Germany.
On ESPN, tournament games averaged 4.56 million television viewers, compared to the 1.04 million viewers for games in the 2002 World Cup that were in Korea and Japan.
World Cup organizers FIFA said that more than a billion fans worldwide accessed information about the tournament through its digital platforms. "This has been the first truly mobile and social World Cup," said FIFA president Sepp Blatter.
Facebook said 88 million people made a total of 280 million posts or "likes" about the final game. The most social "moment" of the tournament on Facebook, however, was right after Germany scored four goals in seven minutes during its semifinal victory against Brazil.
On Twitter, the Brazil-Germany match exceeded the final game for most tweets.
Both ESPN and Univision invested heavily to make the tournament an immersive experience, signing up former players for hours of discussion between match times.
Univision went high-tech, with virtual reality displays that pitted famed players from different eras against one another. The company also worked with an Israeli company to invest in technology that allowed its feed of games to appear on the network some five or six seconds before its English-speaking rival.
"We're the real home of soccer in America, regardless of language," Rodriguez said. He predicted that ratings for the Copa America Centenario tournament in 2016, which will match the best teams in North and South America, will exceed this year's World Cup on his network. The ratings performance was a little bittersweet for ESPN and Univision, however. Both networks were outbid for the rights to broadcast the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
So there was a little gamesmanship involved. Guglielmino said the intention was to create a "high bar" for Fox when it broadcasts the 2018 tournament. Given that the games in Russia will take place at inconvenient times in the U.S. market, Fox may be hard-pressed to beat these ratings.
"At the end of the day, a lot of us are just as competitive as some of the people we cover," Guglielmino said.
http://www.espnfc.us/fifa-world-cup...occer-game-in-us-historymore-than-26m-viewers
He's a more versatile player but he's been a ghost too much for me in the big matches.
Messi winning would have been great for football.
The world haven't seen a world cup star like Zidane since 2006 and even then Zidane fucked it up.
Fair enough. Were at a subjective point between those two.
As for Messi's place in history, the performances speak for themselves.
In reading most Maradona articles out there, there's a part of me that feels that Maradona is even smirking in joy that Messi has failed.
"Maybe now they'll see he's not me..."
It definitely would've been a nice cherry on top of the cake. We'll see what stars show up in 2018.
Fair enough. Were at a subjective point between those two.
As for Messi's place in history, the performances speak for themselves.
In reading most Maradona articles out there, there's a part of me that feels that Maradona is even smirking in joy that Messi has failed.
"Maybe now they'll see he's not me..."
oh no doubt. Maradona is the ultiimate narcissist. That's why he made the statement about Messi winning the player of the cup!... because even if Messi lucks up and ends up on a world cup winning team and doesn't do shit, on "paper" he'll have the same accolades that Maradona has.. even if they were gifted to him
Maradona and Pele are a trip man... he trolled Brazil on facebook IMMEDIATELY aftey they got stomped by Germany but deleted it... Maradona and Pele talk shit about each other like once a week.. it's been like that since I've been living here.. they act like two people that went through a nasty divorce and just hate each other.. they don't miss an opportunity to say they're better than the other or to name another player from Brazil that was better than Pele or from Argentina that was better than Maradona.. it's crazy
oh no doubt. Maradona is the ultiimate narcissist. That's why he made the statement about Messi winning the player of the cup!... because even if Messi lucks up and ends up on a world cup winning team and doesn't do shit, on "paper" he'll have the same accolades that Maradona has.. even if they were gifted to him
Maradona and Pele are a trip man... he trolled Brazil on facebook IMMEDIATELY aftey they got stomped by Germany but deleted it... Maradona and Pele talk shit about each other like once a week.. it's been like that since I've been living here.. they act like two people that went through a nasty divorce and just hate each other.. they don't miss an opportunity to say they're better than the other or to name another player from Brazil that was better than Pele or from Argentina that was better than Maradona.. it's crazy
Oh those two will never give it up. Some of the comments Pele used to make at times made me wonder if he was going senile. Talking about "Neymar is better than Messi..." and things of the like.
That animosity does provide for an excellent laugh from time to time.
I wonder if anyone got a snapshot of Pele's comments during the Germany match...
Honestly, I'm surprised he even knows how to post on Facebook
oh no doubt. Maradona is the ultiimate narcissist. That's why he made the statement about Messi winning the player of the cup!... because even if Messi lucks up and ends up on a world cup winning team and doesn't do shit, on "paper" he'll have the same accolades that Maradona has.. even if they were gifted to him
Maradona and Pele are a trip man... he trolled Brazil on facebook IMMEDIATELY aftey they got stomped by Germany but deleted it... Maradona and Pele talk shit about each other like once a week.. it's been like that since I've been living here.. they act like two people that went through a nasty divorce and just hate each other.. they don't miss an opportunity to say they're better than the other or to name another player from Brazil that was better than Pele or from Argentina that was better than Maradona.. it's crazy
Pele was trolling?
you serious?
