Cyprus-Forum.com

[Bananiot]

Well, Kifeas, for a start I would be very upset if Cyprus violated the rules. It is called cheating and it is just as bad as the doping of all the Greek athletes that made us proud some years ago. Secondly, in countries where football is very developed, the young talented players do not go to ordinary sport schools but become apprentices to the big clubs from a very early age.

Do you really not ask yourself how we managed to beat the best footballing countries in the world by big scores? Do you really consider that we beat their best fair and square? I wish we did but I am afraid it is not so. We beat some wretched sods who represent a pale vision of the cream of lets say German or Brazilian football.

Sorry, but this is the truth and if it hurts you need to turn your anger at those that take you for a ride.

P.S. I do not know if our young talented players simply happen to go to Kykko Lyceum but if they do not then we have broken the rules of the competition. We cheated by taking the best in Cyprus. RIK reported that our national U17 team team won the World Championship and the Federal Coach who went with them (Sophoulis) made some comments too. Did any teachers go with them, I just wonder.

[Kifeas]

Do you really not ask yourself how we managed to beat the best footballing countries in the world by big scores? Do you really consider that we beat their best fair and square?

No this is not what I believe, nor what I said! In fact, I said quite the opposite in my initial post in this thread, and gave my explanation. However, the notion that some countries are more developed in football than Cyprus, is not as straight forward as you may think. You may reflect, if so wish, on the following hypothesis. Take a so-called “football-developed” country such as Germany. It is a country of 80 million people, which means more than 100 times larger than Cyprus. If you take a pencil and split the map of Germany in 100 regions, trying in each one to include approximately 800 thousand citizens (population of Cyprus,) and then select out of each one of these regions a so-called regional “national” (best) team, I very much doubt that anyone of these 100 such teams will be any better than the national team of Cyprus. The same will hold true for the UK or any other football “developed” country.

The reason is very simple. Statistically, you may only have a top (class A’) player out of a certain number of thousands (or millions) of population, a second top (class B’) player out of a certain (other -smaller) number of thousands of population, etc, etc. Germany, with 80 million people, may hypothetically produce 60 - 80 class A’ players, 200 – 300 class B’ players and some thousands of class C’ players. Cyprus, with only 800 thousand people, may produce only 0 -1 class A’ players and 2 – 3 class B’ players. Germany will easily be able to have a national team composed of 11 class A’ players –since it has 60-80 ones to choose from; whereas Cyprus inevitably will only have a team of 0-1 class A’ players, 2-3 class B’ players, and the rest will be class C’ and below. Of course, when Germany plays or is compared to Cyprus, in almost everyone’s eyes will look like a more developed country in football, than Cyprus is. Few will consider that Germany has a pool to select from, which is 100 times larger than that of Cyprus.

To be able to safely say whether a country is more developed in football than another, you have to compare countries with similar populations. If for example you compare Germany with Turkey (similar population size,) then definitely Germany is a more developed country in football, since it ranks above Turkey in FIFA rankings. If you were to compare Greece to Turkey (they both rank close to each other in FIFA rankings,) then Greece is a more developed country in football, simply because Turkey has a population 7 times larger than Greece.

[Bananiot]

Kifeas, may I remind you of one of Benjamin Disraeli's famous quotes:

There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.

You do understand that according to your theory, China would be the best by far footballing nation on earth. Monaco, should not figure at all in the rankings, but of course, this is not so. Obviously you need to take more parameters into your equation. Let me list some.

1. Wealth
2. Tradition
3. Physique
4. Sincerity (do teams always play to win?)
5. Politics
6. Seriousness of mass media

Still, you did not get my point though, it seems. If like you, I considered your single parameter onle, ie population size, then again, we should have beeen thrashed, because the chances of all the best footballers finding theirselves in the same school, are outrageously minimal, even in this saintly island where saints perform miracles on a daily basis. The same distribution factors that apply to Germany also apply to Cyprus. Perhaps, if we had 30 talented young football players in Cyprus, they would be apportioned to about half per school, or even less. So, size is cancelled out by the number of schools and hence the thesis that Cyprus cannot beat Germany, Brazil etc (with massive scores) still holds true.

In short, I would agree with you had we have just one school in the whole of Cyprus.

[Bananiot]

Hate to say it: I told you so.

At about this time in 2008 we were debating the incredible feat of Cyprus to beat (tear appart) the best footballing nations on earth. Yesterday, "Politis" carried an article on how we cheat the world at these world games, just to make cloud riders, like DT, feel proud of the footballing abilities of young Cypriots.

http://pdf.politis-news.com/pdf/pdf?-A= ... pdfedition

Apparently we performed the same trick we used in Turkey in 2008 for the world school football championships, this time in China, for the world school basketball championship.

[kurupetos]

I agree with you on this one Bananiot. Those fools think by achieving sport wins, they will increase the status of the RoC. Superficial idiots.

[DT.]

Hate to say it: I told you so.

At about this time in 2008 we were debating the incredible feat of Cyprus to beat (tear appart) the best footballing nations on earth. Yesterday, "Politis" carried an article on how we cheat the world at these world games, just to make cloud riders, like DT, feel proud of the footballing abilities of young Cypriots.

http://pdf.politis-news.com/pdf/pdf?-A= ... pdfedition

Apparently we performed the same trick we used in Turkey in 2008 for the world school football championships, this time in China, for the world school basketball championship.

Just goes to show the only footballing talent we can depend on is APOEL to represent Cyprus.

[Bananiot]

I think only the truth serves national interests. Lies will not get us anywhere. But, unfortunately I have to agree with DT (and my son) about APOEL.

[kurupetos]

I think only the truth serves national interests. Lies will not get us anywhere. But, unfortunately I have to agree with DT (and my son) about APOEL.

Fascist!?

[supporttheunderdog]

The Flag was legally adopted by the ROC in 1960: as I understand it the Turkish speaking Cypriots chose to withdraw from active participation in government in 1963 - that did not invalidate the use of the flag by those who remained a part of the legal government.

The illegal flag is that of the illegal so called TRNC state.

[Bananiot]

It takes one to know one, kurupetos!