I looked at a piece of the WWC final of 1999, and the standard was notably higher than I've seen in this tournament. I think there probably are more decent teams today, but the better teams haven't improved since 1999...they may have gotten worse - which is the opposite of what's happening in the men's game.
The U.S. may very well win this tourney...and they are not a smooth playing team at all... In fact this Brazil v U.S. q-final on the weekend was a couple notches below the usual quality seen between these two teams in recent years...
Women's ball on the decline? Or the talent just getting spread out?
Kicker....not true at all. Let me tell you what's happening. In the USA more average players are being produced. The Superstar player is hard o come by. Mainly because the team is emphasized more than anything therefore, players that may have been superstars and limiting themselves to be part of the team. This is at the youth level eh, where everyone should be a superstar.
The idea you put forth is a very decieving one and I think many truly believe this.
- Players are playing at a higher level at a younger age.
- Players are staying in the game longer
- Players are getting much more opportunities to take the game seriously (Leagues, international stardom, etc)
- Countries other than USA, Norway, Canada, China, Sweden and Germany are taking the game more seriously as there are great rewards in the game now.
These are a few reasons why the level of the game has improved. The USA of yesteryear beat countries and set records when the rest of the world was not serious about the game. Marta is so much more versatile and sophisticated than any of the players on the USA 1999 team....FACT. Look at the Mexican and Brazilian women. They were against lifting weights and developing muscle (whereas the USA women's team was laready doing this in the 1990s), but now these women are hitting the gym and working hard to become stronger, faster, and more technical in the game.
The lack of a dominant team in the WC does not mean the game is regressing, I beleive it means the game is improving across the board and just like the men's game you cannot take any team for granetd ( a painful lesson the USA IS learning and the Germans LEARNT). This world cup shocked many of the larger country. Just listen to Foudy along with DiCiccio at the start of the tournament and listen to them now......they got a wake up call. They were talking about blow out games and statement games. The USA Germany, Sweden, China, Norway, all have to go home and redraw plans in taking their games to the next level as Brazil now have girls in the Favelas seeing the fame that Marta and company has achieved and gonna come out the wood work, just like Ronaldinho and they did, along with other countries.
The USA now have youth teams not qualifying for world cups as before when qualification was automatic. Remember, the route the USA had to take to get here, and I believe that's because they believe the game is the way it's been. The women game is flourishing my friend don't be misled.
Keep this discussion.