That's the one when I was like..Ok..time to stop taking Pele seriously for real
Maradona said this shit after Pele received the Ballon d’Or a few years back because they gave one to Pele before him. I dont know two legends that go at it like this two... for decades.. Pele just said some shit about Maradona last week too..
"“According to me, Pele will always remain second best in football when compared to Maradona. Look at it this way, in his own country, Brazil, Pele is the second best sportsman after Ayrton Senna [the former F1 driver]".
Pele was trolling?
you serious?
My bad..it was Maradona..i should have clarified..
right after the loss (i mean within seconds), he made a post on facebook holding a sign that said "Eu Ja Sabia"... pretty much means "I already knew"
but he took it down quickly..his PR team probably told him to.... he was on a few ads in Brazil during the world cup and his PR team probably told him not to fuck up the good will.
Rihanna (@rihanna) tweeted at 3:32pm - 21 Jun 14:
My nigga Klose (https://twitter.com/rihanna/status/480448114990391298)
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My nigga Klose (https://twitter.com/rihanna/status/480448114990391298)
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk
My bad..it was Maradona..i should have clarified..
right after the loss (i mean within seconds), he made a post on facebook holding a sign that said "Eu Ja Sabia"... pretty much means "I already knew"
ESPN has been great with their coverage. 2018 and 2022 World Cup coverage is going over to Fox Sports
Top 30 Goals World Cup 2014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j23Pcy9QJ80
Check it out b4 the fifa police take it down
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j23Pcy9QJ80
Check it out b4 the fifa police take it down
I hate FOX Sports with a passion. Fuckers can't do anything right.
Tell me that's just a joke
Fox Sports couldn't handle the Premiership right and not to talk of the Champions League and they get the World Cup?
Say it aint so!
Tell me that's just a joke
Fox Sports couldn't handle the Premiership right and not to talk of the Champions League and they get the World Cup?
Say it aint so!
http://espn.go.com/sports/conversat...-wins-bid-espn-nbc-televise-world-cup-2018-22
thank you....exactly what i was saying. you can't fault one when the other doesn't show as well
it's really not comfort anymore....xavi is nearing the end and iniesta has to stay healthy. but you know he's never leaving. barca will only let him go when he can't do his patented messi runs anymore. although with these fuckers running the team.....give a high enough price they might because they don't know how the fuck to run this team
ESPN has been great with their coverage. 2018 and 2022 World Cup coverage is going over to Fox Sports
I hate FOX Sports with a passion. Fuckers can't do anything right.
at least they won't be directing and controlling the cameras
at least they won't be directing and controlling the cameras
This is true, but the pre-match, half time, and post game plus bonus coverage will be littered with hacks like Warren Barton & Rob Stone.
Not to mention the overly effervescent Gus Johnson who has no business commentating a football match.
Hopefully none of these fuckers get their contracts renewed and they buyout the BeIn sports boys.
CBS should have kept Gus so he could continue with college basketball. He was great there. But football (world and american).....not so much unfortunately.
All I can say is that I'm sure a number of ex-players will be hired because I don't think ESPN has a lock on them like Ballack and Ruud (granted both are going to coaching). But I doubt we'll see Ray Hudson under Fox anytime soon.....although we know how'd get the Arg matches if he was
All I can say is that I'm sure a number of ex-players will be hired because I don't think ESPN has a lock on them like Ballack and Ruud (granted both are going to coaching). But I doubt we'll see Ray Hudson under Fox anytime soon.....although we know how'd get the Arg matches if he was
CBS should have kept Gus so he could continue with college basketball. He was great there. But football (world and american).....not so much unfortunately.
All I can say is that I'm sure a number of ex-players will be hired because I don't think ESPN has a lock on them like Ballack and Ruud (granted both are going to coaching). But I doubt we'll see Ray Hudson under Fox anytime soon.....although we know how'd get the Arg matches if he was
Hudson calling a World Cup match would be incredible.
"And as the celestial heavens opens up, and god lined up his soldiers for war, he showered upon them a gift. A leader of war who is ready and able to slice the guillotine in one fell strike.. That name... One... Lionel Messi."
Hudson calling a World Cup match would be incredible.
"And as the celestial heavens opens up, and god lined up his soldiers for war, he showered upon them a gift. A leader of war who is ready and able to slice the guillotine in one fell strike.. That name... One... Lionel Messi."
FC Bayern Munich Plots American Invasion After World Cup Success
http://mashable.com/2014/07/17/bayern-munich-usa/
Six of Germany's 11 starters in the World Cup final on July 13 play together for the powerhouse Bundesliga club Bayern Munich. A seventh Bayern player, Mario Götze, came off the bench to score Germany's game-winning goal in extra time and power Die Mannschaft to the most coveted trophy in team sports.
