I’d say Russia is a bigger underachiever than any of those, among countries with

Sep 10, 2019
8:11:43pm

chilango All-American

a strong soccer culture. I keep expecting them to seriously contend for a major title, but they haven’t really done so since the early ‘60s, as the USSR. I’ve gotta believe that they are going to break through one of these years.

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chilango

Bio page: chilango
Joined: Jul 23, 2009
Last login: Dec 27, 2020
Total posts: 25,771 (33 FO)

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Messages

Author

Time

Uruguay population 3.4 million. US population 327 million

Thrill

9/10/19 7:19pm

Now do a comparison of soccer cultures.

JmThms

9/10/19 7:20pm

That's a difference of 323.6! Or one Uruguayan per nearly 300 American.

RSL

9/10/19 7:20pm

How many teenage boys play soccer in each country?

mwcoug

9/10/19 7:20pm

More than exist men in Uruguay

Archaea

9/10/19 7:21pm

2.5 Million boys link

Archaea

9/10/19 7:22pm

It’s weird you’re looking up how many teenage boys there are.

Fatalplacebo

9/10/19 7:31pm

I hate the US Men’s team because it underperforms

Archaea

9/10/19 7:20pm

People that care about soccer: Uraguay 3 million, USA 2.5 million

autonomous

9/10/19 7:21pm

Per link above, the US has 2.5 million registered male youth soccer players.

chilango

9/10/19 7:24pm

He's a football and basketball fan so you'll have to forgive.

JmThms

9/10/19 7:31pm

How many over the age of 12... sure a bunch of little kids

kotacoug

9/10/19 7:39pm

There is always a pyramid in sports. There are still a lot of kids that stick wi

JmThms

9/10/19 7:53pm

It’s crazy. My region has huge youth numbers as well

cougfanz

9/10/19 7:21pm

The culture doesn't YET produce the level of talent required.

JmThms

9/10/19 7:29pm

For sure.. any remote creativity gets absolutely squashed but nearly

cougfanz

9/10/19 7:33pm

Yep. The top youth clubs are good at creating little robots who “play simple”

Odysseus

9/10/19 7:53pm

Not to mention the lack of passion I see in kids at the competitive levels

Odysseus

9/10/19 8:05pm

It's not a just a numbers game. Culture, sport structure, popularity, etc. all play a part.

mik3

9/10/19 7:23pm

Soccer marinates the entire culture of Uruguay.

JmThms

9/10/19 7:26pm

Uruguay is the world’s great soccer overachiever. Every country compares poorly

chilango

9/10/19 7:23pm

That's true, the only country under 5 million that is somewhat comparable would

Dynasty1

9/10/19 7:33pm

Iceland is another one that could rival Uruguay on this, if they can sustain

chilango

9/10/19 7:36pm

Iceland has a great team, but they're not nearly as talented as Uruguay.

mik3

9/10/19 8:15pm

Yeah, what Iceland has done the last few years with just 300,000 people has been

Dynasty1

9/10/19 8:18pm

All true, but I’m factoring in Iceland’s minuscule population, even compared to

chilango

9/10/19 8:23pm

I’d agree with that. Especially considering they’re a frozen rock near the

Dynasty1

9/10/19 8:28pm

The US is the great underachiever

Archaea

9/10/19 7:37pm

Actually, I’d say China, India, and Indonesia far out-do the US for this title.

chilango

9/10/19 7:41pm

They don’t invest money or resources in soccer

Archaea

9/10/19 7:57pm

China actually does, although evidently not enough. Not sure about the other two

chilango

9/10/19 8:45pm

Hardly. They’re China, India, and Indonesia. Sports has never been about pop

raines31

9/10/19 8:54pm

As far as money and resources perhaps. China and India are as far as population.

Dynasty1

9/10/19 7:43pm

I’d say Russia is a bigger underachiever than any of those, among countries with

chilango

9/10/19 8:11pm

That’s a good one but they did reach the QF’s last World Cup after

Dynasty1

9/10/19 8:15pm

Pay to play. Our main problem

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