Beecher Networks - Web Development, Hosting & Domains
Page 1 of 54 1231151 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 1066

Thread: World Ranking

  1. #1
    Reserves
    Joined
    Sep 2004
    Posts
    332
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    0
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    0
    Thanked in
    0 Posts

    Ireland maintain FIFA ranking...

    ...level with Iran

    Read Here
    Resign, now!

  2. #2
    Youth Team
    Joined
    May 2005
    Posts
    164
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    0
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    0
    Thanked in
    0 Posts
    its a joke!

    usa 6th!

  3. #3
    First Team Metrostars's Avatar
    Joined
    Mar 2004
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    1,533
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    33
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    77
    Thanked in
    51 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by terry9
    its a joke!

    usa 6th!
    Plus the US will probably leap-frog Mexico to 5th when the next rankings come out if they win the Concacaf Gold Cup this week. I'm sure they will drop down in a few months when the remaining Euro qualifiers will be played. But this does have implications in that if Mexico or the USA are still in the top 6 by the time the World Cup finals groups are decided in December and other teams such as France do not qualify, by FIFA's rules one of them will be a top seed. But I'm sure the Euros plus Blatter will do everything in the power to change the rules so this doesnt happen.

    I think these rankings are more accurate:

    http://www.fifa.com/en/mens/statisti...ticleid=108551
    "Jacques Santini...will be greeted in every dugout of the country by "one-nil, one-nil" - Clive Tyldsley, 89th minute of France-England June 13, 2004.
    "Ooooohhhh Nooooooo" Bobby Robson 91st minute.

  4. #4
    Viva El Presidente! sligoman's Avatar
    Joined
    Sep 2004
    Location
    Town
    Posts
    19,976
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    595
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    383
    Thanked in
    224 Posts
    How in the name of Jesus are Iran level with us?
    Life without Rovers, it makes no sense...it's a heartache...nothing but a fools game. S.R.F.C.


  5. #5
    International Prospect Peadar's Avatar
    Joined
    Jun 2001
    Location
    Dublin
    Posts
    8,586
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    0
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    2
    Thanked in
    2 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by sligoman
    How in the name of Jesus are Iran level with us?
    They don't play in the UEFA section.
    Have Boot Disk, will travel

  6. #6
    First Team Metrostars's Avatar
    Joined
    Mar 2004
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    1,533
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    33
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    77
    Thanked in
    51 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by Peadar
    They don't play in the UEFA section.
    Plus, Iran are actually a pretty good team. They have already qualified for the World Cup and have a number of players playing in Germany and other european countries. Plus we didnt exactly blow them away in the World Cup playoff a few years ago.
    Ya'know, the world doesnt revolve around the English Premier League and Europe.
    Also, if we cannot beat the likes of Israel and Switzerland, we shouldnt have any complaints.
    "Jacques Santini...will be greeted in every dugout of the country by "one-nil, one-nil" - Clive Tyldsley, 89th minute of France-England June 13, 2004.
    "Ooooohhhh Nooooooo" Bobby Robson 91st minute.

  7. #7
    First Team dancinpants's Avatar
    Joined
    Dec 2003
    Posts
    2,304
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    12
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    27
    Thanked in
    18 Posts
    I don't think there are too many in here who can complain with Irelands position in fairness. As Metro said we can't put away Switzerland or Israel (twice). The States and Mexico are so highly ranked because they seem to play an international every friggin' week!!! ... while we pox around giving it our best against teams in poxy friendlies.

    Also TBH the list is poo, I think we can all say that the US aren't better than Germany, England, Italy, France and the like. I would however suggest that they may be on a par with ourselves.
    Last edited by dancinpants; 20/07/2005 at 5:20 PM.

  8. #8
    Reserves
    Joined
    Sep 2004
    Posts
    838
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    0
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    0
    Thanked in
    0 Posts
    The USA are not the 6th best team on the planet, simple as that, so these ratings are obviously spurious. I wouldn't bother with them, to be honest.

