Korean Job Discussion Forums

[wormholes101]

Soccer at the top level is full of divers, fakers and cheats. Rugby Union is a superior game.

[Steve_Rogers2008]

Your half-right!

[rollo]

I am one of those people who wants to like soccer. I even attended a world cup game when the cup was in Korea. But the floppers, the fake injuries just take so much out of the game. there is no flow becase of the ocnstant flops and the fake writhing in pain it ruins it for me. there are many better games.

[shinramyun]

the world doesn't give a sh*t about rugby...

[the ireland]

rugby is a much better game. I only ever play soccer with my mates having a kick around as it's not a game I like to take seriously when I play (i take it very seriously when man utd play). However rugby is a game I love, I played it properly since I was 11 and love to get a game of it when possible.

I can't play rugby among friends as a mess about because I take it too seriously for that and I would only lose friends for being a d�ck on the pitch.


Soccer is good fun to play with friends because when there is no ref there is not need to cheat, fall around pretending to be in agonsy etc etc. It's just a shame that the pros feel the need to try and get a player sent off or earn a free by faking an injury and being a fairy about it. If you are being fouled, then fall over, but don't make it look like you have been decapitated when you get a gently and accidental hand to the face.



I don't think it's right to compare sports to each other. When I seen peopl compare american football to soccer and then say soccer is a girly sport I think these people are idiots. It's a totally diff sport and the rules a different. When I did boxing I never laughed at people who played tennis or badminton and called them fairies, it's a totally different skill involved in every sport.


It just so happens that for ever Roy keane, dennis wise, stuart pearse and bobby zamora, you have about 20 christiano ronaldos diving around.

[seoulsucker]

Yeah, any sport where the most unsportsmanlike conduct is referred to as a "skill" and awards teams with championships is off my books as a past time.

[JMO]

This is why I love soccer. It is so global, our different cultural attitudes are reflected in how we play, watch and appreciate the game.

In the English speaking world, which is dominated by English values it is striking how similar the teams are and supporters are. Australia, USA and England all value strength, pace, directness and toughness. In this world we see diving as cheating obviously but even worse, the cardinal sin of the English speaking world..unmanly. The English speaking world has a suspicion of technique driven players who don't get stuck in.

In other cultures, they put different emphasis on what is important in the game. They tend to favor different formations historically. Brazil for example have played defensive midfielders to cover for attacking full backs since the 50s.

In both Brazil and Britain, people care about not just winning but how you win/play. In the english speaking world this means playing 'tough but fair'. In Brazil this means playing 'beautifully'. These values are not always reflected in the national team but they are deeply rooted in the cultures of both countries. Its also true that they have been diving in South America for generations. Not that they don't think it is cheating but there is no implication of it being unmanly in that culture. It is part of the dance that is the game.

Italy to me is the most interesting example. The game in Italy encompasses the dark arts to an extreme. There is nothing unmanly about diving in Italy. It is part of the grand concept of furbizia.

Furbizia is the tactical foul, the dive to draw a penalty, the playacting, the talking in the ear of an opponent and getting him to do something stupid (see Zidane). These things are part of the game there, where the concept of the result being everything is taken to an extreme.

This is painting in broad strokes. I'm sure there are lots of Italians who think that diving is reprehensible. However broadly these different cultures think about the game in very different ways. You could go through each country and do this. I tend to like the countries who play the 'beautiful game' so I'm pulling for Spain, Chile, Argentina. I do have a sneaking admiration for the Italians though. The game is a stage for them where everything is calculated to give them an advantage. Very Machiavellian.

Makes the World Cup a very interesting experience.

[crescent]

http://g.sports.yahoo.com/soccer/world-cup/blog/dirty-tackle/post/DTotD-Fernando-Torres-tackles-himself?urn=sow,251483

[JMO]

A minute before this Torres had a 50/50 penalty shout and didn't even appeal. Also earlier he got tackled in the shin with the guy's studs showing. He didn't really make a meal of that either.

So with that context, I think this is what happened just judging from my limited experience. He is running along and get clipped/trips over his own feet and because he is not expecting to fall...it really hurt.

I played Gaelic Football for years and every single time I fell when I didn't expect it, it hurt like hell. Torres is carrying an injury and hasn't looked right. I think in this case, he deserves the benefit of the doubt.

Also, Estrada should have been sent off long before that. He made some shocking challenges. [/i]

[crescent]

actually, the reason I posted that was to show a lot of the time, 'dives' are not really dives.

If you look closely, Torres stride was knocked off by Estrada's boot, causing the mis-step.

At the incredible speeds these guys run, plus obvious fatigue, and having to change direction on the fly, what look like dives are actually not.

A lot of people criticize the falls, and the lulls in the game. I think you actually have to play it to appreciate it, and understand it.