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@DixieDestroyer, thank you for the response! My ethnic roots are from the Balkans and I also have great admiration for the Germans.They are very industrious people and the ones I know have been true to stereotype by proving themselves kind and reliable when it really counted. It has also been my...

Nice to see you here, Frederic, and thank you for being one of the prominent posters who keeps the soccer subsection of the forum alive and kicking (I have unfortunately been rather busy over the last six months, but I hope to inject new life into my posting habits once the 2014 World Cup...

I am curious whether there are any white/Caucasian ethnicities you guys and gals feel a particular sense of connection to or an admiration for (other than those you are descended from/are of your ethnicity/make up a part of your heritage) based on personal experiences (people from these...

I decided to start a new thread in order to discuss two separate (but somewhat related) subsets of issues. 1) There are a lot of rumours (while quite a few are unsubstantiated, some possibly have a degree of merit to them) surrounding the ethnic roots of certain footballers. One example of...

On a light-hearted note, Balotelli is now the owner of a pot-bellied pig! I don't mind exotic pets and have a soft spot for many animals, but my understanding is that micro pigs need a lot of attention, so a footballer may not have sufficient time to train it/ interact with it. Hope he proves me...

The new Champions League season is in full swing, with only the playoff round to go before the start of the actual group stage. Here are some of the more interesting breakdowns from the matches that were held on the 6th and the 7th of August. I am mainly interested in following the teams that...

Thank you, Don, almost everything appears to have been resolved! :) I am using Internet Explorer and have been accessing the forum from the UK. I still have a bit of an issue with being redirected to web pages containing advertisements, but it’s nothing too serious. On past occasions forum...

@Frederic, excellent, I am adding it to my favorites, it’s wonderful that no one could doubt the team camaraderie...

I think that the United States are a strong favorite for this Gold Cup, though Mexico and Honduras are always dangerous (even if they are with second- and third-string squads). Martinique could be a dark horse, they could rely on quite a few French-based players who are relatively experienced...

It’s always a special moment when players and spectators prepare to sing the national anthem of a country prior to kickoff. This sometimes evokes feelings of transcendence and is a reminder that soccer could help uncover the patriotic fervor simmering just beneath the surface. There have been...

@Frederic, thanks, that’s a quality team, most of these players are still relatively young and deserve a chance to prove themselves with the French national side. Puygrenier didn’t play much with Zenit, but is nonetheless part of their ultras’ folklore. Wow, amazing composure demonstrated by...

Yes, I am certain that the guy who created this chart is English.Unfortunately, Shevchenko is sometimes perceived as a flop in England (in my opinion Chelsea’s management did not provide him with sufficient time to adjust to the English game) due to his supposedly underwhelming performances with...

That’s a very good example, the same thing happened in the 2008 Euro qualifiers. England lost 2:3 at home against Croatia and Russia needed a win in its away match against Andorra in order to secure qualification. The Russianstook an early lead, but were unable to add to their goal tally and the...

It is always difficult to be objective when it comes to such rankings, Eastern Europeans also tend to slip under the radar. I think that Bale and Wilshere will soon establish themselves as top tier footballers (though I am not sure whether they will reach Messi-esque levels), the former has...

I agree with you, Frederic, I think that Xavier's actions were almost totally instinctive, it's unfortunate that the referee didn't have much of a choice according to the rules of the game. Xavier could have won the match for Portugal (with a powerful header) five minutes earlier, if it wasn't...

Thank you so much for the responses! @BoxingmanSpecialist2, glad to hear that your high school experience appears tohave been quite satisfying! I also attended high school in Toronto (unfortunately, I never got to travel much around Canada and didn’t have thechance to visit the Prairie...

What was high school like for you? Do you miss your teenage years and do you still keep in touch with your friends from back then? Were there many students from immigrant backgrounds in your school and did you find it easy to get along with those from other races and/or different cultures? I was...

Very memorable match indeed and I felt sorry for Ginola, as I think that he was unfairly scapegoated. Mistakes like that are bound to happen from time to time and it's a shame that the manager didn't really stand by his side. I think that France won 3:1 in their next game against Bulgaria (Euro...

Never seen anything like that before...fortunately it seems as if this wasn't an intended assassination (the weapon was a gas pistol, which is generally non-lethal), though the weapon definitely jammed and such an experience is sufficient to give you the shivers for many weeks. The politician...

Yes, I saw the game, Nigeria could be in trouble, though to be fair to him, Kennedy Mweene is really well-versed in putting off penalty takers (the goalkeeper converted a spot kick later in the match in an immaculate fashion, really seems to possess nerves of steel). Zambia are still with French...

Real Madrid vs. Man United should be an absolute thriller…I have the feeling that Ronaldo will underperform against his former club, as he still feels a strong attachment to it and he will be under a lot of pressure due to the comparisons with Messi (though to his credit he has never tried to...

Paolo Guerrero (Amerindian/indigenous?) won the bronze ball and scored the deciding goal against Chelsea in the FIFA Club World Cup final. I think that Frederic follows his performances from time to time. It’s nice to see that the Peruvian seems to have put his discipline issues behind him...

Very good point, Keane is still in top shape (has really been on fire during the playoffs) and could be a real handful for the Houston Dynamo! I think that the side from Los Angeles are a strong favourite to win this match, they have a lot of offensive power. I hope that Donovan will manage to...

I have a slight bias in favour of those footballers who tend to do really well (overperform) for their national teams. Competitions between countries (even if they take place solely on the football pitch) evoke strong emotions and often appeal even to the neutrals. Thus, if I was on the panel, I...

Thanks for starting this thread! The Major League Soccer league still tends to be relatively unknown in Europe and is probably underestimated in terms of the quality of its playing personnel. I personally like the US soccer culture – even if there are fierce rivalries between teams, the...