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

Sign up, and you'll be able to customize your font size and more! Sign up

Report problem with this ad

Sep 10, 2019
8:23:27pm

chilango All-American

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

Uruguay. For a country that size, just qualifying for Euros and World Cups regularly, and advancing to the second round once in a while, would be an incredible achievement. They haven’t sustained it long enough yet, but if they keep this up for a while, people will start talking about them as Uruguay-type soccer overachievers, IMO.

This message has been modified

Originally posted on Sep 10, 2019 at 8:23:27pm

Message modified by chilango on Sep 10, 2019 at 8:43:54pm

Report problem with this ad

chilango

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

Report problem with this ad

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.

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

tippmancoug

9/10/19 7:37pm

Report problem with this ad

Posting on CougarBoard

In order to post, you will need to either sign up or log in.

Report problem with this ad