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Artisan

Not Emery's Old Pal
This club is a bit of a joke tbh, when we loaned it him it was reported they had an obligation to buy but obviously wasn't as clear cut as that. Still it's going to be hard to get rid of a guy when other teams don't think he is even worth 3million euros.
 

Ricardinho

La Liga Correspondent
Asian player. AFC would have crazy support if they played a few more Asians.

Wenger tried hard with Inamoto, Ryo but they just couldn't find a good one.

Why do so few Asian players make it big in Europe? When you total up the combined populations of the countries in Asia it really does leave you confused.
 

Football Manager

Copy & Paste Merchant
Why do so few Asian players make it big in Europe? When you total up the combined populations of the countries in Asia it really does leave you confused.

That’s a good question. It’s not only about the population but also about how their people see football as a game.

The number of asian players in Europe has actually increased rapidly over the years if you look back. Football is becoming more and more popular there, and their youth system is growing, producing more talented players than in the past, but this process takes time.

England have invested a lot of money in the youth system. But how many flair, skillful, good players have we produced? Why is England not performing well in the World Cup? Why did we play ugly, direct football, and relying on corners, free kicks, penalties and fluke goals?
Whereas Brazil, too poor to invest big money in their youth academy, produced some of the best talent in the world.

The truth is, the success in young talent produced is not just about the population size, or the amount of money they have invested. It’s about how they picture football in their mind combined with the way they trained to execute what they wanted.

I can give you an example here. Football in England is competitive at a young age. The coaches always pick the fastest or strongest players. Their mentality is to be effective, and to win the game. That is why they don’t like flashy moves and taking too many touches before they shoot.
This will be the type of player you produce if your players experience that at a young age.

In contrast, Brazilian kids are encouraged to express themselves, they are allowed to “play football”, and do whatever skill moves they wanted to, the results are not that important.
Spainish kids are being taught to focus on passing, touch, the understanding of space and timing......

So it’s all about picking the right style and playing it right, something beyond population and money. Asian countries are in the process of shaping thier playing style. And I’m sure they will produce many talents if they find the right way to play.
 
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krackpot

Established Member
Trusted ⭐
Why do so few Asian players make it big in Europe? When you total up the combined populations of the countries in Asia it really does leave you confused.
No money until a few decades ago. Especially at grassroots level, you probably made less than a street sweeper.

Physically, most Asian people are smaller and less athletic than any others.

There are a few sports which traditionally return more money and fame like badminton, cricket, wrestling and even hockey.

But as @Football Manager says, it's changing massively.
 

Slartibartfast

CIES Loyalist
Why do so few Asian players make it big in Europe? When you total up the combined populations of the countries in Asia it really does leave you confused.

You have to remember that football is still in its growing stages in Asia. Asano, for instance, comes from a country where baseball dwarfs football in popularity and is far more established. In China, football is only the 7th most popular participation sport, lagging far behind basketball, badminton, table tennis and even swimming. The same is true in other countries. Muay Thai, for instance, is the most popular sport in Thailand.

In a way, it's kind of like America has been until recently (and still is, largely). The best athletes simply haven't chosen this sport because other sports have been better established and more financially lucrative. If you can imagine, say, Lebron James having grown up as a striker or some fleet NFL wide receiver playing out on the wing, you can see it's about choices. I'm sure there are many athletes in Asian countries who could have been outstanding footballers had they grown up with the sport in a culture that emphasized it. Maybe in another 20 years things will be different.
 

Football Manager

Copy & Paste Merchant
You have to remember that football is still in its growing stages in Asia. Asano, for instance, comes from a country where baseball dwarfs football in popularity and is far more established. In China, football is only the 7th most popular participation sport, lagging far behind basketball, badminton, table tennis and even swimming. The same is true in other countries. Muay Thai, for instance, is the most popular sport in Thailand.