  9. #9
    Capped Player
    Joined
    May 2004
    Posts
    18,540
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    7,498
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    4,697
    Thanked in
    2,681 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by Donal81
    I wouldn't bother with them, to be honest.
    The only position I'm interested in maintaining is first place in Group 4!

  10. #10
    Reserves
    Joined
    Jun 2005
    Posts
    718
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    0
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    10
    Thanked in
    7 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by dancinpants
    I don't think there are too many in here who can complain with Irelands position in fairness. As Metro said we can't put away Switzerland or Israel (twice). The States and Mexico are so highly ranked because they seem to play an international every friggin' week!!! ... while we pox around giving it our best against teams in poxy friendlies.

    Also TBH the list is poo, I think we can all say that the US aren't better than Germany, England, Italy, France and the like. I would however suggest that they may be on a par with ourselves.
    The US is better than Ireland, they had a good run in the last World Cup - they have done well when invited to play in the Copa America and usually do well in the Gold cup as well. They are making rapid progress.

  11. #11
    First Team Metrostars's Avatar
    Joined
    Mar 2004
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    1,533
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    33
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    77
    Thanked in
    51 Posts
    I'd say right now that Ireland and the US are pretty even. But there is a lot of young talent coming through in the US and are improving all the time.
    "Jacques Santini...will be greeted in every dugout of the country by "one-nil, one-nil" - Clive Tyldsley, 89th minute of France-England June 13, 2004.
    "Ooooohhhh Nooooooo" Bobby Robson 91st minute.

  12. #12
    First Team
    Joined
    Aug 2004
    Location
    Chicago, Illinois
    Posts
    1,065
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    31
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    27
    Thanked in
    20 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by Metrostars
    I'd say right now that Ireland and the US are pretty even. But there is a lot of young talent coming through in the US and are improving all the time.
    The US is an improving team but I would not rate them against Ireland. Most of their games are played against incredibly weak opposition and event their games against Mexico are mostly meaningless as both countries always qualify.
    There is no such thing as a miracle cure, a free lunch or a humble opinion.

  13. #13
    First Team Metrostars's Avatar
    Joined
    Mar 2004
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    1,533
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    33
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    77
    Thanked in
    51 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by Fergie's Son
    The US is an improving team but I would not rate them against Ireland. Most of their games are played against incredibly weak opposition
    When was the last time you saw the US play?

    even their games against Mexico are mostly meaningless as both countries always qualify.
    Meaningless? Really?

    From Sports Illustrated:

    Yes, Hard Feelings
    In a continuation of a bitter rivalry, the U.S. travels to Mexico for a World Cup qualifier this week and attempts to do what it has never done: win at the dreaded Azteca
    By Grant Wahl

    Landon Donovan doesn't know what's coming this Sunday. He can't know. Not until you've played for the U.S. at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City can you understand what it's like to face your nation's most bitter soccer rival in that 115,000-seat caldron, a place where the Americans have never won a game. U.S. veterans of the Azteca speak in evocative terms about sensory overload. The sound of the hostile fans? "Like playing inside a beehive," says midfielder Cobi Jones. The towering, almost vertical grandstands? "Like Mad Max's Thunderdome," says retired defender Alexi Lalas. The choking smog and 7,200-foot altitude? "I once saw Cobi cough up something that looked like a brownie," says former forward Eric Wynalda. "It's like never smoking your whole life, then being told to smoke a pack of cigarettes and try to function normally. You get sick."
    The Yanks will get another taste of the Azteca -- site of Pelé's exploits in the 1970 World Cup and Diego Maradona's in '86 -- when they face Mexico during the final stage of World Cup qualifying. Each side won its first of 10 qualifiers, placing them at the top of the six-team group from North and Central America and the Caribbean. Only three of those teams are assured a berth next year in Germany. Donovan, the 23-year-old U.S. captain, is preparing for the worst. "I've never played in front of 100,000," he says. "From what I hear, every condition you can imagine is as bad as it gets: the crowd, the noise, the altitude, the smog, the field, the heat. That's what Mexico counts on, and you have to take it out of play."

