"At this level"

[rava]

I was watching the Scotland game on Saturday and this comment was used 3 or 4 times, in fact its often used when watching international football by commentators and analyists. Is international football the highest level of football ?. Would Scotland beat any team in the premiership or Ireland for that matter. Would the top club teams in the world beat the top international teams.

[pineapple stu]

Top club teams have been better than international teams for years. Did AC Milan beat Brazil sometime in the mid-90s? Have a vague recollection of something like that; may have been a hypothetical piece though.

[Mr A]

It's a cliché used throughout the game rather than just the international scene. Even LOI interviews are riddled with the phrase, which can induce chuckling or cringing depending on one's mood.

[DaveyCakes]

International football is in a sorry state at the moment. I would consider Spain to be the one genuinely top class team in Europe. The rest occupy varying levels of mediocrity.

[superfrank]

Would Scotland beat any team in the premiership or Ireland for that matter? Would the top club teams in the world beat the top international teams.
Hardly, the Scottish team is made up of players from the EPl, the SPL and then some from the lower leagues in England.

Even teams like Brazil don't pick all their players from the recognised top leagues. For instance, Elano and Luisao, both regulars for them, play in Turkey and Portugal respectively.

Whereas teams like Man U and Barca, they'd have a much higher concentration of talent.

Also, club football, for the most part, lets you use players from wherever you want and, as long as you can afford them, they'll play for you. So there is a lot more opportunity to build a top side, there's a lot more tools at your disposal.

[thischarmingman]

I was watching the Scotland game on Saturday and this comment was used 3 or 4 times, in fact its often used when watching international football by commentators and analyists. Is international football the highest level of football ?. Would Scotland beat any team in the premiership or Ireland for that matter. Would the top club teams in the world beat the top international teams.

At the end of the day, it really is a game of two halves. Obviously, early days I'd say the international side, your Brazil's, your France's you know, would have the edge but all credit to the clubs, their superior team spirit might start to tell by the end of the match. Obviously the manager might be sick as a parrot to admit it but if you set out your stall to play in a certain way you have to live with the consequences. Obviously.