Spain bought European football compeitions to the world (well Real Madrid did).....yet no one mentions them

i think Real Madrid as a club did more for football than any other country or club come to think of it
that is one of the main reasons why Santiago Bernabeu is considered such a great footballing person...
he made UEFA what it is today, it was his idea for the European Cup and the team put together by Real in the 50s is still one of the greatest teams ever

but as a country I would pick England, they are still far away from all the other countries in terms of popularizing the game and without people to watch it, there is no game

Surprised that no one has mentioned Italy yet. ITALY,they invented defense ffs!!!

You can't mention Spain frankly. They were nobodies on the NT stage until the Euro win 4 years ago. Until the 90s, football was the NT and the world cup. Club football was a very distant second. Only recently has club football caught up with NT football.

To me:
- Brazil is #1. Nuf said. Even in the US, where soccer is a secondary sport, the NY cosmos sold out every game (90k+ crowds) to watch Pele. When you dream about football, you dream about Brazil.
- England, Germany and Italy are all tied for #2. They were the anchors of European football.
- France, Argentina and Netherlands are in the next group as they made their splash onto the world stage in the 70s and 80s.
- Cameroon and Nigeria are next for me because they opened everyone's eyes to football in Africa in the 80s and 90s with players like Roger Milla, Kanu and Okocha.

etc.

The UNITED STATES OF AMERICA for:
Making sure we saw Pele and Beckenbauer, two of the greatest players ever, naked.

oh ffs viva,you posted that 100 times already,i didnt want to see it again

sportsczy wrote:You can't mention Spain frankly. They were nobodies on the NT stage until the Euro win 4 years ago. Until the 90s, football was the NT and the world cup. Club football was a very distant second. Only recently has club football caught up with NT football.

To me:
- Brazil is #1. Nuf said. Even in the US, where soccer is a secondary sport, the NY cosmos sold out every game (90k+ crowds) to watch Pele. When you dream about football, you dream about Brazil.
- England, Germany and Italy are all tied for #2. They were the anchors of European football.
- France, Argentina and Netherlands are in the next group as they made their splash onto the world stage in the 70s and 80s.
- Cameroon and Nigeria are next for me because they opened everyone's eyes to football in Africa in the 80s and 90s with players like Roger Milla, Kanu and Okocha.

etc.

This!
I'd also say Italy for second spot. They evolved the game tacitically.

VivaStPauli wrote:The UNITED STATES OF AMERICA for:
Making sure we saw Pele and Beckenbauer, two of the greatest players ever, naked.

Will RWO censor this, or not?



But yeah, Pelés penoor settles the arguement.

England, and by far. Firstly, they created rules and laws for the game, which was played in many different ways across Europe and even in England. After it became organized and competitions emerged, Spain and Italy as far as I recall were the first nations to make it a big professional sport, by having big wages and by bringing foreign players to their leagues (Real Madrid and Juventus). The Brazillian league was also one of the first to introduce professional players and high levels of competition.
And now, in recent years, the EPL has been on the forefront again by marketing the game in foreign markets like the Middle East, Asia, and the USA. Also, loads of money has been invested in the EPL (and therefore in the sport) by foreign billionaires.

Tactics wise I don't see how a country can contribute. Sure, you might be fond of mentioning Italy and defense in the same phrase. But Italy didn't invent defensive tactics at all, they would exist with or without Italy's presence in the sport.

Brazil itself has also had a unique contribution to football, because many of the worlds greatest players come from there. By far more than any other nation.

So yeah..

England, followed by Spain, Italy and Brazil.

Vibe wrote:Viva beat me to sarcastic USA argument

How was that sarcastic?

The John Carter of Mars wrote:England - inventing the game
Italy - making defending an art + EFFICIENT Football
Holland - total football
France - great technicians + beastly athletic players
Brazil - SAMBA = made the game BEAUTIFUL (the WOW factor) + the greatest (attacking) talents ever seen
Argentina - not much really beside Maradona


I honestly don't think the game would be the same without the influence of BRASIL. they are for me the most important nation in history of football.

Brainless fan-boy.
Argentina produced 2 greatest players in history. Team played 4 times in WC final, won 2 of them. 14 copa america titles (better than brazil). Argentina are the only team that won all international trophies. Argentina alongside with Brazil are only teams that participated in all World Cups. yeah argentina refused to participate in 2 of them but it was their own wish

And finally Argentina 2nd or 3rd best team in history (if we count all titles).
And now a biased 12 years old fanboy comes and says Argentina contributed nothing to world football

Germany: Argentine?

Yeah, sure, Argentina are certainly 2nd best all-time ahead of Italy and Germany.

Get past the Dutch first, children :vagi:

sportsczy wrote:You can't mention Spain frankly. They were nobodies on the NT stage until the Euro win 4 years ago. Until the 90s, football was the NT and the world cup. Club football was a very distant second. Only recently has club football caught up with NT football.

To me:
- Brazil is #1. Nuf said. Even in the US, where soccer is a secondary sport, the NY cosmos sold out every game (90k+ crowds) to watch Pele. When you dream about football, you dream about Brazil.
- England, Germany and Italy are all tied for #2. They were the anchors of European football.
- France, Argentina and Netherlands are in the next group as they made their splash onto the world stage in the 70s and 80s.
- Cameroon and Nigeria are next for me because they opened everyone's eyes to football in Africa in the 80s and 90s with players like Roger Milla, Kanu and Okocha.

etc.

in 70s 80s? watch 1930 world cup final argentina vs uruguay. First final of the first world cup

taking credit away from us to make argentina better,dat inferiority complex

5 world cups and the most consistent "great player" factory,keep dem tears coming

1930s are soooo over, what about Hungary, then? :vagi:

VivaStPauli wrote:Yeah, sure, Argentina are certainly 2nd best all-time ahead of Italy and Germany.

Get past the Dutch first, children :vagi:

if we refer titles
1. Brazil
2. Germany-Italy
3. Argentina

and rest.

It's not about titles, though.

This is about contribution. I think Argentina is an outstanding footballing nation, but they haven't really changed the sport much.

The Dutch have, massively, with total football. The Italians have, massively, with catenaccio. Tactics, discipline.

I understood the thread the way that we're counting things like that.

VivaStPauli wrote:1930s are soooo over, what about Hungary, then? :vagi:

Surprised no one mentioned this earlier.

The Mighty Magyars changed the game and their undefeated streak was the stuff of legend.

now argentina are in crisis you forgot that they were giant team. They were always World Cup favorites. I'd say Argentina were WC favorites more than Brazil, every world cup people say argentina will win. but at the end brazil wins. this is sad side of football

As a German I like bringing up the Mighty Magyars

:study:

billionmillion wrote:now argentina are in crisis you forgot that they were giant team. They were always World Cup favorites. I'd say Argentina were WC favorites more than Brazil, every world cup people say argentina will win. but at the end brazil wins. this is sad side of football

I agree with the first half, I just think that this isn't what this thread is about. They were just a great team.

Didn'T change how the game was played.

And TBH I'm not sure us Germans did that either. We won a lot, but we didn'T do it in any revolutionary way, we just did the same old, we just occasionally did it better than anyone else.

Ah, wait, no, Germany invented the deep-lying playmaker.

The Kaiser