Is the World Cup still the pinnacle of the game?

Well commercially no, but in terms of a players career and prestige it kind of has to be, the fact it is still shown on terrestrial TV (something I am grateful for) shows you how it is a non essential event for broadcasters.

In terms of quality of football, it's not even close to being the pinnacle.
 
Irish Jet said:
In terms of prestige? Yes and always has been.

In terms of quality? No and never has been.
Click to expand...
But neither has been the PL or CL. Qarabag v. Atheltico or spartak Moscow vs maribor or Celtic v. Anderlecht were neither something to fall in love with game. Even big teams like United, Juventus, bayern have produced some dud performances. The quality of club football is overrated immensely. Atleast wc has the passion in every game.
 
It definitely is.

Just look at what it means to the smaller teams/whole countries and look at what it means to the big teams when they actually win the thing.

The CL has more big teams but there are still small, shite teams to make up the numbers and some truly awful games because of it. It's not as big as the World Cup and never will be.

Plus imagine if England make the final, the whole country will be watching, even those that hate football. If we win the thing the whole country will be smashed for the next 24-48 hours. You can't get that in club football.
 
IMO yes. I’ve never seen people get so emotional, so much unity, etc.. for football matches as I see during the world cup. This is at a global scale.

The looks you see on the players faces when they’re singing their anthem alongside their fans who traveled thousands of miles to see them play is amazing.

I love the world cup.
 
It is. You might not like or enjoy some games that don't involve your country but is still the best scenario a footballer is expected to perform and when they do it doesn't get any better than that.
 
For me, yes. There's nothing I love more than to watch Mexico at the WC. We're always one of the countries with more people traveling to the host country (be it Mexicans living MX or in the US)... By the way, I don't think there's any other (football) tournament that could make players feel this emotional since the first match:

youtube.com/watch?v=eOf4vqDAjuo
 
AshRK said:
But neither has been the PL or CL. Qarabag v. Atheltico or spartak Moscow vs maribor or Celtic v. Anderlecht were neither something to fall in love with game. Even big teams like United, Juventus, bayern have produced some dud performances. The quality of club football is overrated immensely. Atleast wc has the passion in every game.
Click to expand...

i think this is really a big part for me. There is something about playing not for money or a club in another country but for the glory and history of your home country that brings out the best in some players. Also the crowds at the World Cup are always so intoxicating. Something about club football has become a little stale and corporate for me but international still holds a bit more magic
 
If it wasn't the pinnacle then fans wouldn't demand that Messi/Ronaldo win it in order to be considered the best of all time.

To put things in perspective:

If Southgate was manager of Manchester United and won the treble, beating Real Madrid 10-0 in the final, then United fans would celebrate and everyone else would grudingly say that its a great achievement.

Now if Southgate leads England to World Cup glory this summer, he would be known as Sir Gareth Southgate
 
oneniltothearsenal said:
i think this is really a big part for me. There is something about playing not for money or a club in another country but for the glory and history of your home country that brings out the best in some players. Also the crowds at the World Cup are always so intoxicating. Something about club football has become a little stale and corporate for me but international still holds a bit more magic
Click to expand...

Club football is totally corporate, you might love a player, but there's always the possibility that he ditches you for a better team, bigger wages or he has a disagreement with the board and that's it.

One of the best things about international football is that "corporate" doesn't get to tamper with that, if Messi leaves Argentina he's not going to go with Spain or Brazil, from the get go he's bound to try his 101% with the national team to achieve success, 90% of the playerbase at top level clubs know that if they don't get to shine with Bayern/Barcelona for example they might get to ask for a transfer and try again in another team or with better teammates, that has to take an edge that's implied in international duty.
 
oneniltothearsenal said:
i think this is really a big part for me. There is something about playing not for money or a club in another country but for the glory and history of your home country that brings out the best in some players. Also the crowds at the World Cup are always so intoxicating. Something about club football has become a little stale and corporate for me but international still holds a bit more magic
Click to expand...

Exactly. People rave about quality as if quality in each club competitions are great. Most of the CL games are full and PL has it's own share of some duds.
 
Ishdalar said:
Club football is totally corporate, you might love a player, but there's always the possibility that he ditches you for a better team, bigger wages or he has a disagreement with the board and that's it.

One of the best things about international football is that "corporate" doesn't get to tamper with that, if Messi leaves Argentina he's not going to go with Spain or Brazil, from the get go he's bound to try his 101% with the national team to achieve success, 90% of the playerbase at top level clubs know that if they don't get to shine with Bayern/Barcelona for example they might get to ask for a transfer and try again in another team or with better teammates, that has to take an edge that's implied in international duty.
Click to expand...

That's a good way of putting it. I especially like how there are no corporate sponsors on NT shirts
 
Now that England got a easy fixture, its the pinnacle, the creme de la creme..
 
Of course it still is.

I bet many of us fell in love with the sport by watching it at some point. Watching club football just does not do it. At least it didn't to me.
 
I'd rather Manchester united win the champion league then England win the world cup and I'm English.. don't get me wrong if England win I'll be over moon and go ballistic with rest of us but that's my opinion.

That being said wc is bigger,no other competition gets non football fans interested like the world cup it creates a unique atmosphere of unity, optimism and anticipation
 
Imo, mainly Western European people/players, will take clubs over country. That's because they associate and define their popular clubs with football. But for most of the world elsewhere, it's not. Club football is based on artificial, falseness as much as we won't admit. Eg. One day, a player is excellent, but next day, player leaves, suddenly he is just an average player. It's more reality, actual emotions in national football, and World Cup is the best place to see it all.
 
No. The Champions League is where the height of the game lies and where we find the top performances. The World Cup is the maker of stars - that achieve in the Champions League.

Guess many here will disagree.
 
cathari said:
No. The Champions League is where the height of the game lies and where we find the top performances. The World Cup is the maker of stars - that achieve in the Champions League.

Guess many here will disagree.
Click to expand...
Find me one player who will choose winning the CL over the WC.
 
Moby said:
Of course it does. CL or anything else doesn't come anywhere near the WC.
Click to expand...
Okay, so I'll elaborate a little. I think that the general football quality of the Champions League is at a higher level than at the World Cup, and for me that makes a better tournament. That's my personal opinion. I totally get that a global tournament played every fourth year has a lot of prestige, like the Olympics, but some of this prestige is gained from the fact that specific structure. For most players it means a lot to achieve something in the World Cup, but I don't think that alone makes it the pinnacle of the game.
 
World Cup is undoubtedly the pinnacle.

The CL means absolutely nothing to fans outside of Europe unless they actually support a European side.

Look at how nations celebrate every single goal at the world cup. Players leave absolutely nothing on the pitch in their quest for victory. Players cry when they lose. A truly elite player realistically only has about 3 or 4 chances to win a world cup in their entire career. CL comes round every season..
 
MUFC OK said:
Well commercially no, but in terms of a players career and prestige it kind of has to be, the fact it is still shown on terrestrial TV (something I am grateful for) shows you how it is a non essential event for broadcasters.

In terms of quality of football, it's not even close to being the pinnacle.
Click to expand...

I don't consider the World Cup the pinnacle of the game as a sporting event (although it is definitely the most glamorous football celebration), but the highlighted point is moot. By law, certain sporting events have to be on terrestrial TV, and the World Cup is one of them.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ofcom_Code_on_Sports_and_Other_Listed_and_Designated_Events

There is not a shadow of doubt in my mind that if Sky, BT and the like could gobble up the rights, they would.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.