    So debilitating are conditions at the Azteca, says U.S. Soccer Federation executive vice president Sunil Gulati, that the USSF has tried to strike a deal with its Mexican counterpart on the sites for their home-and-home World Cup qualifiers: If you host your game in some other city -- say, low-altitude Monterrey -- we'll stage ours in heavily Hispanic Los Angeles, where Mexico's supporters normally outnumber U.S. fans by a factor of 10. The Tricolores have never accepted, prompting the USSF to schedule two straight qualifiers with Mexico during frigid weather in Columbus, Ohio. Mexican journos dubbed the most recent one, a 2-0 U.S. victory on a 29° day in February 2001, La Guerra Fría. The Cold War.

    That's typical for the most heated international rivalry in North American sports. Since 1934 the U.S. and Mexico have clashed 49 times on the soccer pitch, and though the Mexicans have dominated the series, 28-11-10, the Yanks have gained the upper hand in recent years with six wins in the last eight matches. Their most stunning victory came at the 2002 World Cup in Jeonju, South Korea: With the stakes the highest and the stage the largest, the U.S. eliminated Mexico 2-0 in the second round. For Mexican-Americans whose fútbol loyalty lies with their native land, the agony of that loss remains vividly painful. "I have cried three times in my life," said Regelio Ruiz, a 36-year-old used-car salesman from Las Vegas, while attending a Mexico-Argentina game in L.A. this month. "That day was one of them."

    As with any worthwhile rivalry, U.S.-Mexico has had its excruciating moments. Like the time in 1997 when Mexico's Ramón Ramirez karate-kicked Lalas in the groin ("a full-frontal assault on my manhood," as the recipient put it). Or the manifold occasions on which Wynalda lashed out at Mexico fans in the U.S. ("The more people I had rooting against me," he says, "the more people I flipped off.") Or the 2004 Olympic qualifying tournament in Guadalajara, when the crowd chanted Osama, Osama. Or that epic '02 World Cup match, during which, Donovan says, Mexican forward Luis Hernández turned to him after an on-field tangle and snarled, "I will find your mother and kill her."

    "To say things like that is pretty evil," Donovan says. "I'm sure it's something he's forgotten, but I never will."

    Though the Tricolores don't deny the intensity of the competition, not all of them take it personally. "The U.S. has grown so much in its soccer, because it has a league now and many players in Europe," says longtime Mexico goalkeeper Jorge Campos, now a national team assistant coach. "But that doesn't mean we hate the Americans. Cobi Jones is a very good friend of mine."

    Yet much more than soccer fuels many Mexican fans' animus toward the U.S. team, says Rodolfo de la Garza, a Columbia professor who specializes in immigration studies. "There are very few instances in the history of the two countries where Mexico has either been dealt with fairly or has won when there were differences," he explains. "Central to Mexican nationalism is anti-Americanism. The U.S. invaded Mexico on various occasions, and by their judgment the Mexicans lost half their land. There's a built-in structure of resentment, a built-in rivalry.

    "Mexicans have one big sport. They invest completely in it, and it is deeply resented that the U.S. beat them at the World Cup. That sticks in their craw. It should be their game. But the power and the money of the U.S. has denied them even that."

    The U.S.'s recent domination has led to extensive soul-searching in the Mexican soccer community -- as well as numerous theories to explain the change in fortunes. "For me it's easy," says Javier Aguirre, who coached Mexico's 2002 World Cup team and now runs Osasuna in Spain's La Liga. "In the last 10 years the Americans have had 30 to 40 players in Europe. We have two or three players in Europe, and that is the great difference. Mexico doesn't have that type of competition." In other words, the comfort of staying at home and playing in the relatively lucrative (but insular) Mexican Football League might be stunting the Tricolores' development as soccer players. (Though that doesn't account for the fact that three of the four U.S. goal scorers in World Cup 2002 represented the supposedly inferior MLS.)

    Martín Vasquez, a Mexican-American and the only player ever to compete for both countries, says the rise of U.S. soccer is tied to the type of players being drawn to the sport these days, ones who might once have chosen baseball, basketball or football. "In Mexico maybe some of the players are more gifted," says Vasquez, who's now an assistant for the MLS team Chivas USA, "but I think the American players are catching up because they have something the Mexican players don't have: athleticism."

