Quote:
Originally Posted by SmashedHombre
Yeal I will take a look at them when I get home. I do see the African nations catching up with the European teams, infact I'll even put my leg out and say an African team will win a World cup in the next 20 years. But I don't think they will ever dominate the sport.
Although as you say, with their influx into the European game they are getting more and more technical as well and many are also starting to develop a better footballing brain. But look at some of the most 'intelligent' footballers in the world. Scholes, Cesc, Xavi, Pirlo...they're all small guys yet they can change a game without having to use strength to power through the opposition team. One killer ball that can take out 3 or 4 opposition players is surely just as deadly as a surging run from some tall powerful guy. I suppose a classic example of this argument is Ronaldo and Messi. Who is the better player. Ok Ronaldo has the technical ability, but his strength, height and power are his main asset. Messi on the other hand has a short, wraith like build. He looks like he can br brushed of the ball and shouldn't be able to succeed against bigger, more powerful athletes. And yet he tore us apart, taller players like Carrick for example couldn't get he ball off of him. Our new signing Anderson is only the size of Scholes, yet I still remember fondly the way he shrugged Drogba off the ball.
Although there is maybe a bigger influx of taller, more powerful players in the top leagues, a lot of them don't play fot the top clubs. You only have to look at the best players in the world in the past to see that technical ability is always going to be more important and appreciated than size and strength.
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Almost every player will be moulded by trainers these days. Even Messi has a certain bulk about him.
Physically players do have to adapt, the game is more demanding and nowhere more so than in the premiership. So even players who are not naturally strong and physical will be forced to do alot of gym work to bulk up to compete at the top level.
Ronaldo has an incredible physique but when he first arrived in england he was nowhere near that build although he was very young and most probably not fully developed however he has clearly done alot of work to get himself into the physical condition he is in. Rooney on the other hand probably doesnt do much but has a natural heavy build. As a 16 year old at everton he was already built like a boxer and you get the impression if he wasnt an athelete he would be a bouncer or something
Even Fletcher who was rakelike in his first 2-3 seasons as a young player now has more physical presence now and that is down to hard work in the gym which is part of the modern game.