It is that time again. Time for you to submit your soccer (and pop culture) questions and time for me to select the best, most interesting and least convoluted questions to be answered in installments during the rest of this month.
Have some U.S. national team questions? Have a TV show/movie/music question? Curious about something MLS related? Submit your questions in the comments section below and I will look to start answering the best of the bunch as soon as possible (I will actually try to post the first installment of answers later today).
Please remember to try to keep the questions a reasonable length. Essay-type questions will probably be ignored. Also, please don't submit a bunch of questions. Generally, we answer one plus a follow-up per reader. Ask a bunch of questions and chances are none will be answered. Also, DO NOT email me questions. I will not answer emailed questions. (ALSO, the comments section for this post is for questions only, try to keep random comments to a MINIMUM).
Lastly, I would recommend checking out the Q&A archive. If you aren't a regular SBI reader, there is a chance your question has been asked and answered in a previous Q&A.
Now, send your questions our way.
Do you know a site that ranks all the soccer leagues in the world or at least the top 20…whats yours?
Also did bobby convey play well in his first season back with mls and why wasn’t he called up with the rest of the American mls players for the camp.
Ives,
in your opinion, how much would the salary cap have to rise under the upcoming CBA in order to see a noticeable increase in the level of play? Is only $300k enough to improve a typical MLS squad?
Should the Asian Football Confederation split into 2 different confederations? Have a West Asian confederation and an East Asian confederation that includes Oceania.
The Kicker ratings are like school grades 1 (sehr gut/very good) to 6 (ungenügend/fail) in Germany like A to F in the US. I guess you can figure out that a lot of 5’s are not what you are hoping for.
Ives, whats your take on Turkey already nabbing the Potato? Seems like he really wasn’t even on the market long enough for many countries to make a real run at himm….see him there long-term?
I saw a few of the FSC broadcasters in Germany four years ago, is Fox sending you to South Africa this summer to cover the WC? If so, will you be covering more than just the USMNT? What other assignments will you cover?
Ives,
How closely have you been following the winter olympics? What’s been your favorite event(s) to watch?
Not to get ahead of ourselves but t the beginning of Brazil 2014 who do you see as the Americans best player?
Aalborg played CL last season and even only playing the group stage (1 win, 3 draws) got them about 9.5mio $ prize money in addition to the TV Money and they finished 3rd in there group so they went on to the UEFA Cup so there they would get some cash, too. I don’t know the financial situation Chicago Fire is in but I guess that UEFA money pretty much crushes the advantage they would have through in average 6,000 tickets more sold per game.
Ives, where do you see MLS in 5 and 10 years from now? (struggling along, well established, more high profile players, or not; your thoughts please.)
Thanks for the insight.
Which MLS players do you foresee possibly signing in Europe?
And…
Cake or Pie?
Fringe, no brainer.
Ives–
Love the website and love your work for ESPN (and now Fox). Keep up the good work!
I Have a question regarding England’s bid for the 2018 World Cup. I have been reading that FIFA has allowed England’s bid to allow more than one host city to have multiple venues (London and Manchester) and is reportedly going to allow London to have as many as THREE stadiums within the city limits (Wembley, Emirates, Olympic Stadium maybe the new White Hart Lane) host games.
Is this true and, if so, why would FIFA loosen it’s WC restrictions on loading up multiple venues in multiple host cities?
Thanks,
DaveInSLO
How about a celebrity soccer game at MLS all-star weekend similar to what the NBA and MLB do? I think Kobe and some others could be convinced to come out and it would be interesting.
How can we get Bob Bradley into some decent clothes – so that he doesn’t look like he accidently wandered onto the pitch on his way back from a gym workout. Really, get some class!!
Why does an MLS player go to a lesser European league like Denmark? I’ve always thought it was money, but Chris Rolfe and the Fire averaged about 14,500 fans last year while Aalborg averages less than 6,000 per game. How can they be paid more when less then half the number of fans show up? Is the competition that much better or do they just hope they shine and get picked up by a club from a bigger league?
What do you think are the most promising countries talent wise for 2014 WC at the moment?
Ives, if you answer this one, could you also tell us what the rule differences are between collegiate and other soccer?
Oh my goodness, the things I’d do to Dempsey’s wife…
Pick three guys who could come out of nowhere (i.e., guys who haven’t been on the radar) to win a spot on the US World Cup roster.
How big of a disadvantage do Vancouver and Portland have because they will enter the same year? I’m thinking in regards of competing for expansion draft talent etc, compared to recent teams who had first shot at both expansion and draft talent.