    Yet perhaps the most fascinating explanation is that the Tricolores have somehow lost the confidence they once had when facing their northern neighbor. Rare is the discussion that doesn't included the word mentalidad. "I think it's a psychological game now," says Guillermo Cantú, a former player for Mexico who now directs its national teams. "The mentality is on the American side, and we have to steal it."

    Rafael Ramos, who covers the Mexican team for the Spanish-language newspaper La Opinión in Los Angeles, takes the notion a step further. "The Mexican writer Octavio Paz once said, Mexicans have more fear of victory than of defeat," he explains. "The fans are the same way. Just watch this next game against the U.S. No matter how much confidence they have in their team -- in the altitude, in the smog, in the pressure they'll bring against the U.S. -- they will grow worried. There will be total euphoria the first 10 to 15 minutes, but if a goal doesn't come, there will be complete silence. The doubt kills you. It's a very Mexican idiosyncrasy."

    More than any other U.S. player, Donovan inspires mixed emotions from the Mexican fans. On the one hand they appreciate his fluency in Spanish and his fast-but-precise playing style, which some observers consider vaguely Mexican. Not for nothing did Donovan receive a third-place vote from the Mexican federation in the 2002 FIFA World Player of the Year balloting. On the other hand Donovan offended his hosts at the '04 Olympic qualifying tournament in Guadalajara, where he was caught relieving himself discreetly on a training-field shrub. Caught on video, the incident got huge play in the Mexican media. "To me it was never a big deal," he says. "I would say chanting, 'Osama, Osama,' carries a lot more weight than me going to the bathroom on the side of their field."

    Ultimately, Donovan's best response might be the one that translates into any language: Scoreboard, baby. "If you're a Mexican soccer fan, it must be incredibly disheartening at this point," says Lalas. "Because that one thing that you could pin your hopes on was, At least we're going to kick your ass on the soccer field. When that's taken away, it must be depressing. But I'll tell you what: We've taken it away, and we're not giving it back. It's up to them to come and get it. And I hope that we keep kicking their ass, time and time again."

    But it's one thing for that to happen in a U.S. stadium, quite another if it took place in the vaunted Azteca. "If Mexico loses at home against the United States," says Ramos, "only God can say what might happen."

    On Sunday he may find out.

    Issue date: March 28, 2005
    "Jacques Santini...will be greeted in every dugout of the country by "one-nil, one-nil" - Clive Tyldsley, 89th minute of France-England June 13, 2004.
    "Ooooohhhh Nooooooo" Bobby Robson 91st minute.

  14. #14
    First Team dancinpants's Avatar
    Joined
    Dec 2003
    Posts
    2,304
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    12
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    27
    Thanked in
    18 Posts
    Qwerty it aint hard to do well in the Gold Cup FFS!!. Here's the opposition: Honduras, Colombia, Panama, Trinidad & Tobago, Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, South Africa, Mexico, Guatemala, Jamaica. Aside from Mexico, Colombia and South Africa it reads like a "who's who" of half assed footie nations!!

    Then when your world cup qualification involves getting past Panama, Costa Rica, Guatamala, T&T. THIS is why the Yanks are ranked 6th in the world. The get full ranking points for beating sh!te teams in "competitive" competition!!!. They are certainly NOT better than Ireland, they are at best on a par.

    I heard on the news last night that their semi-final against Honduras pulled a crowd of 42,000 to Giants Stadium - 10% were there to support the States

  15. #15
    Capped Player
    Joined
    Apr 2005
    Posts
    15,261
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    1,726
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    2,794
    Thanked in
    1,912 Posts
    These fifa rankings do have no weight when it comes to what matters. seedings in WCQ and WCF groups
    It is ignorant to slag off the USA. If you don't rate their achievements in WCQ games then judge them by their performances in the 2002 WCF, they compare favourably to Ireland but definitly not 6th best in the world.

    Metrostars, how did the game go in the beehive?

