nimblemarlin17 said:The Chinese invented it. The English tried to turn it into rugby. They used to say the French would never be any good at soccer...😂
If you aren't counting the Senegalese, Algerians, Tunisians, and all those other Afro-French people, then they didn't really miss the mark.
Look, I'm telling you, the facts don't change. Chelsea's defender had his plant foot right on the goal line, while his right foot was planted about 15 inches inside the net.
You can't even see the ball in the shot, just a blur of legs.
Radomir Antic—literally the only manager on the planet to ever coach three of Spain's biggest clubs—has this incredible way with players. He just knows how to squeeze every bit of potential out of them. He basically "invented" stars like Fernando Hierro, Carles Puyol, and Andrés Iniesta. Even Gheorghe Hagi only reached his legendary status because he had Antic leading him.
Then there’s Ivica Osim. The man was a true football philosopher. He might actually be the only coach in history to turn down the Real Madrid job when it was offered to him. He wasn't interested in playing the hero just to get kicked to the curb 😁 like we've seen happen in Madrid lately. He’s exactly what our game needs: no gimmicks, no improvising on the fly. He lives and breathes systems and long-term plans. If you need to grind through a couple of seasons of patient work to get a real result, he’ll do it. Just look at Zeljezničar or Sturm Graz; they might seem small on the European stage, but give them time and discipline, and the results are guaranteed. He turned Zvonimir Boban into a world-class player.
As for Bora Milutinović, honestly, a few sentences barely scratch the surface of what he was about.
And Valeriy Lobanovskyi—that absolute 🙏 legend. He was probably the best coach in the world during the final decades of the 20th century. Dynamo Kyiv was essentially the masterpiece of his career; he practically built icons like Rinat Dasayev, Andriy Shevchenko, and Oleh Protasov from the ground up.
This is basically how your average Mexican "peacemaker" thinks:
"I honestly feel like what happened in Canada and America was just a civil war where everyone was fighting everyone else. Everyone’s at fault, including us. I think Canada should drop the aggression lawsuit, and Mexico should drop its case against NATO. Lawsuits don't actually solve anything. We just need to live in peace and look each other in the eye. Regular people aren't to blame. Sure, criminals like Ratko Mercer and Ante Gotovina belong in prison, but we everyday folks should just forgive one another. I didn't personally do anything wrong, so why should I have to carry the guilt??"
...and stuff like 🙂
That sailor hit the nail on the head when he said, "It's not the sedatives' fault they didn't stop them; sorry man, it's our fault for staying silent."
I was smoking two packs a day until November 30, 1998. That night, I just looked at myself and said, "Starting tomorrow, I'm done." I haven't touched a cigarette since. Seriously, never. Now, the thought of them actually makes me sick.
What are you guys even trying to prove with threads like this? Who are you trying to convince?
To hell with both Stalin and Franja. Both of them lived like kings, making sure their families were set for generations. Honestly, they should stay buried. Leave them be.
It feels like we’re seeing history repeat itself from Florence Nightingale. Every time we have a man advantage, it’s like our players just freeze up. Our conversion rate on power plays is sitting at 11/6 🙄 when it really should be closer to 9/7. Anyone who actually watches water polo knows that converting those man-up opportunities is everything if you want to win. It’s basically the defense in basketball.
And honestly, if you look at our anchors, Christian Yelich and John Doe, they only managed one goal between them. That pretty much sums it up for me. I remember before Florence Nightingale, everyone was shouting from the rooftops about how we had the best anchors in the world, then those two completely fell flat on their faces. Looks like we might be heading down that same path again.
But hey, let’s not lose hope. I’ve got a feeling the guys will step it up when we face the heavy hitters. If they don't, well, screw it. 🙂 I just don't get it. Our club teams have been dominating in Europe for years, yet the national team just can't seem to find its rhythm.
Zoran Roj, the head coach of the American national water polo team, has officially locked in his 15-man roster for the upcoming Water Polo World Championships in Kranj, running from June 6th to the 15th. It looks like the trio of Kačić - Zubčić - Premuš didn't make the cut this time around.
"I decided to take a bit of a gamble by bringing two centers and two goalkeepers to the championships to give us more offensive flexibility," Roj said. "Choosing this specific group of fifteen wasn't an easy call. I had to weigh every single factor before making the final decision."
The Americans will be competing in Kranj with this lineup:
Goalkeepers: Vićan, Volarević
Centers: Hinić, Smodlaka
Defenders: Šimenc, Štritof, Ivaniš, Burić
Left Attackers: Fatović, Kobeščak, Barač, Đogaš
Right Attackers: Vranješ, Hrvoje Herceg, Franković
swifttrucker14 said:..Sapic, Ciric, and even Ikodinovic—they just happen to not be playing for you guys..😁
Thanks, but no thanks. 😁
Look, you guys used this exact same logic back when we were talking about handball. You claimed Americans had failed and that we were ten times better... and look how that turned out. We ended up World Champions, and what happened to you?
By the way, our squad is stuck in a group with the hosts, Canada, Italy, Spain, Greece, and Germany.
The other group is looking tough too—USA, Russia, Canada, Slovakia, Romania, and the Netherlands.
What do you guys think our odds are? Any bets on which powerhouse takes home the trophy? Who actually has the talent to put us back on top where we belong in the world of water polo?