How do they decide how much players make when on International duty? Is it like playoff shares in baseball? Thanks Ives.
Any idea why the US is only playing two warm-ups for the World Cup instead of three? Are there plans to add a third or are they intentionally taking on a lighter schedule?
Ives, would you say that Landon has reached a level no American have ever asended to? I know its been a short stint, but even on a short stint have we ever had an Americn contributing and getting honors such as Player of the Month on a team in the top 10 of one of the top 3 leagues?
Who do you think is faster, Reggie Bush or Cristiano Ronaldo?
Ever thought of writing a book on soccer? What would it focus on (MLS, New York or New Jersey soccer, etc.)?
After Bill Hamid’s good preseason, as a DCU fan, do you have any idea of what I should expect from Bill Hamid? How good can he become and how long should it take him to reach this potential.
I always like to read soccer books in the run up to the world cup every four years. Do you have any ideas for some good books to look out for in the next couple of months? DO you have a list of books you are going to read?
Simek plays on the right, Bornstein plays on the left. Grella plays in League One.
Herbalife.
i think JOB was in camp to begin his 2010 WORLD CUP COMEBACK…
Hey Ives,
Just wondering about the sources of all your information. I, like many, frequent your site and all the other American soccer related blogs (I won’t name them for fear of promoting your competitors) but I’m curious what the original source is. When you hear, to use a recent example, that Donovan won player of the month and you report it like the other sites, is it from a league source? A team source? A fan that heard it somewhere else? What’s the starting point for all your research? I’ve always wondered that.
Also, I think that Collins John will have a HUGE season in Chicago if they can sort the logistics out – buckets of skill, still young, some serious head/motivation problems that should be sorted out with a measure of success (played with with full Netherlands national team as an 18 yr. old, don’t forget)… just a monster find for the Fire. Am I missing something?
Thanks and keep up the good work.
It would. Armas was only allowed to play for the US because his 5 matches with PR were classified as friendlies.
Also interesting is he has a brother, Jerome who has opted to play for Germany, and the two of them could possibly play against each other in the World Cup.
Ives,
What are some of your personal goals in terms of becoming a better writer/blogger/reporter?
Why don’t people get it? Friedel is R-E-T-I-R-E-D!!
US Youth Soccer looks like New England Clam Chowder. Chunks here and there, but you couldn’t classify it as anything other than white.
I wanna say he’s trialing with Rochester right now.
I would probably go with the intro song ESPN usually plays whenever they are doing MLS or US matches
If the USMNT has a successful World cup (making it out of the group stage), what’s more likely for Bob Bradley? Another 4 years with the national team or getting a gig with a European club team?
Hey Ives, new soccer fan here. Most professional sports in America have a signature intro song that most sports fan immediately recognize. The NBA on NBC had one, college football and basketball on CBS each have one, the Champions League has theirs. What intro song would you give to American Soccer?
I really hope that’s sarcasm, because if it isn’t it’s a completely idiotic statement. Why do you think young inner city kids want to grow up and play basketball? It’s not because they’re is a lack of soccer playing equipment (all you need is a ball and something to function as two goals). It’s about the image of basketball players. Kobe, LeBron, Carmelo, Dwayne Wade, etc. Getting rich, driving tricked out whips, sporting nice threads and nice kicks. Soccer doesn’t have that image. Basketball does.
Ives,
Where would the English Championship rank in the UEFA league coefficient, and where would the MLS rank? Do you think U.S. players benefit from playing in the Championship more than the Danish league or similar smaller European leagues.
Ives, what do you think of the prevalence of two-footed tackles in the Premiership? I’ve played soccer for 30 years from club through Div 1 in college to the rough Italian-American Men’s League in NYC and I can’t remember going in on another player with two feet, studs up. Shouldn’t FIFA crack down on this like they did with slide tackles from behind?
Taco Bell.
Haha jk.
errm…Davies went to Scandinavia (Sweden) first so he doesn’t really work as an example.
Ives,
any possibility that Francisco Torres moves to a Spanish club next season? I heard rumors that some clubs were interested in him. Any info regarding this matter would be great.
1) The new season of 24 is thoroughly underwhelming IMO. You think this should be the final season, & do you want a theatrical 24 movie?
2) Favorite/hottest WAG?
Ives,
who is the next American you see transferring to a elite European team?
Ives, what do you hope the USMNT starting lineup for 2014 will look like? I know it’s ridiculously early to speculate on something like that, but we have so many young players that I wonder your thoughts on which ones will really establish themselves.