Watching the AS Roma .vs. Manchester United game on Fox yesterday briefly before the UFC fights as well as hearing about the end result of Arsenal .vs. The New York Red Bulls left me with one big thought: man Italian and English soccer or football has gone downhill!
Italy used to be a bloody powerhouse back in the day. In 2002 they were kicked out by a cheating, referee paying South Korean team. They took that win and dominated the next world cup in defensive fashion. Look at their roster and depth in that world cup. They weren’t impressive offensively but they got the job done. They won. They were good. I also thought they played well in the last Euro Cup but it turns out most of the teams in the last Euro Cup stunk. Italy lost to Costa Rica and Uruguay in disappointing fashion this world cup. They really should have beaten Costa Rica, that’s inexcusable and just as embarrassing as when they lost to Slovakia in the 2010 world cup. When you look at Italy’s roster or talent as a country it’s very weak. Not even close to the depth and talent the early 2000 teams had. Not close at all. Balotelli has some potential. Pirlo is old and still seen as their top midfielder. That’s bad. I think they will rebound someday but it seems they may have passed the torch to another country such as Belgium.
Meanwhile England, wow, no comment. Just like Italy back in the early 2000s they had a decent roster. They had 2002 world cup champions Brazil on the ropes in the quarter finals but lost. They had a lot of talent. Michael Owen who was once the worlds best. Rio Ferdinand defending. David Beckham, also one of the worlds best back in the day. Now who do they have? If you saw their roster in 2010 and the one they put out in the 2014 world cup, both would make any Brit want to puke.
The English premier league hasn’t been the top league in a while now it seems. Manchester United has gone downhill. Hoepfully Van Gaal can turn them around. David Moyes made them terrible. There seems to be nothing bright about the future of England really. People have said Jack Wilshere has potential. I haven’t really seen it.
Watching Arsenal lose to the New York Red Bulls 1-0 was embarrassing as hell. And it made me type this rant out. England and Italy, get your shit together.
vancouversportsbro 