The Homa Files

Whew, it’s not just me thinking that soccer can be a bit of a bore these days.

You gotta wonder about games that get their oomph from drinking, fighting and incessant loud horns.

Yeah, we American sports watchers like a lot of action – grand slam homers, long TD passes, 3-pointers from downtown, etc.

So, a game where rare scoring comes on fluke plays — ref calls, penalty and corner kicks, goalie muffs –- just doesn’t get the old heart pumping.

But, the rest of the world seems to have World Cup fever.

Must be an explanation …

* * * * *

WSJ: The Fading Art of Goal Scoring, June 14, 2010

With just 18 goals in 11 games, this World Cup is on pace to record a record-low 105 goals, down from 147 in 2006, 161 in 2002 and 171 in 1998.

“Football is more and more about keeping the ball rather than scoring goals.”

This trend could make a sport that many people regard as boring even more so.

The average number of World Cup goals has been declining steadily for the past 60 years, from a high of 5.38 goals per match when West Germany won the trophy so thrillingly in 1954, to 2.3 in Italy’s more phlegmatic triumph in 2006.

There are a number of factors behind this reduction: Defenses are organized better and players are fitter than they were 50 years ago, when the halftime interval would see gasping players reach for the nearest pack of Marlboros.

“Keeping possession is now the most important thing in football.”

“Managers are looking at the game and saying we don’t want goal scorers, we want people to keep hold of the ball.”

“But isn’t scoring the point of football?”

Full article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704324304575306532213696808.html?mod=WSJ_hps_MIDDLESecondNews

This entry was posted on June 17, 2010 at 6:02 am and is filed under Sports & Athletics, Sports - Games - Recreation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.