Except the problem with women's game is that unless a team is in the box you pretty much know that there is no shot of scoring a goal. You don't have the ability to see guys like Ronaldo and Drogba etc. bang it in from distance. Plus, women are less accurate than men it seems like, did you see the amount of airmailed shots during the Final? There is no way I fear a woman striking a goal in from distance, which brings down the excitement of the can score anytime deal with men's soccer. Check out this goal by my favorite player <iframe width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/YWNGrCWfnJk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> There is no way a woman could score this goal, the power, the distance, the curvature. Stunning goals imo are part of what makes soccer incredible.
Speed is definitely a defining characteristic of the game. For headers, it's extremely important. It's both. That is the perception in the US, and only in the US (and maybe North Korea). The exception of this world cup aside (because the men are not playing right now in Europe), football is generally regarded as a men's sport everywhere in the world other than the USA. And any 8th division men's team in Germany would obviously easily beat any of the women's teams that were present in the world cup, which should tell you how important athleticism is in this game.
well, I would say the US team was probably more athletic than the japanese team. but i guess its hard to tell since the japanese did seem pretty damn fast on the field. But look at the huge size and height difference between the US and Japan
Being taller does not necessarily mean being more athletic. Stamina and speed can still be better when you are shorter. By the way, looking at that picture, I think the US team were classy losers yesterday. They were fair. Not like e.g. Argentina (men) at the world cup 2006, when they started kicking and hitting the German players after they lost.
Speed is important in every sport. But it is not *the* single most important, sport-defining characteristic of soccer. Of course. But is being able to out-jump everybody a super critical part of the sport, like in basketball? (answer; no) Yes, both factor in, but to a different degree than other team sports. Of course it is important in any sport, men can run faster and jump higher than women. They would destroy them in soccer physically. But that is true in almost any sport. But compared to say, basketball, lacrosse, or volleyball... or other sports played by both sexes, soccer isn't as solely dependent on speed, power, and general athleticism to win the day. Hell, Japan showed that yesterday by beating a team that was physically much more gifted than them. Skill, technique, and finesse will get you much further in a sport like soccer than most. Not as far as in say, tennis or golf. But it goes a long way, which is why I find women's soccer entertaining to a similar degree as men's soccer, and definitely more entertaining compared to women's basketball, etc. The game translates well between the sexes, if you disagree, then oh well, not interested in changing anyone's mind here. Just stating why I like it.
No, but it isn't in any sport other than running. Answer: Yes, a single instance of one player outjumping another player can decide a match and a whole tournament. Certainly more so than in volleyball or lacrosse. Again, I think that is a myth. They were taller and stronger, but not necessarily faster or with more stamina. I understand your point, skill is important in football. I agree with that.
I think you haven't seen any modern volleyball games. While speed is not as much a factor, power and athleticism is definitely a factor for winning. <iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-K8Yo8Y7TRg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Maybe they could have tried this... <object style="height: 390px; width: 640px"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/LnKW-yVTSrM?version=3"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/LnKW-yVTSrM?version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="390"></object>
Here's a video for you. <iframe width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/4vb1ztysP0E" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Except you have to watch a fair amount of football to realize this - in basketball you can simply look at the players and tell that one group is capable of more things physically than another group, and after watching 30 seconds of play this is obvious. Contrast this with women/mens soccer, the size difference isn't as pronounced and obviuos as it is in basketball and it's even further obscured by the fact that the camera is way above the field, which also makes it harder to notice the slower speed etc.
What the hell happen? Did it deflected off someone cause I can't see that it did. That ball just curve right by Wambach and right over Solo. I try watching it with other video and downloaded the other version and play it frame by frame and it did not hit anyone. <iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/KIqh8Ui8TNM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/KlkkBBrSjXc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Rif48vORnzY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Show me where it hit her? I don't see where it touches her. It's either missing frames so I can't see where it touches her.
