Stephen A. Smith answers whether American athletes could hang in soccer if they grew up with the sport. The conditioning gap, Ronaldo’s training regimen as the blueprint, and the story of Kobe flying to Germany for stem cell and PRP treatment because greatness lives outside America.
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Its Football!!! The real global football!!!
I am 40 now and i used to play football and basketball when i was young but (rite now) i will rather play basketball than football because i know my condition that how more body work the football need than basketball…
so it's betta to stop asking people who grew up in basketballl nation and "never played game of basketball" and doesn't know nothing about the game of football.. sooooo it's all bullshit.
You'll need to run 10 miles in under 90 minutes, have high explosiveness, and strong footwork to change direction. Then you train your technique.
And even if you master everything, the most important trait is brain speed: the ability to execute anything even before you receive the ball or the rival executes his movement.
Fancy asking Stephen A. Smith anything…he doesn't know anything.
For the american public the game might seem slow and low scored but trying to keep running back and forth for 90 mins is insane. With that being said if the americans were able to introduce football/soccer to their culture a little bit more, I have no doubt they will competing for the world cup in a few years. They dominate almost every mainstream sport except for that one.
Lol. This guy does not understand sports. Different sports…different set of mucles, size of player, pace of game etc. You really can't compare them like that.
I played football in high school here in texas and we made it to the state championship the only difference ive seen is the opportunity and if you wanna put in the work they dont see football as a main sport like the rest of the world thats the problem
AFL players run more
Actually, soccer is a real football.
NBA is difficult than soccer play. Not everybody is running in soccer players. Soccer players get relaxing moments compared to NBA.
Funny how they don't mention NHL players.
No way soccer is way too much stamina, completely different sport.
The US can have any great players, it’s the international competition that is hurting the USA winning world cups. The can beat other CONACAFS teams with ease, but when it comes to South American and European teams, it’s very difficult matches. Having Michael Jordan on team USA will not make a difference
Soccer players are the best athletes in the world. With the amazing rhythm and athleticism they possess on the field/ court they have the ability to play any sport. I remember Canadian soccer player Brian Budd being asked not to participate anymore in tv station ABC's production wide world of sports super star competition because he would crush athletes from other sports every time. And, when it comes to stamina and endurance I honestly cannot think of another athlete better than soccer players.
When I was little we went to visit family in Monterrey. My family lived like half way up one of the mountains. Neighborhood kids played soccer everyday. We went on the street, on the side of a mountain and played. We just chased the ball down when we had to. We dont have that type of thing here in any sport
😂😂😂😂 focus on soccer instead of football. that statement alone is a failure. 😂😂😂😂😂
I've seen some Americans still wondering why their country is not a football ⚽ powerhouse but the answer honestly lies on the way they make fun of the sport, by saying that "soccer is played by children."
Because y'all are right, it is played by children. Children from other countries play football a lot. But the main difference is that in America, kids stop playing football at a certain age, while the rest of the world's children don't.
Playing the game as soon as you can walk is the bare minimum if you want to even have the slightest chance to go pro at the sport.
Watch PSG/Portugal’s João Neves. He never runs out of speed. And he’s 5’7
I just can’t grasp the top heavy awkward kicks.. As a European watching folk from the U.S kick a (FOOTBALL/SOCCER) ball. Even typing this I feel likee immm aboouut tooo faaaallllll over. 😂😂😂😂
This guy Stephen should not even be opining about football. He has no idea what he’s talking about! Football is your skills with & without the ball, vision, understanding of the game, spatial awareness, etc., then fitness & conditioning, etc
I can’t believe how many people in the U.S. have completely swallowed the idea that soccer players run nonstop for the entire game. You obviously have not played much soccer if you believe that.
The narrators here say, “Everybody is running!” Yeah, right.
I am from Latin America, and I played soccer for a long time, even if not professionally. I was a goalie, and if I ran 10 yards in an entire game, that was a lot. My defenders were not running all game either. That would have been ridiculous. They had to stay close to the goal so they could stop the other team from scoring.
The only time everybody runs everywhere is in elementary school or backyard games, and that is not exactly the best strategy.
Many years ago, I watched a game where the camera focused only on Messi and followed him everywhere. It was very interesting, but what I saw surprised me. He did not run the whole game. He walked, jogged, and only ran hard a few times, especially when he was trying to score.
I challenge you to watch a soccer game without following the ball. Watch the players away from the ball. Most of the time, the only players running are the ones directly involved in the play, whether attacking or defending. Midfielders may run more than others, but the person who probably runs the most is the referee, because he has to go up and down the field all game.
soccer players age badly, usually the worst fit of athletes, MM (show that round up different athletes to compete post-career)
Its not jsut the 10/12km they cover, its the intensity of the distance they cover, its often sprints, after sprint, after sprint, its 90 minutes of HIIT! And they dont have the recovery time you get in American sports…
Tall players play basketball.
Big strong players play football.
Big strong players who got rejected from playing football, play baseball.
Rich white kids play hockey or tennis.
The rest play soccer…
I can tell as an european with decent confidence that if US was to take football seriusly and it starts to be a sport performed and promoted in schools, if it gets to colledge and becoems a league in few years you will start see alot of talented players. US strenght has never been theyr athletes but rather theyr facilities and sport programs.
True. And most importantly, most of the running in soccer game is done without having possession of the ball.
Running without the ball is a strategy, designed to create holes in other team's defenses.
When I was selecting players for my team I would always watch to see how they run, when and where, before they got the ball.
Absolutely
You can start by calling it football. The rest of the world does.
Im from Uruguay, so I basically grew up with football (soccer) and its what I love. But I dont consider it something particularly remarkable. I think modern football requires such an enormous physical effort that players end up getting injured constantly, and many highly skilled players are ultimately sidelined by others whose main advantage is simply that they can run like maniacs and never get injured
This argument is laughable 😂
Put a team of NFL, NBA players against the Spanish national team with their 5' 8" players and it would be a laughable slaughter. This mindset comes from thise who have no idea what the sport of soccer/futbol is about.
Find the old video where Ocho Cinco thought he could make the local MLS team, and that was M-L-S!!😂😂😂
This is so dumb. Conditioning is the EASIEST part of the game.
Can't compare fitness levels. I played both soccer and football. Getting smacked around in football takes something else out of you. I was in great shape for both, but they are definitely different. I played indoor soccer as well – again, a totally different type of fitness. Tried wrestling in high school PE, even though I was in great condition, i didn't last but a minute and a half with my wreastling friends.