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Paraphrasing: "high meat consumption + low income = better soccer players". This will be biased in favour of Brazil, but it seems like a plausible idea that more meat can be correlated to better athletic development
Where does cocaine enter the picture? He was using it from the very beginning of his playing career. Got suspended 3 times by anti-doping agencies (most famously in 1994 at the World Cup) At 27 years old in 1988, and at the very height of his abilities and fame, the Napoli playmaker would lower himself to the following “physical programme”. Sunday: Serie A match. Sunday night to Wednesday morning: continuous cocaine…
sounds like all that stuff would have made him a worse player.
Where does cocaine enter the picture? He was using it from the very beginning of his playing career. Got suspended 3 times by anti-doping agencies (most famously in 1994 at the World Cup) At 27 years old in 1988, and at the very height of his abilities and fame, the Napoli playmaker would lower himself to the following “physical programme”. Sunday: Serie A match. Sunday night to Wednesday morning: continuous cocaine…
Where does cocaine enter the picture? He was using it from the very beginning of his playing career. Got suspended 3 times by anti-doping agencies (most famously in 1994 at the World Cup) At 27 years old in 1988, and at the very height of his abilities and fame, the Napoli playmaker would lower himself to the following “physical programme”. Sunday: Serie A match. Sunday night to Wednesday morning: continuous cocaine…
Paraphrasing: "high meat consumption + low income = better soccer players". This will be biased in favour of Brazil, but it seems like a plausible idea that more meat can be correlated to better athletic development
Brazil are good at soccer simply because they are the biggest country where soccer is the main sport so it will be hard to control for that trying to find other reasons. It will be more interesting to look at small countries with relative success like Uruguay or Holland.
At a club level there’s no contest - our domestic leagues are usually ranked higher in the UEFA coefficient than Croatia’s and traditionally we’ve had greater success in Europe. We are at a slight disadvantage re our restricted ability to field emigre players (ie had Eduardo Da Silva signed for, say, Dundee United rather than Dynamo Zagreb he would not have been eligible for Scotland so easily) but I do not believe this has impacted us significantly. Though we are losing players to Ireland due to stupid self-inflicted eligibility rules at schools level - James McCarthy and Aiden McGeady opting to play for Ireland still saddens me to this day.
I've heard talk of poorer countries turning out better players because at a crucial age (14-18) when you're choosing to commit to professional football you're basically choosing between rolling the dice at a professional career in football, or a more realistic longer term career through learning a trade or heading to university. And in this situation, it could be that the risk/reward is higher in somewhere like Croatia, Brazil or Argentina. But this doesn't explain why other small high-income countries like Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, Switzerland are routinely competing at a higher level than we are.
If I was a director at the Scottish Football Association I’d be closely studying what these countries are doing differently because there’s something we are desperately missing. I have my thoughts, but I'm just another armchair analyst with no power so it makes little sense to share them :)
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Brazil are good at soccer simply because they are the biggest country where soccer is the main sport so it will be hard to control for that trying to find other reasons. It will be more interesting to look at small countries with relative success like Uruguay or Holland.
Population is something that as a Scot mystifies me. We have a population similar to Croatia, yet they’ve been an incredible force in international football while we have languished in mediocrity, missing out on most major tournaments in the last 30 years. At a club level there’s no contest - our domestic leagues are usually ranked higher in the UEFA coefficient than Croatia’s and traditionally we’ve had greater succ…
If Scottish club football is the pinnacle for Scottish players then this may be a factor?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
sounds like all that stuff would have made him a worse player.
Indeed, Maradona career was hurt by his drug addiction.
That said his affinity for cocaine, alcohol and partying in general undoubtedly blunted and stunted his career, which is mindblowing considering the success he had. What a player.
I am surprised they emphasize "development of the cognitive functions required to excel in soccer" but not physical development from meat (and hence higher protein) consumption
There are a ton of professional athletes who don't eat meat and apparently get plenty of protein.
I am surprised they emphasize "development of the cognitive functions required to excel in soccer" but not physical development from meat (and hence higher protein) consumption
> and hence higher protein There are a ton of professional athletes who don't eat meat and apparently get plenty of protein.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Brazil are good at soccer simply because they are the biggest country where soccer is the main sport so it will be hard to control for that trying to find other reasons. It will be more interesting to look at small countries with relative success like Uruguay or Holland.
Population is something that as a Scot mystifies me. We have a population similar to Croatia, yet they’ve been an incredible force in international football while we have languished in mediocrity, missing out on most major tournaments in the last 30 years. At a club level there’s no contest - our domestic leagues are usually ranked higher in the UEFA coefficient than Croatia’s and traditionally we’ve had greater succ…
Croatia has basketball, but the talent pools for basketball and football do not overlap. Then, we are talking here about national teams. At the club level, the performance of teams from Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, Switzerland is far from that of teams from the most, football-wise, prestigious countries.