Clyde, Ronaldo as a WR?

[spacedoodoopistol]

Also, Nemanja Vidic would be Brian Urlacher if he had grown up in America, and John Terry and Roethlisberger seem like basically the same person.

 

[clyde_carbon]

Also, Nemanja Vidic would be Brian Urlacher if he had grown up in America, and John Terry and Roethlisberger seem like basically the same person.

I think if you go to Africa you'll find a lot of NFL type athletes. Put Samuel Eto'o in the NFL and you probably have a guy like Darrius Heyward-Bey.

Or a guy like Didier Drogba could've been a beast RB if was in an NFL training program:

Or a guy like Prince Boeteng:

Or any guy from a team like Ghana:

 

[NinerSickness]

I don't know how a soccer player could possibly learn football enough to the point they're good enough to play in the NFL unless they also play football. Soccer players would probably either play RB, WR or CB, and that's about it. And the NFL is so loaded with insanely talented WRs who have been playing it their entire lives, I just couldn't see a soccer player breaking in (especially if they're not used to the violence of the game). In fact. I think they'd have an easier time learning CB because CBs need to react quickly, which they're used to doing. However, CB is one of the hardest positions to learn.

I could see them MAYBE becoming RBs because elite soccer players are so incredibly agile & used to playing with a low center of gravity (as opposed to WRs, who run a lot higher). However, RBs these days also have to be able to run routes, pick up blitzes, etc. It'd be extremely tough.

There probably aren't any soccer players big & tough enough to play safety or TE.

The fact that a college level basketball player like Antonio Gates, on the other hand, did so well in the NFL makes sense because being a TE has a lot to do with getting position, having long arms to reach where the other guy can't, being big, etc.

Julius Peppers was a pretty good college basketball player too. Dude's a freak.

 

[clyde_carbon]

I don't know how a soccer player could possibly learn football enough to the point they're good enough to play in the NFL unless they also play football. Soccer players would probably either play RB, WR or CB, and that's about it. And the NFL is so loaded with insanely talented WRs who have been playing it their entire lives, I just couldn't see a soccer player breaking in (especially if they're not used to the violence of the game). In fact. I think they'd have an easier time learning CB because CBs need to react quickly, which they're used to doing. However, CB is one of the hardest positions to learn.

I could see them MAYBE becoming RBs because elite soccer players are so incredibly agile & used to playing with a low center of gravity (as opposed to WRs, who run a lot higher). However, RBs these days also have to be able to run routes, pick up blitzes, etc. It'd be extremely tough.

There probably aren't any soccer players big & tough enough to play safety or TE.

The fact that a college level basketball player like Antonio Gates, on the other hand, did so well in the NFL makes sense because being a TE has a lot to do with getting position, having long arms to reach where the other guy can't, being big, etc.

Julius Peppers was a pretty good college basketball player too. Dude's a freak.

Didier Drogba is probably bigger than any S in the league.

And there are plenty of soccers players that are 6'5", 6'6", or 6'7". Petr Cech is 6'6" and can run and jump like a monster. That guy on the left in the Ghana team picture is 6'7".

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is 6'5", 220, and can probably runs in the 4.3s at full speed.

 

[Arete Tzu]

80% of my soccer watching has been Spain & real madrid, so I'm gonna say Xavi, Villa, and Kaka should try out for the nfl. Xavi and Villa are tiny, but so is hunter!

I'm sure Iker Castillas would be great at blocking field goals too!

 

[clyde_carbon]

Check out how fast Ibrahimovic runs at 1:32:


You can't find many people who run like that at that size.

 

[Yoshi]

Soccer has tremendous athletes, some of the best athletes the world has ever seen. What these men are able to do with their feet is pretty spectacular considering how these guys go at full speed when you consider some of the best leagues in the world.

That said, however, it's hard to project what positions in the NFL soccer players can play at. We don't even know how their hands are and although they run fast at opposing defenders, defenders in soccer typically give space towards opposing forwards/midfielders unlike the NFL where once a player has the ball, defenders are entitled to tackle that player.

There are lots of miniscule players who play futebol i.e. most of the Barca team, so those players would have a helluva hard time cracking into the NFL. As for the bigger, stronger players, you're looking at possibly players who can play TE, QB, WR, CB, S, LB, or DE's. Again, it's hard to say because I've never seen players such as Ibrahimovic, Crouch, Vidic, Ferdinand, Cech, Neuer, etc. catch a ball. Hell, even Sczesny of Arsenal is pretty damn tall at 6'5 and the guy looks as if he can truck like crazy if he were in the NFL playing LB.

 

[imac_21]

I'm curious. . . .

Are we talking about taking a soccer player who spent his entire life training to play soccer and trying to teach him football when he's in his mid to late 20s, or are we talking about soccer players choosing to play football instead in their youth?

I think it's crazy to project anyone, regardless of athletic ability to enter the NFL, or any major league (MLB, NBA, NHL. Premiere League, hell, MLS) at 27 years old without ever training for that level at a reasonably high level.

However, I'm pretty confident there are quite a few professional athletes in all the major leagues that, had they chosen a different sport in their youth or adolescence could be successful in another pro sport.

 

[BINGO]

I'm curious. . . .

Are we talking about taking a soccer player who spent his entire life training to play soccer and trying to teach him football when he's in his mid to late 20s, or are we talking about soccer players choosing to play football instead in their youth?

I think it's crazy to project anyone, regardless of athletic ability to enter the NFL, or any major league (MLB, NBA, NHL. Premiere League, hell, MLS) at 27 years old without ever training for that level at a reasonably high level.

However, I'm pretty confident there are quite a few professional athletes in all the major leagues that, had they chosen a different sport in their youth or adolescence could be successful in another pro sport.

That was my intent. No way on earth would I expect someone like Maradona to be the next Barry Sanders even though they have identical size quadriceps muscle.