Mitchell1978
Senior Member
Good choice i think.
Question17
New member
Weak soccer culture though. I don't think there will be too much buzz there about this.
BarçaBarça
New member
How much will he earn per year?
Luftstalag14
Culé de Celestial Empire
Japan is overrated, really. I was shocked to see how dirty Tokyo was when I was there a couple of years ago. The country definitely shows signs of the two lost decades.
Always liked him, despite playing for the enemy, i really enjoyed watching him as a neutral, dominating tournaments for Spain.
Of those cm/playmaker types, he was probably the best i have seen, on par with Zidane, maybe even higher. Not everything is about statistics, sure, he didnt score many goals, his assist rate wasnt that high either, but for those who watched his games knew how good he was. Also, he was one of the ultimate big-game players in his prime, for country and club.
Xavi is almost always rated as the best midfielder of that era, but personally, i prefer Iniesta over him. I guess i just i appreciated the playstyle more, Xavi was somewhat boring to watch, even if he was very good at it. Iniesta was very effective too, but he wasnt at all boring, just gliding past defenders in impossible tight areas. Sometimes i felt that his ball control and first touch was as good as Messi, he could dribble his way out of any situation, he simply lacked the raw acceleration and pace to take the entire team on, unlike Messi.
Of those cm/playmaker types, he was probably the best i have seen, on par with Zidane, maybe even higher. Not everything is about statistics, sure, he didnt score many goals, his assist rate wasnt that high either, but for those who watched his games knew how good he was. Also, he was one of the ultimate big-game players in his prime, for country and club.
Xavi is almost always rated as the best midfielder of that era, but personally, i prefer Iniesta over him. I guess i just i appreciated the playstyle more, Xavi was somewhat boring to watch, even if he was very good at it. Iniesta was very effective too, but he wasnt at all boring, just gliding past defenders in impossible tight areas. Sometimes i felt that his ball control and first touch was as good as Messi, he could dribble his way out of any situation, he simply lacked the raw acceleration and pace to take the entire team on, unlike Messi.
BarcaOG
Banned
My own memories of Tokyo are probably as impressionistic as yours, but I remember being very surprised at how clean it was--especially in comparison to i.e. New York, Toronto, Washington, Montreal.
I wasn't there for long though so my view is just that--an impression.
Luftstalag14
Culé de Celestial Empire
I think it was because we went with different preconceptions. The first time I went to Japan was 1990 when I was 14 years old and I thought it was squeaky clean. Last time it was a couple of years ago and before I went, I thought it was going to be very clean again but to my surprise it was not that clean. Certainly it is probably cleaner than many American cities. I found Canadian cities pretty clean by the way (Toronto, Quebec City etc.).
BarcaOG
Banned
Fair enough--I've only been to Tokyo once and you are probably right that the city shone more in 1990 than today. That said it is indeed much cleaner than basically all major North American cities I've been to (I'm in Canada so about North America I can speak more confidently). It's interesting you mention Toronto because out of Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and Quebec City it is definitely the 'grimiest'. Of course much depends on which areas of the city you visit. Quebec City is very well taken care of
... one of my favourite cities in fact! 
I was also in Tokyo right after passing through Thailand and China so, to be sure, Japan was comparatively much, much cleaner and more organized.
FCBfan22
Senior Member
MOTM for Spain today. I don't know what you're watching.
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