Now, after many of its stars helped Germany conquer the soccer world, Bayern Munich has its sights set on another goal: America.
SEE ALSO: How to Maintain Your USA Soccer Fandom in 3 Easy Steps
Bayern Munich on Thursday launched a USA-specific website — what it says is the first of its kind in global soccer to offer specific content for American fans, as opposed to simple English translations of more general content. The site launch comes after Bayern opened its first overseas office, in New York City, earlier this year. And later this month, the club launches a brief American tour highlighted by a match against Chivas Guadalajara in New Jersey on July 31 and a showcase against Major League Soccer all-stars in Portland, Oregon.
"There are 60 million soccer fans in the U.S., 15 million of those are fans have shown interest in FC Bayern. For us it is about fan engagement and staying in close touch with our supporters," Rudolf Vidal, Bayern's managing director in the States, told Mashable in an email. "But we also want to reach out to the other 45 million who have set viewership records in the U.S. during the World Cup to start a dialogue."
Much of that dialogue will begin with the new U.S. site, which will include articles about Bayern's iconic senior men's team, as well as unrelated soccer content geared toward American fans of the sport and information on Bayern's basketball and women's soccer teams.
Vidal says Bayern "absolutely" sees the U.S. as a more of a soccer market now than it was five years ago and that "global engagement and a global presence is part of the club's natural progression."
Bayern also has an ace in the hole that will make many American soccer fans pay it special attention in the coming months and years: Nineteen-year-old Julian Green, a highly touted German-American prospect who plays for Bayern, famously committed his international future to the U.S. over Germany this spring and two weeks ago scored a stellar goal for the USMNT against Belgium on the very first touch of his World Cup career.
As soccer continues to grow in popularity Stateside — at the same times as MLS still has quite a ways to go to rival Europe's best leagues — Bayern's strategy is one other top clubs would be wise to replicate.
Just how well Bayern's plan for an increased American footprint works remains to be seen. But it's already proof of one thing: As soccer's profile continues to grow Stateside, the sport's top global brands will be looking to cash in on that increased interest.
http://mashable.com/2014/07/17/bayern-munich-usa/
Six of Germany's 11 starters in the World Cup final on July 13 play together for the powerhouse Bundesliga club Bayern Munich. A seventh Bayern player, Mario Götze, came off the bench to score Germany's game-winning goal in extra time and power Die Mannschaft to the most coveted trophy in team sports.
Now, after many of its stars helped Germany conquer the soccer world, Bayern Munich has its sights set on another goal: America.
SEE ALSO: How to Maintain Your USA Soccer Fandom in 3 Easy Steps
Bayern Munich on Thursday launched a USA-specific website — what it says is the first of its kind in global soccer to offer specific content for American fans, as opposed to simple English translations of more general content. The site launch comes after Bayern opened its first overseas office, in New York City, earlier this year. And later this month, the club launches a brief American tour highlighted by a match against Chivas Guadalajara in New Jersey on July 31 and a showcase against Major League Soccer all-stars in Portland, Oregon.
"There are 60 million soccer fans in the U.S., 15 million of those are fans have shown interest in FC Bayern. For us it is about fan engagement and staying in close touch with our supporters," Rudolf Vidal, Bayern's managing director in the States, told Mashable in an email. "But we also want to reach out to the other 45 million who have set viewership records in the U.S. during the World Cup to start a dialogue."
Much of that dialogue will begin with the new U.S. site, which will include articles about Bayern's iconic senior men's team, as well as unrelated soccer content geared toward American fans of the sport and information on Bayern's basketball and women's soccer teams.
Vidal says Bayern "absolutely" sees the U.S. as a more of a soccer market now than it was five years ago and that "global engagement and a global presence is part of the club's natural progression."
Bayern also has an ace in the hole that will make many American soccer fans pay it special attention in the coming months and years: Nineteen-year-old Julian Green, a highly touted German-American prospect who plays for Bayern, famously committed his international future to the U.S. over Germany this spring and two weeks ago scored a stellar goal for the USMNT against Belgium on the very first touch of his World Cup career.
As soccer continues to grow in popularity Stateside — at the same times as MLS still has quite a ways to go to rival Europe's best leagues — Bayern's strategy is one other top clubs would be wise to replicate.
Just how well Bayern's plan for an increased American footprint works remains to be seen. But it's already proof of one thing: As soccer's profile continues to grow Stateside, the sport's top global brands will be looking to cash in on that increased interest.
Speaking of Munich, Guardiola named Green to the first team. Promising indeed.
http://www.starsandstripesfc.com/us.../16/5909735/julian-green-bayern-munich-roster
http://www.starsandstripesfc.com/us.../16/5909735/julian-green-bayern-munich-roster
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