International football - is it worth it?

[Devil's advocaat 1,543]

Even big Jack Charlton must cringe when he watches international rugby these days, these guys don't even need the fabled grandparent.

 

Embarrassing.

[Scott7 6,018]

@26th of foot mentions Joe Baker. What a centre forward. Colin Stein with booster rockets. Smashed himself up in a car crash while at Torino but recovered to play for Arsenal and England. But despite his place of birth and the nationality of his dad he was a Scotsman. Unlike Denis Law he talked like a Scotsman but like Law he played with the talented Scotsman’s arrogance.

 

Wilson was a very proficient ‘keeper and played excellently for Scotland but otherwise he didn’t seem very Scottish. Played with the absolute confidence of English goalkeepers of his vintage.

 

Joe’s brother Gerry played for St Mirren and quite well for Hibs but was not in the same class as Joe. Gerry was capped by the US! One Scotsman played for England and his brother for US. Can’t be right.

[Uilleam 5,948]

International Football is it?

 

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND O LUXEMBOURG 1

 

What's not to like?

[JohnMc 2,765]

13 hours ago, Bill said:

You bring back distant memories of being captivated by world cup finals, the exotic mystery of fabled countries like Uruguay, Brazil and Argentina. Players you'd never heard of became heroes overnight. It was like opening a window on the world but without the bad taste of politics, poverty, etc.  I remember falling in love with the game in 1970, it was like being introduced to champagne. Where did all that go eh? Now these tournaments are like watching the Champions League - same players, same football, different shirts. I haven't watched a CL game in years and the magic of international football died in the money pit long ago. 

 

 

Other than the semis and finals I've not watched much Champion's League either, it's lost it's sheen in recent years. I do hope to watch some next season though.

 

Nostalgia is a big part of football. Harking back to a seemingly happier, easier time when youth and ignorance combined with naivety to make the world seem a simpler, happier place, particularly at 4 or 5 decades distance. Now, jaded, cynical and harder to surprise and excite (at least I am) modern tournaments feel like corporate events with a uniformity and shallowness, controlled by PR companies and bland media executives. 

 

Yet they still throw up surprises in ways the club football is now geared to avoid. Iceland and Wales reaching the Euro 2016 semi-finals is a magical story and nothing similar could happen in European club football, likewise Croatia and Belgium reaching the semis of the 2018 World Cup should give all similar sized nations hope. None of those 4 associations are high up for sponsors or TV deals, the money pit hasn't been able to consume everything, not yet anyway. 

 

I also think today there's a generation of school age supporters who'll recall wistfully back to the current day, when you could send a direct message on social media to a favourite player or something else that seems normal today. National sides have struggled to dominate football in recent times. The first 7 World Cups were shared by 4 nations, but in the 21st century no country has won it twice. I still think international football is where legendary status is achieved, by even the greatest players. 

 

Anyway, tonight we have the magic of a country that didn't exist 70 years ago taking on a country that doesn't exist as a country today. Riveting...

 

 

[Gonzo79 15,294]

1 hour ago, JohnMc said:

Anyway, tonight we have the magic of a country that didn't exist 70 years ago taking on a country that doesn't exist as a country today. Riveting.

Aye but you can cheer loudly if the racist plucked chicken scores for the country that definitely does exist and always has done.

 

 

[JohnMc 2,765]

You've hidden depths Gonzo, I didn't think the North Macedonia v Liechtenstein match would be of much interest to you. ?

[Franc Ergs 1,657]

6 hours ago, Uilleam said:

International Football is it?

 

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND O LUXEMBOURG 1

 

What's not to like?

And the goal scored by Gerson Rodrigues.

[ranger_syntax 4,330]

On 27/03/2021 at 16:43, alexscottislegend said:

Then - will you explain it to us lesser mortals?

One is a Celtic player scoring for Scotland against England.

 

The other is a former Celtic player scoring for Rangers.

 

These things are not analogous. Are they even similar?

[Bluedell 5,627]

14 hours ago, ranger_syntax said:

One is a Celtic player scoring for Scotland against England.

 

The other is a former Celtic player scoring for Rangers.

 

These things are not analogous. Are they even similar?

The disdain held by Rangers player for both players (pre-signing in the case of Mo) is similar.

 

Mo was probably more hated, and if we can accept him at Rangers, then we should be able to accept Griffiths scoring for Scotland would be the argument.

 

I think it's a reasonable comparison and I, for one, was extremely uneasy having Johnson at the club for the first couple of months, and would feel a similar unease at being happy at a Griffiths goal for Scotland.

[Bill 13,717]

2 hours ago, Bluedell said:

Mo was probably more hated, and if we can accept him at Rangers, then we should be able to accept Griffiths scoring for Scotland would be the argument.

The defining difference is that only one of them wore a Rangers shirt. Beyond that, there is no similarity.