In a way, it's kind of like America has been until recently (and still is, largely). The best athletes simply haven't chosen this sport because other sports have been better established and more financially lucrative. If you can imagine, say, Lebron James having grown up as a striker or some fleet NFL wide receiver playing out on the wing, you can see it's about choices. I'm sure there are many athletes in Asian countries who could have been outstanding footballers had they grown up with the sport in a culture that emphasized it. Maybe in another 20 years things will be different.
I don’t quite agree with this “best athletes” argument. To have talent in basketball doesn’t mean you will be good at football. Messi’s height gives him a low centre of gravity, and that helps a lot with his dribbling. But if he grows up playing basketball, I don’t see any chance of him playing in the NBA.
 
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Slartibartfast

CIES Loyalist
I don’t quite agree with this “best athletes” argument. To have talent in basketball doesn’t mean you will be good at football. Messi’s height gives him a low centre of gravity, and that helps a lot with his dribbling. But if he grows up playing basketball, I don’t see any chance of him playing in the NBA.

You're missing my point. I used Lebron as an example, but pick any great athlete you want. If instead of picking up a basketball, he picks up a soccer ball at an early age and plays the sport in his youth with the same passion, chances are he would be a great footballer today. But if not him, somebody else. The point is that America's best athletes have never chosen to play soccer. If they had, there would be a lot of world class footballers whose names you know now from other sports.

Sure, Messi's height would certainly work against him in having any chance at an NBA career had he played the sport (although he's the same height as Spud Webb, who won the first NBA dunk contest, and four inches taller than Mugsy Bogues, who had a 14-year NBA career). But you're cherry-picking using him as an example because of his height. Not every footballer is in the mold of Messi (who probably would have been a baseball player had he grown up in America).

Lebron would have been more in the mold of a Didier Drogba. His height, power, strength and speed would have made him a perfect physical specimen as a center forward. And there are many players in the NFL and Major League Baseball who are under 6 feet and could potentially have been great playmakers. We'll never know, of course, which ones would have emerged as the best had America's best athletes grown up playing soccer, but it makes absolutely no sense to believe the combined NFL, NBA and MLB rosters don't contain enough great athletes to have formed one helluva team, just as footballers in the U.K., Spain, Germany, etc., could have been fantastic in American sports had that been the culture in which they grew up.
 

Football Manager

Copy & Paste Merchant
You're missing my point. I used Lebron as an example, but pick any great athlete you want. If instead of picking up a basketball, he picks up a soccer ball at an early age and plays the sport in his youth with the same passion, chances are he would be a great footballer today. But if not him, somebody else. The point is that America's best athletes have never chosen to play soccer. If they had, there would be a lot of world class footballers whose names you know now from other sports.

Sure, Messi's height would certainly work against him in having any chance at an NBA career had he played the sport (although he's the same height as Spud Webb, who won the first NBA dunk contest, and four inches taller than Mugsy Bogues, who had a 14-year NBA career). But you're cherry-picking using him as an example because of his height. Not every footballer is in the mold of Messi (who probably would have been a baseball player had he grown up in America).

Lebron would have been more in the mold of a Didier Drogba. His height, power, strength and speed would have made him a perfect physical specimen as a center forward. And there are many players in the NFL and Major League Baseball who are under 6 feet and could potentially have been great playmakers. We'll never know, of course, which ones would have emerged as the best had America's best athletes grown up playing soccer, but it makes absolutely no sense to believe the combined NFL, NBA and MLB rosters don't contain enough great athletes to have formed one helluva team, just as footballers in the U.K., Spain, Germany, etc., could have been fantastic in American sports had that been the culture in which they grew up.
But that’s not my point.
Different sports require different qualities.
I’m good with the guitar but I will always be suck at drums, even if i start learning it at a young age. My fingers coordination are good but I just can’t count in 3 on my left hand and in 4 on my right hand.
 
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Jury

A-M's drunk uncle
Whatever happened to Ryo? :lol: I remember the toss fest on here over that kid... Oh my lord :rofl:
 

YeahBee

Terrible hot takes
I don’t quite agree with this “best athletes” argument. To have talent in basketball doesn’t mean you will be good at football. Messi’s height gives him a low centre of gravity, and that helps a lot with his dribbling. But if he grows up playing basketball, I don’t see any chance of him playing in the NBA.

There has been a number of Messi short players...
 

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