  16. #16
    First Team Metrostars's Avatar
    Joined
    Mar 2004
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    1,533
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    33
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    77
    Thanked in
    51 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by geysir
    These fifa rankings do have no weight when it comes to what matters. seedings in WCQ and WCF groups
    It is ignorant to slag off the USA. If you don't rate their achievements in WCQ games then judge them by their performances in the 2002 WCF, they compare favourably to Ireland but definitly not 6th best in the world.

    Metrostars, how did the game go in the beehive?
    The US lost 2-1 at the Azteca, they didnt perform that well on the day but it was only the second time in 12 meetings they've lost to El Tri since 2000.

    Listen, I'm not saying they are number 6 in the world, in reality they are in the 15-20 range. But ranking teams can be subjective or objective. FIFA goes with this rankings procedure that is complicated, taking into account the type of games played, the opposition, where the game is played, number of goals scored and when the game is played. The points gained from winning games are weighted depending on the opposition e.g. if the USA beats Panama 1-0 in a World Cup and Argentina beats Brazil 1-0, Argentina will get more points. It's not the USA's fault that the competition in the region is not keeping up with their progress. They have made huge progress in the last 5 years mainly due to the success of player development with MLS.

    In the Central American countries such as Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama, and also Mexico, footie is their number one sport. Here in the US, it ranks behind NFL, NBA, Ice Hockey, Nascar, Baseball, College Basketball and College Football in terms of fan popularity. Plus there is the somewhat typical old-type american view that soccer is a foreign game and it's for pussies. But that is slowly changing. Thats why a lot of time when they play games at home US fans are outnumbered by immigrants who support their team.

    It's easy for people to slag off the US due to the fact that it us not the number 1 sport here and for past poor performances. But as I said before, great strides have been made in the last few years and the rest of the world is taking notice.
    "Jacques Santini...will be greeted in every dugout of the country by "one-nil, one-nil" - Clive Tyldsley, 89th minute of France-England June 13, 2004.
    "Ooooohhhh Nooooooo" Bobby Robson 91st minute.

  17. #17
    Closed Account
    Joined
    Jun 2004
    Location
    ...
    Posts
    2,870
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    121
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    340
    Thanked in
    200 Posts
    A pretty much full strength Iran side just lost 3-0 to QPR tonight... so I'm not sure theyre that good.

  18. #18
    First Team Superhoops's Avatar
    Joined
    Sep 2004
    Location
    Not Cork (thank God!)
    Posts
    1,962
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    0
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    2
    Thanked in
    2 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by cfdh_edmundo
    A pretty much full strength Iran side just lost 3-0 to QPR tonight... so I'm not sure theyre that good.
    That game was played on Saturday. Iran are also playing Millwall and Portsmouth. Their squad is made up almost entirely of reserves, all drawn from the local Iranian league. They did not have any of their overseas players, mainly German based, in the squad.

    Iran have already qualified for Germany next year, even though they still have to play Japan away, next month.

    From an Ireland point of view, the main interest in Saturday's game was Wayne Henderson, playing in goal for QPR. He is on trial from Villa. A clean sheet wont have done him any harm.
    Honest! I am not a secret Tim nor a closet Sham - I really am a Seagull.

  19. #19
    Stats Man TheBoss's Avatar
    Joined
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Home
    Posts
    4,826
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    441
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    854
    Thanked in
    462 Posts

    Ranking down......again

    http://www.irishfootballonline.com/n...hp?newsid=6090

    We are now 51st, North still better than us

  20. #20
    Coach John83's Avatar
    Joined
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Dublin
    Posts
    8,624
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    1,950
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    1,148
    Thanked in
    711 Posts

Page 1 of 54 1231151 ... LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. League of Ireland Ranking
    By wedwood in forum Premier & First Divisions
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 17/10/2009, 3:23 PM
  2. Actim ranking so far...
    By Metrostars in forum Ireland
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 15/09/2006, 11:50 PM
  3. European Club Ranking
    By sligoman in forum Sligo Rovers
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 12/09/2006, 9:10 AM
  4. Ranking
    By sean1_3 in forum Cork City
    Replies: 25
    Last Post: 02/09/2001, 12:35 PM

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •