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General => General Discussion => Topic started by: Zantera on January 07, 2011, 07:50:30 AM
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Never seen much talk about this sport around here, mainly i guess because there's a lot of Americans here, and the sport isn't very big over there. :P
You call it soccer, but i won't do that because it will always be "football" over here.
So, anyone who follows a particular team or something?
I'm a Man United-fan myself, mainly follow Premier League since i think both the Spanish and Italian-leagues are a bit lame. :biggrin:
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Ah, my favourite sport. Man United fan here as well, Premier League is my main league to follow. I've always enjoyed the British football.
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Great Thread!!! I don't think it will get a lot of posts though but still. I am from Argentina so yeah... I just love this sport.
I agree with you, the Spanish and Italian leagues are getting kinda boring since it comes to two or maybe three teams. But I have to say that if I have to choose one team, it has to be Barcelona. It's just beautiful. Plus, Messi plays there. The best there is!!
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Real Madrid fan here... pretty upset by a lot of events surrounding our club in the last few years (not too fond of the last presidents we've had and the roster management), and with Barcelona being as good as they are right now, not a lot to cheer for :/
But hey, through the good and bad, right?
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My favorite team is Real Madrid and the Spanish League is the one I follow the most, but the Premier League is 1000x better, there are no boring matches.
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What i love about Premier League, is that even though in most cases the "big" teams win, every team has a chance against them.
Love it how teams like Newcastle and W.Bromwich have beaten Arsenal, Wolves have beaten Chelsea and so on, really makes the whole league great. :tup
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I don't watch sports at all really, but I always watch the Eurocup and the World Cup since it gives me an excuse to go to a bar at noon and cheer for my home country.
rumborak
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mainly follow Premier League since i think both the Spanish and Italian-leagues are a bit lame. :biggrin:
That's a mistake you're making :smiley:
Football is amazing. Fan of the AC Milan here, also a supporter of Barcelona.
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Bump.
So this last day of Silly Season is really interesting so far, Torres to Chelsea and Carroll to Liverpool? :P
Rumors also suggest that Charlie Adam in Blackpool is close to Pool as well, obviously a lot of this is speculations, but the last hours of this day will be very interesting. ;D
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Also rumors suggest that Sebastian Larsson is going to either City or Liverpool.
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I don't really follow football like I used to but I still watch the European and World Cup when they're on.
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Ac Milan FTW
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I don't really follow football like I used to but I still watch the European and World Cup when they're on.
This. I also follow the German Bundesliga a bit (although I haven't watched a game of it in years), but the EC and WC are a definite must for me.
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I want to start seriously following premier league games. I love football, but the lack of coverage in the US is shitty. The thing is, I can't follow a sport unless I have a team to support
Convince me to support a team guys. Go :P
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Manchester United is the better team over there. Avoid Chelsea at all costs.
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One vote for Man United
I can only name about 5 off the top of my head, but if there are any others that you guys support (if at all), I'd like to hear your arguments.
also inb4ludicrousdisplay
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Avoid Manchester United at all costs.
Come on guys, it isn't that good. It's mostly fame and status.
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(https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/forumavatars/avatar_3268.png)
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Manchester United, but really almost EVERY game from the Premier League is awesome.
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How about people who are FROM the UK? :P
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(https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/forumavatars/avatar_3268.png)
Oh you.
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How about people who are FROM the UK? :P
It's 5 in the morning!
I'd recommend you go for one of the Champion's League teams, but I kinda hate them. Go with Newcastle, cus Northerners are awesome.
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Another Manchester U fan here. But I'm not from the UK.
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I'm a Man United-fan also, not from the UK either. :P
Avoid Chelsea and Man City at all costs tbh, if you're mainly interested in the attacking-part of the game, I'd say Arsenal and Spurs (Tottenham) are the two teams that plays the most "fun" football.
:hat
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Man U.
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Cardiff City
Oh wait... Premier League you say?
Maybe next year
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Zantera got it right, Arsenal and Spurs probably play the nicest football, although Man Utd are good too. But supporting Utd is generic and boring, especially for non-Brits.
Support Arsenal (my team). We rock!
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But Arsenal have "arse" in their name.
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Spaniard here, Liverpool all the way. THIS IS ANFIELD, BITCH. Plus they finally got rid of Torres, I really hate him (he almost cost us the World Championship).
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But supporting Utd is generic and boring, especially for non-Brits.
I can easily understand that now, but I was around 7 or 8 years old when I started to like Man United, and back then I didn't even know if it was a good team or not. :P
It's fun because my dad is an Arsenal-fan, and every weekend when we watch football, he's always so negative, like "maybe Arsenal can at least get one point against Wolves" or something. :lol
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I started to root for Man United after their treble win in 1999 (PL, FA cup, CL) and been a fan ever since. Giggs and Scholes are my favourites, but they will be retiring soon. Although Giggs seems to be able to play for another 20 years ;D
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:lol Yeah Arsenal fans can be pretty negative; it's because our team is so unpredictable, but that makes being a fan more fun and exciting I think.
Although this season everyone has been useless and unpredictable. It's been a weird season.
I think we should make this the official Premier League thread. It's nice to be able to discuss it on the forum. :tup
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How about people who are FROM the UK? :P
Stoke City F.C.
https://www.premierleague.com/page/stoke-city
https://www.stokecityfc.com/page/Home/0,,10310,00.html
(https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2158/2106706064_59c1e8f1d9.jpg)
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lol Stoke.
Stoke were pretty good last year, but they've been a bit disappointing this season.
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But supporting Utd is generic and boring, especially for non-Brits.
It's about the same for Bayern Munich fans in the German Bundesliga. Those teams mostly get supported because they keep winning everything (luckily, this season might mix it up a little bit). ManU plays some nice football, though. However, I have to say that I don't follow the Premier League that much.
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It's funny, because even though Arsenal has made some of the best, but also some of the worst games this season, they still fight for 4 trophies. :P
I'm a bit sad that Man U's streak of no losses ended last weekend, but hopefully we can beat City and maintain the lead. ;)
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Chelsea, because I live there.
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Dammit Sigz! >:(
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So, Rich suggests Arsenal (even though they always try to walk it in LOL), and Andy suggests Stoke City, a team I hadn't heard of :lol
I may jump on the Arsenal bandwagon then
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Halifax Town.
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Is that Canadian?
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Wiggan... because they suck and Rodallega is the only good player over there.
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Dammit Sigz! >:(
:heart
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So, Rich suggests Arsenal (even though they always try to walk it in LOL)
:lol Yeah we do that sometimes. But when it works it creates some lovely goals.
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...:lol
PLM was making an IT Crowd reference.
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:lol
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...:lol
PLM was making an IT Crowd reference.
Fair enough, it's still accurate. :P
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I don't pay much attention to the Premier League. I follow Serie A and La Liga much closer. I don't really have a fav english team..
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West..Ham
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FUCK YEAH ARSENAL
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Where do I buy gear? is my next question. Preferably within the US. Damn overseas shipping :lol
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Where do I buy gear? is my next question. Preferably within the US. Damn overseas shipping :lol
https://www.arsenalstoreusa.com/
:P
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Looking forward to the Manchester-derby tomorrow, seeing as we got pretty good statistics against City the last years.
However, the result screams 0-0, 1-0 or 0-1 long ways, so I'll probably bring a pillow to the couch in case I fall asleep, seeing as it's City playing on one side. :biggrin:
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Yeah the Manchester derby has such great potential but is so often a let-down. :lol
I could see it being a fairly low scoring draw, maybe 1-1. If anyone wins it'll be Utd.
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Great to see a thread for the Premier League at last. I've thought of starting one in the past but I thought you were all Americans and not interested in proper football (ie. played with your feet) ;)
Last Saturday was beyond incredible for the following reasons:
- 41 goals in 8 games
- Newcastle coming back from 4-0 down at half-time to draw 4-4
- Wolves (bottom of the league at the time) beating Manchester United (top of the league), ending a 29-game unbeaten run
THIS is why you should follow Premier League football!
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I remember the 200910 Manchester derby at Old Trafford, when United won with 4-3. Manchester City had equalised three times only for Michael Owen to score the winning goal after 95 minutes. Damn, what a crazy game that was.
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- Newcastle coming back from 4-0 down at half-time to draw 4-4
Normally this would've been amazing, but we're talking about ARSENAL.
They're the only team who can have a 7-0 lead, and whenever the opponents scores 1-7, you just know that they're going to catch up. :lol
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- Newcastle coming back from 4-0 down at half-time to draw 4-4
Normally this would've been amazing, but we're talking about ARSENAL.
They're the only team who can have a 7-0 lead, and whenever the opponents scores 1-7, you just know that they're going to catch up. :lol
Hey, we've only done it twice this season! :P The other time being when we threw away a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 against Spurs. That was bad, but last weekend was probably worse. :lol
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Can we make this the official Football discussion thread?
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Where do I buy gear? is my next question. Preferably within the US. Damn overseas shipping :lol
https://www.arsenalstoreusa.com/
:P
My word those jerseys are expensive
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Hmm yeah, looks like you're getting spanked by either exchange rate or shipping. :lol
EDIT: The training tops are considerably more sensibly priced. Still a lot though. You could probably get a top from a previous season on ebay or something.
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I don't really follow football that much, but PSV ftw.
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Can we make this the official Football discussion thread?
With toro here. I only follow the Mexican league. Chivas fan checking in. (your Pumas, right toro?)
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HOW DO YOU KNOW!?
Indeed I am a Pumas UNAM fan and You know Chivas and pumas are playing agaisnt each other this sunday :eyebrows:
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HOW DO YOU KNOW!?
Indeed I am a Pumas UNAM fan and You know Chivas and pumas are playing agaisnt each other this sunday :eyebrows:
You mentioned it earlier somewhere, and...
IT'S ON!!!
And we both know Club America can go fuck themselves.
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LolClubAmerica
So... wanna bet?
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So... wanna bet?
Don't follow it hard enough to gamble, not even an e-bet. Wouldn't want this...
(https://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS5I3kqqemkAlPSFkvJjwf5b2pvrwpSH7qMnqx3XSK7rjLugsgiPQ)
as my avatar for a week. Should be entertaining at work though. Got two guys in my kitchen who are brothers, one is a Pumas fan, the other is Chivas. Good times. :biggrin:
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Thats the most beautiful football logo ever. :biggrin:
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:lol
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Follow La Liga and support Real Madrid :)
But if it has to be Premier League, support Arsenal. They play pretty football.
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How cute. People pretending soccer is football.
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Oh you...
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Football = American Football in USA
Football = "Soccer" in the rest of the world
This is clearly one of these moments when USA is all like "We're biggest, we're the best and what we say is right". :facepalm:
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How cute. People pretending soccer is football.
:loser:
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Oh yeah! Great win today by United against City in the Manchester derby :metal
Incredible goal by Rooney :omg:
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How cute. People pretending soccer is football.
(https://www.woosk.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/girl.jpg)
Oh yeah! Great win today by United against City in the Manchester derby :metal
Incredible goal by Rooney :omg:
Didn't see the game, but I'll catch up on Match of the Day tonight! Looks like I was pretty close with my prediction for the match though. Good for Utd, and at least it makes City less of a threat to us (Arsenal), but it also makes Utd harder to catch.
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Awesome goal by Rooney :hefdaddy
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Yup. Well actually... american football is MUCH closer to rugby than football. It's like fattier version of rugby. Less running, more homoerotic humping. Oh, and like a tonne of protective gear vs little to none in rugby.
So it should be called Anglo-american fatty rugby.
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Awesome goal by Rooney :hefdaddy
Here it is :metal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BfF8cgJWGM
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That was phenomenal! :o
Also, yay Arsenal. 2-0 at full time! :D
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I don't pay much attention to the Premier League. I follow Serie A and La Liga much closer. I don't really have a fav english team..
You don't need to follow La Liga as there's only 2 teams in it.
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tru. It disturbs me. But I don't have cable. And I HATE streaming. So my viewage of Premier League football is limited.
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LolClubAmerica
So... wanna bet?
Chivas-1
Pumas-1
No bets being won or lost here. :P
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Awesome goal by Rooney :hefdaddy
Here it is :metal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BfF8cgJWGM
It's official, the English have the best league and the WORST commentators EVER.
"Rooney miscalculates... ... ... ROONEY!!!!" So lame.
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Saw that on Sportcenter last night, fucking unbelievable.
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Awesome goal by Rooney :hefdaddy
Here it is :metal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BfF8cgJWGM
It's official, the English have the best league and the WORST commentators EVER.
"Rooney miscalculates... ... ... ROONEY!!!!" So lame.
Huh?
He did miscalculate, he took a terrible touch in the buildup to the goal.
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NOOO
I can't believe my team lost to Juve tonight. Eto'o had two chances and blew them both. Still he was the only good player on the pitch.
>:(
The Serie A isn't lost yet though..
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LolClubAmerica
So... wanna bet?
Chivas-1
Pumas-1
No bets being won or lost here. :P
:P Yeah mang but pumas goal was better
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LolClubAmerica
So... wanna bet?
Chivas-1
Pumas-1
No bets being won or lost here. :P
:P Yeah mang but pumas goal was better
:lol
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ARSENAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLL! :D
What a match! The middle third of the game was a bit slow going as 10 minutes after Barcelona scored they sat back and Arsenal got a bit desperate, but the opening and closing 25-30 minutes were terrific stuff. I almost don't care whether we even qualify now, we finally beat Barca! :)
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That was a great game. Barcelona was pretty weak during the last twenty to thirty minutes, though. A deserved victory for Arsenal imo.
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Barca will get its revenge. Hear me, infidels.
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That was a great game. Barcelona was pretty weak during the last twenty to thirty minutes, though. A deserved victory for Arsenal imo.
Yeah they did throw it away a bit. A 2-1 win is pretty fair I think, although a 2-2 draw would have probably been more representative as Barca were the better team for large parts of the game, and especially considering their disallowed goal was almost certainly onside. But we played well and dug deep, so I'm happy!
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Great games, I love the UCL :hefdaddy
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I'm guessing no, but did anyone catch any of the Roma - Shaktar Donetsk match? They had it on another TV in the pub, and it looked hilarious, some of the goals were just a result of really terrible defending. Just a complete world apart from the Arsenal - Barca game. :lol
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Barca will get its revenge. Hear me, infidels.
Die hard Barcelona fan here. Of course we will! How cute, Arsenal thinks they have a chance to win this round! Camp Nou awaits you. :rollin
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How cute, Arsenal thinks they have a chance to win this round!
Not really, but we finally beat you, so we're happy! :D
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I'm so happy that Arsenal won yesterday, both me and my dad screamed like crazies when Arshjavin scored the 2-1 goal.
There isn't a team in the whole world that I hate more then Barcelona, and for many reasons.
First off, it's how they think that they are better then everyone else, and that they are 'gods' amongst normal football players, then we have the phenomenon 'falling like a brick when I feel wind in my back', a phenomenon that players like Busquets, Villa, Xavi, Pedro, Messi, Iniesta, Dani Alves and co. displays in every game.
Then we have the funny thing that as soon as Messi falls down, 5-6 Barcelona players runs up to the person who 'tackled', and gives them the look "How do you DARE to touch GOD?". :facepalm:
And no, Barcelona doesn't play the 'best football in the world'.
Passing the ball around sideways for 10 minutes before creating a goal-chance isn't entertaining, it's like watching Oprah-reruns at 4 in the morning, not falling asleep is impossible.
And what really showed the world what scumbags they are, was the whole Fabregas-incident last summer.
They really expected Arsenal to sell him for pretty much 0 cash, and when they got a no, they were like "He has our DNA, blabla", funny enough Barcelona sold him X years ago with no interest in him, suddenly they thought that Arsenal would screw him over.
And lets not forget this "Barcelona is the best team in the world"-nonsense, seriously.. Inter are the champions until another team proves them wrong, which will be in a new CL-final.
You can't be the best team in the world simply by winning over shitty teams in the Spanish-League, it's a fact that the Spanish League is one of the worst, and players only go there because it makes it easier when you just have to flip a coin with Real Madrid every year.
About the game I thought Barcelona did a better first half, though Arsenal completely destroyed them in the second.
I don't even recall Barcelona creating any chances in the second, so Arsenal surely did something right. :)
I was really impressed with Wilshere, Koscielny and Szczesny, I think they all performed very well.
If Arsenal can take the second half with them, I'm pretty sure they can make it.
And I really hope so, Barcelona are the scumbags of the football-world, and I'll have a lot of cake if the team that beats them is Arsenal. :hefdaddy
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:lol I don't hate Barca like you do, but I'm still glad to hear you're on Arsenal's side here! And yeah I though Wilshire and Szczesny were absolutely top-notch last night, they both have so much class and confidence for such youngsters. Koscielny was mostly good (made some really important challenges) but our defense in general did have a couple of weaker moments that we were lucky to get away with.
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Arsenal are so pro. :mehlin
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Bahahahaha we fail so badly sometimes. :lol
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Most people would've bet 3 million dollars on Arsenal winning Carling Cup, that's pretty much how insane favorites they were.
If they can't win the titles that are being handed over to them, how are they going to win CL or PL? :P
I'm sure they'll advance to the next round in CL, and they do have a good schedule for PL, but it seems like they're only being stopped by themselves all the time.
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Yeah Koscielny's error was ridiculous. :lol
But in terms of being massive favourites, the bookies were very disproportionate there. Birmingham have been doing very well in the cups and they are one of those teams who often upset us (West Ham do it a lot as well). I wasn't surprised that they tried so much harder than us, or that they won, I'm just surprised at how ridiculous the winning goal was, and after we have been completely dominating for half an hour. Shame really.
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I cant seem to find a website that'll stream the matches. anyone got a lead on this?
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Check your PM
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... And congrats to Arsenal winning PL.
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Anyone see the video of the guy hitting himself in the face with another guy's. Funniest shit ever. Can't link to it from here, but it's on Youtube. Don't know how old it is either, so forgive me if you all have seen it.
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Anyone see the video of the guy hitting himself in the face with another guy's. Funniest shit ever. Can't link to it from here, but it's on Youtube. Don't know how old it is either, so forgive me if you all have seen it.
Yeah I saw that one.
Some quality-diving, just like in Barcelona. ;)
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... And congrats to Arsenal winning PL.
Woah! I stopped watching at half-time, it was a good match but United were looking much stronger, surprised it turned around! This keeps things very open in the league, although United still definitely have the edge IMO.
Anyone see the video of the guy hitting himself in the face with another guy's. Funniest shit ever. Can't link to it from here, but it's on Youtube. Don't know how old it is either, so forgive me if you all have seen it.
Yeah I saw that, it was brilliant. :lol
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I saw it on the TV at the local pub on ESPN's failures of the year, and literally spit beer.
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Woah! I stopped watching at half-time, it was a good match but United were looking much stronger, surprised it turned around! This keeps things very open in the league, although United still definitely have the edge IMO.
The next game(s) with Brown in our defense? ;)
Yeah right.
I'm counting the next game ('Pool away) as a loss/draw at best, which means that when Arsenal beats Sunderland the difference will be 2 points.
Even if United draws against Arsenal on Emirates, United still has another game against Chelsea, and an overall tougher schedule. :P
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Woah! I stopped watching at half-time, it was a good match but United were looking much stronger, surprised it turned around! This keeps things very open in the league, although United still definitely have the edge IMO.
The next game(s) with Brown in our defense? ;)
Yeah right.
I'm counting the next game ('Pool away) as a loss/draw at best, which means that when Arsenal beats Sunderland the difference will be 2 points.
Even if United draws against Arsenal on Emirates, United still has another game against Chelsea, and an overall tougher schedule. :P
Yeah, but Aresnal are bound to lose to someone terrible at some point, like we always do. :P
Good point about Brown though. How long is Vidic's suspension? I'm assuming not that long as it was a double yellow rather than a straight red.
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Think it's just against Pool, but that was a game we could have won, but instead might loose.
I kinda suffer with Arsenal though, always unlucky with injuries. :/
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Arsenal destroying Barcelona tonight, please.
I can't stand those dwarf-women with their "300 passes in sideways", so please Arsenal... send them out of CL. :hefdaddy
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Arsenal destroying Barcelona tonight, please.
I can't stand those dwarf-women with their "300 passes in sideways", so please Arsenal... send them out of CL. :hefdaddy
THIS PLEASE.
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I wouldn't hold your breath, we haven't been on a great run since we beat them in the first leg. :lol
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I really hope UEFA will do something about shitty referees.
Wouldn't surprise me if Barca use all their Unicef-shit to get the referees on their side, the red card and the penalty was a disgrace, the only one who saw them was the referee. :facepalm:
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Today Barcelona defeated Arsenal 3-1 (the one being an own goal) in the UEFA Champions League and they classified to the next round.
:victorydance:
:wave: :wave: :wave: :wave: :wave: :wave: :wave:
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John Cleese's incredible rant about the difference between American football and real football:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sD_8prYOxo
Not really on-topic but just saw it and wanted to post it somewhere :p.
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I really hope UEFA will do something about shitty referees.
Wouldn't surprise me if Barca use all their Unicef-shit to get the referees on their side, the red card and the penalty was a disgrace, the only one who saw them was the referee. :facepalm:
:(
Also, threads merged.
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I really hope UEFA will do something about shitty referees.
It's not just UEFA, it's a world-wide epidemic.
Wouldn't surprise me if Barca use all their Unicef-shit to get the referees on their side
Now that's just being butt-sore (even so, Barca's new sponsor is Qatar Foundation).
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It's just kinda sad to see a game going down that way.
Do I imply that Barcelona didn't deserve to advance? Certainly not, they were better yesterday.
However, the way that they advanced... they had like 19 goal-chances or something? But still they needed the referee to throw them a very very easy penalty, and a red card that was probably the lamest I have ever seen.
I really feel for RVP, how the hell is he supposed to hear the whistle when there's 90 000 pigs screaming "Messi, our messiah" (in spanish probs), and it made it even more funny when the shot came about 1 second after the whistle, not like it was intentional.
Just look at his face afterwards, his reaction was pretty much: "awh, bad shot" not "awh f*cking offside". :P
I really hope Barcelona gets out in the next round, their whole mentality was summed up when they got the penalty, and Xavi ran up to Pedro with a look on his face saying: "Nice diving bro, we got this". :facepalm:
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Funny thing is even with the bazillion referees they have on the field everyone missed Abidal's grab which should have obviously resulted in a card. Which then resulted on RVP boiling over and Alves managing to fish him the first yellow by blatantly running in front of him.
Granted with the shot total being 17-0 and Barca creating two really sweet goals the right team won no matter how many Barca-haters shout the opposite. Yeah the penalty was lightly given but with 45mins left on the clock and playing 10-9 (they were dominating 10-10 in a pretty similar fashion) they would've eventually scored the winning goal anyway.
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Grats Spurs and Schalke for going to the quarter-finals, especially fun for Spurs. :)
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I've been dreading the game tonight since the 0-0 result 3 weeks ago.
It really feels like Man U didn't get a good result at all, and I've had nightmares about Marseille taking the lead on Old Trafford (with a bit of luck), then we'll see a 10 defenders-strategy, where Man U only manages to get 1 goal in, resulting in Marseille = winners.
As a Man U-fan I should be positive, but yeah, let's see how the game plays out. :P
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Well Manchester qualified very easily (Chicharito - yeah!).
Bayern - Inter was epic, but I give a major :facepalm: to Bayern for missing so many chances and falling apart and when they were practically qualified. Incredible.
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Awesome matches today
Fuck Yeah Man U
And the Inter-Bayer game was EPIC.
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Well done to United! Although LOL at Wes Brown getting an own goal. :lol
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Bayern sucks so much it's not funny. Laughable defense. WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU ARE TYING IN YOUR OWN PLACE AND THAT RESULT BENEFITS YOU? Oh, nothing. Allow Inter to keep playing the way it has in the second-half and expect nothing to go wrong.
:therearenowords:
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Great to see Man United go through, but if they have to continue playing with Brown in the defense, they might as well give away the titles.
The only thing he did 'good' last night was scoring a goal, but obviously in the wrong one. :biggrin:
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So Real Mad vs Farca two of the teams I hate the most, but I'd love if RM wins.
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Barcelona are disgusting as always. :tup
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And Goal...
Fucking damn I wanted to see the delicious Farca fan tears.
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In b4 Zantera rages about how evil Barca are.
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I think I already have in this thread tbh. :P
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VISCA BARCAAAAAAAAA!!!!
I've had some people insulting me on Facebook because I've provoked them thanks to this victory. :rollin
:wave: :wave: :wave: :wave: :wave: :wave: :wave:
cue my previous avatar
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Been reading a lot today about stuff being said after the game, from both Barcelona-fans and the rest, which combined with how the game looked last night makes me kinda frustrated.
It's really no news that Barcelona is the holy team from heaven, sent down to show the rest of the football clubs how to play the game.
The media manages to praise Barcelona to a whole new level, the players are godlike, especially Messi, don't even get me started on Messi.
Sure, he's a great football player, but I feel like it's ridiculous how it's IMPOSSIBLE for him to get a yellow card, no matter what shit he pulls on the field. (like kicking the ball towards the Real-fans, or doing a clumsy tackle)
Last night there was a situation where he should have gotten a yellow card, but he just blinked with his eye and gave the referee a thumbs up, and that was the end of that.
You could literally SEE Messi's lips forming the words: "They'll never know".
Another player that annoys the hell out of me is Xavi, probably the most arrogant and biggest jerk of a football player that you can find.
EVERY time there has been a game, Xavi always HAS to make some idiotic comment, yesterday's game was "A victory for football", when they defeated Arsenal he said "the red card didn't change the outlook of the game".
Mario Balotelli comes off as being intelligent in comparison.
I know there are a few people here who loves Barcelona, my biggest question.. aren't you guys ashamed of your players?
I'm not talking about the 'offensive a-la-barca'-playingstyle, I'm talking about how all the players take a dive as soon as they feel wind in their neck, in many cases it's a player getting a touch on the foot, then 30 seconds later rolling around holding their hands before their faces.
I'm not going to defend Real, because obviously they have a few players like this as well, so does most teams, but with Barcelona it's really all of the team.
The whole 'diving in every situation' is stupid, and the players are pretty much crying like they got their legs broken, to follow that up 20 seconds later with running at max pace.
Let's not forget the other Barcelona-strategy, that every time a player goes down, all of the team has to run up to the judge, and beg for cards.
It's funny because Valdes is always the first player to come up to the judge, even if the incident occurred all over the field at the opponent's penalty-box.
SERIOUSLY.. Get the fuck back to your own goal and mind your own business.
And in the next sentence I'm not talking about how these players are as football players (quality-wise) but instead sportsmanship and such, players like: Valdes, Dani Alves, Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta, Villa, Pedro and Messi stands for everything that's wrong with this world.
Seriously.
There, finally let some steam off. :biggrin:
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I hate Real Mad almost as much as i hate Farca and all their bandwaggoners(Both teams)
But holy fuck I have NEVER EVER SEE so much praise for a dirty cheating team(Fucking Pedro and Alvez I'm looking at you 2)
I agre with you Zantera, the whole Messi thing is getting on my nerves, I hate diving and looks like thats the only good thing Farca does, let's review Farca "Real Beautiful Football" playing:
Playing against a strong team(CL)
PASS, PASS, PASS (During 60m minutes)
DIVES DIVES.
PULL A DIVE, GET SOMEONE FROM THE OTHER TEAM A RED CARD.
PASS THE BALL TO MESSI
GOAL.
Against THE SHIT TIER LA LIGA TEAMS.
Just pass the ball to Messi.
...
I MAD.
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I'm cheering for Man U, so it looks like they'll meet Barca in the final.
I know, and many others know that Man U has a very high chance of beating Barcelona, probably even higher then the game ending the other way around, but looking at Barca's history with referee's giving them weird advantages, I'm counting the final a loss beforehand.
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I hate diving, and I hate Alves right now for faking that injury. Bah.
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Just got back home from London, been a pretty fantastic football-weekend. :)
About 6 months ago my dad told me that he and his working buddies would do a football-trip sometime during the season, they've been pals for around 25 years, football is a huge passion amongst all of them, and they together bet money on results and such, and if anyone wins then they go see games for the win money.
Anyhow, one of my dad's friends is a huge Queens Park Rangers-fan, and a few others cheer for Leeds, so very early on (like last October) they decided that the game of choice would be Queens Park Rangers - Leeds United, in the very last round of Championship. (aka this weekend)
The outcome couldn't have been better; QPR were already champions and didn't get a penalty for the transfer of Alejandro Faurlin (which was debated a lot), and Leeds had the chance to steal the last qualifying-spot from Nottingham.
The game itself and everything around it was pretty amazing, the shop was crowded to the point where it was impossible to browse through the items, a lot of screaming and happy faces on the streets.
The audience was amazing, and after just ~30 seconds, Helguson had already given QPR the lead with 1-0.
Leeds ended up winning with 2-1 after two very 'lucky' goals, but the result of the game didn't matter since Nottingham won their game against Palace, which meant that Leeds still plays in the Championship next year.
QPR were already champions, and I think that was the fact that didn't force them to perform 100% on the field, they had their minds set on the scenes afterwards already.
QPR got the trophy and there was a lot of celebrations that they got to PL for the first time in 15 years, pretty amazing that I got to see this on place.
Sunday was obviously revolving around Man U - Chelsea, we went to a sports bar hided very neatly behind Piccadilly Circus.
We got to see Stoke beat the hell out of Arsenal, which wasn't really all that surprising, after all Stoke has had a very strong season, meanwhile Arsenal don't really have anything to play for.
First ~40 seconds of the big game was fantastic, Chicharito was fantastic, and the goal itself really displays why I love him, he has quickly become one of my favorite players.
The first half was brilliant, the second wasn't AS good (from Man U's pov), but they still created enough chances to get both 3-1 and 4-1, they were robbed of a penalty when there was a hand-ball in the penalty box, but otherwise I'm just happy that they won.
Park was probably the player of the match for me, he's just amazing.
So yeah, that pretty much sums up my weekend. :)
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YOU CAME TO LONDON AND DIDN'T SAY HI?
WE ARE NO LONGER FRIENDS
:sadpanda:
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For those Mexican League fans, everyone who is happy to see America eliminated, raise their hands.
And toro, nice job by Pumas beating Monterey, their a tough team. :tup
If what my coworker told me is true, your team and my Chivas go head to head next week. :metal
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YOU CAME TO LONDON AND DIDN'T SAY HI?
WE ARE NO LONGER FRIENDS
:sadpanda:
It was only for like 2 days.
Was crazy busy, but hopefully the next time I'll have more spare time for other things then football. :hat
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For those Mexican League fans, everyone who is happy to see America eliminated, raise their hands.
And toro, nice job by Pumas beating Monterey, their a tough team. :tup
If what my coworker told me is true, your team and my Chivas go head to head next week. :metal
it's this week tuesday I believe.
and we are gonna win :metal :metal
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It's on, compa.
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But seriously mang, I'm worried I have a bad feeling about the match if we lose in Chivas home(By a big difference) I'm sure we are not gonna do anything In Ciudad Universitaria...
But if we pass this round theres a 50/50 chance that I'm going to Mexico City to watch the game.
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That would be cool.
BTW toro, I've asked the guys at work, but they don't speak a sufficient amount of english to get it across to me. How do the coming final weeks of the league play out?
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What do you mean? Like the format of the league?
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What do you mean? Like the format of the league?
A general, brief explanation of the playoffs, I understand the regular league, and if I am right, record and points determine seeding.
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Oh Thank god you know about the regular Phase :rollin fucking clusterfuck of a league, anyways the play-offs are as follows:
2 matches by leg(home and away games) and thats pretty much it, the final game goes The same way... But the team with the most points gets the last game of the final at home.
Edit: Fucking Iphone
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Thanks dude. :tup
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Congtrats Toro, Pumas in the finals, and it looks likely you'lle be facing Morelia, just saw they are all ready up on Cruz Azul 2-0.
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Thanks :tup It was an awesome game to be honest I was shitting myself during the first 20 minutes :lol :lol
Oh yes, and I think I'm going to Mexico City to see the game. :metal :metal
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Thanks :tup It was an awesome game to be honest I was shitting myself during the first 20 minutes :lol :lol
Oh yes, and I think I'm going to Mexico City to see the game. :metal :metal
One of our cooks is going to try and head down for it too. Good luck, I'll be cheering for them. :tup
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So, Man U won PL, and it's pretty great.
Not really sure if I'm excited or not about the CL-final against Barcelona, normally I know that Man U will beat them, but looking at Barcelona's past with having referee's on their side, it's going to be a nightmare.
I just hope that the final will have a neutral referee that doesn't buy into the whole diving-crap, to me it feels like Barcelona are getting much more freekicks and such then they deserve.
I also really want to end the "Barcelona are the best team in the world"-bs, so if Man U wins the final, then Barcelona certainly can't be the best.
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Thanks :tup It was an awesome game to be honest I was shitting myself during the first 20 minutes :lol :lol
Oh yes, and I think I'm going to Mexico City to see the game. :metal :metal
One of our cooks is going to try and head down for it too. Good luck, I'll be cheering for them. :tup
WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS :metal
(https://i.imgur.com/nDZWe.jpg)
I love my team's jersey.
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So, Man U won PL, and it's pretty great.
Not really sure if I'm excited or not about the CL-final against Barcelona, normally I know that Man U will beat them, but looking at Barcelona's past with having referee's on their side, it's going to be a nightmare.
I just hope that the final will have a neutral referee that doesn't buy into the whole diving-crap, to me it feels like Barcelona are getting much more freekicks and such then they deserve.
I also really want to end the "Barcelona are the best team in the world"-bs, so if Man U wins the final, then Barcelona certainly can't be the best.
I love how much you hate Barca for "always having referees on their side", when Man U have been the same for years. :P
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Thanks :tup It was an awesome game to be honest I was shitting myself during the first 20 minutes :lol :lol
Oh yes, and I think I'm going to Mexico City to see the game. :metal :metal
One of our cooks is going to try and head down for it too. Good luck, I'll be cheering for them. :tup
WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS :metal
(https://i.imgur.com/nDZWe.jpg)
I love my team's jersey.
Congrats man. I had one happy Mexican in my kitchen yesterday. He kept flexing his biceps and kissing them. :lol
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So... The Champions League final is on tonight. Personally, I don't have any preference on who should win it; I'll just hope for a good game (if I actually watch it).
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I've been waiting for this game for weeks now, I'm so pumped for it!
Come on United! :metal
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Barca are toying with Utd atm and my bro is cringing at Utd's uselessness.
And there was a handball in Barca's box, unnoticed.
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I'm so disappointed right now, that I don't even have anything to say.
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Barcelona was the better team, they are really in a league of their own. Man United put up a fight in the first 45 minutes, but then Barcelona took over and showed us that they are one of the best club teams ever.
My hat goes off to them. But next year we'll beat them ;)
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It was an amazing match, definitely the kind of thing I would want from a champions league final! Both teams played great in the first half, it was really exhilarating to watch. Second half United still played well, but when Barca are on form they are unstoppable. Great game!
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Mourinho is probably the only coach that can stop Barcelona.
I'm ok with loosing, my only big disappointment is that Ferguson learned nothing from the previous final, and I didn't feel like he did everything possible to change the outlook of the game.
He changed places with Giggs and Park, something that was a huge mistake, he should've changed back or IMO changed Giggs for Anderson or Fletcher at halftime.
I also don't get the substitute of Scholes, maybe it was a sort of "tribute to this great player who has been with us for a long time", but United were loosing and it wasn't really a substitute to change the outcome.
He should've at least given Owen some playtime, I'm not saying that it would've been a success, but then at least he would've done everything he could as a coach.
Oh well, can't wait for next season!
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Owen? He should have played Berbatov for sure, the guy's the joint leading PL goalscorer and he's only played in about half the games. But looks like Dimi's on the way out anyway, so maybe they had a falling out before the match. Was a great game, made even better by the fact that I put £10 on Barca to win 3-1 and got a return of £160 :tup :tup
Spurs fan here, shame we didn't make the Champs league again this year but we just don't have the strikers. Word is Defoe and Pav are on the way out, but they've been far better than Crouch this season. Levy is a great chairman though so no doubt 'arry will have some money to spend during the summer. Couple of tasty rumours going around about who might come in, Drogba being one of them. Abramovich will want Torres to be the focal point of Chelsea's attack now that he's spent 50 mil on him, and Didier won't want to play second fiddle, so reckon he'll be on his way. When he first arrived in the Prem I hated Drogba, diving around and play-acting worse than Nani does now, but he's cut that out of his game and is much better for it. The guy's as strong as an ox, would love him at Spurs. Berbatov has been linked with a return to the Lane too, but that's a little less likely in my opinion. We could do with a centre back that actually has knees too. And a keeper with hands.
Man City are going to get stronger and stronger, and Man U are never going to drop out of the top 4 either. Liverpool are like a new team now that King Kenny's taken over, plus with Arsenal and Chelsea always doing well it's going to be a real tough ask for Spurs to get 4th again. The only teams I can see making room for them are Liverpool, Chelsea (after their mid-season wobble) or Arsenal, because Fabregas will surely be on his way along with Denilson and Nasri, who apparantly hasn't signed a new contract, and Wenger is so opposed to spending any money.
So who's going to win the play-off tomorrow? I'm hoping Reading for two reasons:
1) I have a soft spot for the town of Reading purely because every time i've been there for the festival I've had an absolute blast, and
2) They're sponsered by Waitrose, who I work for, and I can get free tickets to see them play :)
Glad to find this thread, I was actually thinking of starting one for the 11/12 Prem season, but now I don't have to. One thing's for sure, it's going to be the most competitive season yet. Every team is going to get stronger, plus the teams coming up seem to be of a particularly high quality (why oh why did Spurs sell Taarbt to QPR :() Can't wait for August, what am I going to do for 3 months!?!
Also, if there is enough interest we could potentially get a DTF dream team league going.
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Well, Berbatov wasn't on the bench, so that's why I mentioned Owen. ;)
As for the qualifying-game, I don't have any particular feelings for any of the teams, but if I had to pick, I'd probably pick Swansea for these reasons:
First off, a team from Wales in PL? That would be pretty interesting. Reading has been in the PL not too long ago, and seeing as QPR and Norwich are already up, even though Norwich has been up in the last 10 years or so, I still feel like both these teams are like a breeze of fresh air in the PL, and if Swansea became the third team, I would love it, because that would mean some new teams.
Normally there are a few teams that goes down and then comes up the year after, luckily we got some new teams this year instead. :)
As for Silly Season, it's one of my favorite periods during the year.
Being a huge Man U-fan, I know they probably won't buy/sell much on their own, but just following this season in general, seeing what new players arrives in other PL-clubs and such, it's really interesting. I don't only watch Man U-games, I also watch a lot of the other teams, so seeing new faces is great.
Rumors this far includes De Gea from Athletico Madrid as the new first keeper, a choice I would be very happy about, seeing as he's both young but also a fantastic goalie.
Ashley Young from Villa is another name that keeps popping up, and I'm guessing that Ferguson wants to get a new winger in, seeing as Giggs will most likely do his last season, and this way Fergie gets some time to adjust the new player to the club, before playing him more frequently.
I'm not sure what I think about Young, he's great, but not better then any of Man U's current wingers, however he also has the potential to play in a "nr.10"-role behind a forward, which gives good options if they need to play a 4-5-1 system.
That's it for now I guess. :)
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I'll bet Modric is top of Ferguson's target list (behind a new goalie of course) and I'm worried he might get his man. I know Fergie was also interested in Bale, but he's already said he won't be going anywhere this year, which is great news. If we lose Modric then Spurs will need another midfielder, otherwise we need nobody for that position. I'd say Spurs' midfield of Bale, Modric, Sandro, Lennon and van der Vaart is the strongest in the league, but at least if Modric does go for around £30m Man U will also have to buy out the remaining 5 years of his contract, so Spurs would have a massive income to play around with. That said, I'd rather he stayed. He's so important to us, and we need all our best players to push for the top 4.
Charlie Adam would be a nice addition though, maybe in place of Sandro. With Blackpool being relegated and Adam only having 12 months on his contract I reckon he could be bought for less than £10m, and with the likes of Kranjcar, Pavlyucheko, O'Hara, Gomes, Keane and Bentley most likely going to be sold, there should be plenty of money for a move of that sort. You can always trust Redknapp to never disappoint during transfer windows. Hopefully he doesn't go to Chelsea!
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Been reading a lot today about stuff being said after the game, from both Barcelona-fans and the rest, which combined with how the game looked last night makes me kinda frustrated.
It's really no news that Barcelona is the holy team from heaven, sent down to show the rest of the football clubs how to play the game.
The media manages to praise Barcelona to a whole new level, the players are godlike, especially Messi, don't even get me started on Messi.
Sure, he's a great football player, but I feel like it's ridiculous how it's IMPOSSIBLE for him to get a yellow card, no matter what shit he pulls on the field. (like kicking the ball towards the Real-fans, or doing a clumsy tackle)
Last night there was a situation where he should have gotten a yellow card, but he just blinked with his eye and gave the referee a thumbs up, and that was the end of that.
You could literally SEE Messi's lips forming the words: "They'll never know".
Another player that annoys the hell out of me is Xavi, probably the most arrogant and biggest jerk of a football player that you can find.
EVERY time there has been a game, Xavi always HAS to make some idiotic comment, yesterday's game was "A victory for football", when they defeated Arsenal he said "the red card didn't change the outlook of the game".
Mario Balotelli comes off as being intelligent in comparison.
I know there are a few people here who loves Barcelona, my biggest question.. aren't you guys ashamed of your players?
I'm not talking about the 'offensive a-la-barca'-playingstyle, I'm talking about how all the players take a dive as soon as they feel wind in their neck, in many cases it's a player getting a touch on the foot, then 30 seconds later rolling around holding their hands before their faces.
I'm not going to defend Real, because obviously they have a few players like this as well, so does most teams, but with Barcelona it's really all of the team.
The whole 'diving in every situation' is stupid, and the players are pretty much crying like they got their legs broken, to follow that up 20 seconds later with running at max pace.
Let's not forget the other Barcelona-strategy, that every time a player goes down, all of the team has to run up to the judge, and beg for cards.
It's funny because Valdes is always the first player to come up to the judge, even if the incident occurred all over the field at the opponent's penalty-box.
SERIOUSLY.. Get the fuck back to your own goal and mind your own business.
And in the next sentence I'm not talking about how these players are as football players (quality-wise) but instead sportsmanship and such, players like: Valdes, Dani Alves, Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta, Villa, Pedro and Messi stands for everything that's wrong with this world.
Seriously.
There, finally let some steam off. :biggrin:
(https://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l9dkmyZMvQ1qzvxm5.gif)
(https://imgur.com/VMAzs.jpg)
(https://imgur.com/UjrH3.png)
(https://imgur.com/Pw03K.jpg)
(https://imgur.com/oAKiJ.jpg)
(https://imgur.com/qlCCF.jpg)
AND THIS IS WHAT'S SO GREAT ABOUT BARCELONA. LOOK AT THE FIRST GUY TO HOLD THE CUP.
(https://imgur.com/n5oqv.jpg)
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Congrats Emindead, turns out that diving and cheating does make the difference. :)
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(https://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l9dkmyZMvQ1qzvxm5.gif)
:lol Brilliant.
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I was nice and went ahead and fixed this thread for you guys. :D
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DAMMIT NICK STOP FAILING SO MUCH
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As long as Nani is in the team, no Man U fan can complain about diving or play acting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4by_jfIU3iY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XpEoCvW2Wo
Admittedly the Carragher tackle was really bad, but the way Nani gets up, runs over to the ref to complain, then collapses in 'agony' is ridiculous, he's a disgrace to the game as much as anyone else. And then hitting out at one of the medical staff, what a prick.
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Congrats Emindead, turns out that diving and cheating does make the difference. :)
That's not really news, by the way. :P
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And that's completely unfair and simply not true. The only guy who dives in the team and I hate it as much as the next guy is Sergio Busquets. I hate when he dives.
The truth is that you haven't seen a better team playing football in your life. :p This is a great opportunity for every single living person who enjoys football.
Look at the way Barcelona dominated yesterday's game, that's the sum of how they played this season. They are the better team right now. There's nothing left to say. Messi is the best player in the word. Deal with it. He never has a yellow card because he doesn't play rough, he plays football and you can see it in every match. He takes a lot of shit and you say nothing about it. Most of the time he's in the ground because he receives too many tackles. Apparently there's no other way to stop him. That's why he occasionally gets mad and throws the ball away. And you simply know it. So, please, don't dismiss Barcelona in that way.
And trying to praise Mourinho when he has no class, no class whatsoever when it comes to play the game. He has no class inside and outside the court. Just listen to his declarations. Josep Guardiola handled it great and had his payback (after losing against Inter last year).
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LOLNO they fucking put the water sprayers for the field right after they lost, and thats not really classy.
But god, this game was a total rape. but I still find the Barcelona playing style really boring.
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And that's completely unfair and simply not true. The only guy who dives in the team and I hate it as much as the next guy is Sergio Busquets. I hate when he dives.
Aren't you forgetting Dani Alves, Mascherano, Iniesta, Xavi, Villa, Pedro and Messi? ;)
I do think that Barcelona deserved to win against Man United, they were the better team in that game and they didn't get much help from the referee, AND they didn't actually dive much during the final.
However, fact remains that they should've gone out against Arsenal already, if not for the referee who decided to rape Arsenal with a few advantages for Barcelona.
And if not there, then probably against Real, a team that also got raped by a few advantages. ;)
Also, I don't think that Barcelona plays shit-football, I just don't like the way they play it.
I mean, as I see it, it's passing the ball in sideways for about 5 minutes, then a pass forward to Messi, Villa or Pedro, and maybe a goal-chance.
I just don't care for their playing-style at all, personally I love teams who can attack from their own penalty-box and score in maybe 3-4 passes and in 30 seconds, something I've never seen Barcelona do, because they always have to pass in sideways before going forward.
It's also very hard for me to sympathize with Barcelona because of how they act on the pitch, I really dislike diving, trying to affect the referee's opinions and whining.
It's for the same reason I dislike some of Man United's players, like Nani, who is great, but seriously should stop diving and such. :P
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However, fact remains that they should've gone out against Arsenal already, if not for the referee who decided to rape Arsenal with a few advantages for Barcelona.
And if not there, then probably against Real, a team that also got raped by a few advantages. ;)
It's funny ow everyone mentions this but noone says anything about last year when Barcelona got ripped off agains Inter on both games. Why are people trying to diminish Barcelona's acomplishments? The referi made some mistakes against Real Mardid for sure, but he did for both sides because on both games there were a couple of players that should have been ejected of the game after commiting several fouls.
Anyway, Barcelona did a great match against MU and deserved the win. All 4 goals where really good. I'm sad because Van der Sar had to retire losing the final.
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I actually watched Barcelona-Inter last year, and I can't remember Barcelona getting any particular things against them.
If anything, Inter got a very cheap red-card very early on in the first half, which obviously gave Barcelona huge advantages.
Again, I'm not really trying to take away anything from Barcelona, they won fair and square against Man U, my only question is.. if they are 'the best team in the world', how come they need the help from the referees?
I'm not saying that was the case in the final, but against Arsenal and Real for example, without getting a cheap penalty against Arsenal, and without that cheap red card on RVP, Barca would've been out back then already.
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Wow Reading are getting owned in the play-off. 2 nil down and very lucky they're not down to 10 men too
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A colleague of mine is a huge Reading fan.
I will lol if they get battered
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A colleague of mine is a huge Reading fan.
I will lol if they get battered
Looks like that's going to be the case, 3-0 now!
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I actually watched Barcelona-Inter last year, and I can't remember Barcelona getting any particular things against them.
If anything, Inter got a very cheap red-card very early on in the first half, which obviously gave Barcelona huge advantages.
Again, I'm not really trying to take away anything from Barcelona, they won fair and square against Man U, my only question is.. if they are 'the best team in the world', how come they need the help from the referees?
I'm not saying that was the case in the final, but against Arsenal and Real for example, without getting a cheap penalty against Arsenal, and without that cheap red card on RVP, Barca would've been out back then already.
There are two that I remember that changed the global result. First was Milito's goal when he was offside. Second was the goal that Toure scored but was then invalidated because of a handball that was clearly non intentional.
There were lots of other fouls the referee did not whistle in the middle of the field.
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LOLNO they fucking put the water sprayers for the field right after they lost, and thats not really classy.
But god, this game was a total rape. but I still find the Barcelona playing style really boring.
Um, welcome to real life. There's no team that in their right mind will allow the other team to celebrate in their own stadium. This is common sense. Nothing to do with class. When Porto won the last clásico that gave them mathematically the league, they started to celebrate in the field... and got the lights of the stadium shut down. Of course it was going to happen, nobody made a fuzz about it because no owner will allow that kind of humiliation. (Mourinho bringing Figo to the Camp Nou, a classless act, very much in his style.) I think that everyone knows this.
I actually watched Barcelona-Inter last year, and I can't remember Barcelona getting any particular things against them.
If anything, Inter got a very cheap red-card very early on in the first half, which obviously gave Barcelona huge advantages.
Again, I'm not really trying to take away anything from Barcelona, they won fair and square against Man U, my only question is.. if they are 'the best team in the world', how come they need the help from the referees?
I'm not saying that was the case in the final, but against Arsenal and Real for example, without getting a cheap penalty against Arsenal, and without that cheap red card on RVP, Barca would've been out back then already.
There are two that I remember that changed the global result. First was Milito's goal when he was offside. Second was the goal that Toure scored but was then invalidated because of a handball that was clearly non intentional.
There were lots of other fouls the referee did not whistle in the middle of the field.
This is certainly true. I remember I screamed at the TV when the ref invalidated that legitimate goal... and I let it go instead of being a sore loser. Refs occasionally (although it seems more often than not :p) make mistakes. In that case, Inter didn't deserve the cup, Barcelona did... that's bullshit.
And that's completely unfair and simply not true. The only guy who dives in the team and I hate it as much as the next guy is Sergio Busquets. I hate when he dives.
I just don't care for their playing-style at all, personally I love teams who can attack from their own penalty-box and score in maybe 3-4 passes and in 30 seconds, something I've never seen Barcelona do, because they always have to pass in sideways before going forward.
You mean goals like this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zrao0ROwpAM
Oh, yes. Please, Barcelona. Never, ever score goals like this piece of art. No one likes them. ;)
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That goal is pretty lol, I mean.. I'm so glad the defense of teams in PL aren't that bad.
Also, great to see Swansea in PL. :)
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I guess I'm an Arsenal fan..... seeing they are owned by the same owner as (The REAL football) St. Louis Rams... :lol :corn Go Stan!!!!! :yarr
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Time for a bump in this thread, tomorrow (or well today) Premier League will finally start again.
I don't think I've ever had this big of an urge for some football, even though there were some U21-games during the summer, nothing really comes close to Premier League, and after a turbulent summer with a lot of action on the transfer-market, this season might be closer then ever.
Initially I had plans on making a huge sorta "guide", with what all the teams had bought/sold, and their situations and such, but I haven't had much time in the last few days, and a lot of things are heating up now and will probably not be resolved until after the league-start, so I'll probably just settle with this wall of text.
Some thoughts about transfers and some of the teams:
Manchester United have done interesting purchases in the transfer-market. The loose against Barcelona was tough, but I think we've gotten some really good players, which will improve the squad further.
De Gea and Jones are two brilliant young players, and speaking of young, Ashley Young is a great addition to our midfield.
Chelsea on the other hand haven't done much, though the small things they have done might have a huge impact on how they will perform as a club. André Villas-Boas is a really interesting coach, and Lukaku is a really interesting player, considered by many to be the "new" Drogba, only time will tell.
Arsenal have had a pretty slow summer, with the additions of Gervinho from Lille, and Jenkinson from Charlton, their transfer-season is almost coming too late. Fabregas leaving for Barcelona and Nasri for Manchester City, the additions of Campbell and Oxlade-Chamberlain won't fill those spots right away.
A lot of talks about possible replacements like Mata and Hazard, but I think Wenger should focus on a really good defender for starters, Cahill would be a good addition.
I think Ramsey will do a Wilshere this season, and fill the shoes of Fabregas perfectly.
Liverpool have done some interesting transfers, players like Downing, Adam and Jose Enrique are by no means world class players, but they have performed well in Premier League, and the two former will most likely assist Carroll with many goals.
City are still City, one of the best teams on paper, but when it comes to actually performing... not as strong. They have quality, but their style of football is just as attractive as watching Blackburn Rovers versus Wolves.
Tottenham are still in desperate need of a GOOD striker, the 4 they have are not even good if you would combine them, and Spurs can kiss the CL-spots bye bye unless they bring on a really good striker, I would say that they should go for Llorente, Adebayor or Falcao.
Sunderland however, is the team I'm almost the most eager to follow this season. Being a middle-team, they have done some really good additions to their squad, players like Brown and O'Shea from Man U, then other good players like Larsson from Birmingham and Wickham from Ipswich.
The first fixtures in Premier League: (games in bold are the ones I'm going to follow on TV, I also added how I think the games will end)
Saturday 13th August 2011:
Blackburn Rovers vs Wolverhampton Wanderers [X]
Fulham vs Aston Villa [X]
Liverpool vs Sunderland [1]
QPR vs Bolton Wanderers [1]
Wigan Athletic vs Norwich City [X]
Newcastle United vs Arsenal [2]
Sunday 14th August 2011:
Stoke vs Chelsea [2]
West Bromwich vs Man United [2]
Monday 15th August 2011:
Man City vs Swansea [1]
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For those who haven't heard, Tottenham - Everton was post-poned due to the riots in London.
I hope you'll all follow PL now. ;)
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Oh yeah, finally PL is starting again! I'm hoping and thinking that Man United will win the league again, with Chelsea as the only real other contender for the title. It will be interesting to see Man City this year, they have a lot of world class players, but I don't think it's their year this season. Liverpool will be a little better than last year, but I think (and hope) that Arsenal will flop this year. It seems as they are losing Fabregas to Barcelona, and probably Nasri too soon. They are really hard to replace, and the transfer window is closing soon.
I've been longing for the Premier League to finally start, our own Swedish league (Allsvenskan) isn't really that interesting :P
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I wish US soccer wasn't such a joke. Then maybe I could be a fan, but right now there's not enough going on for me to watch.
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Looking forward to the start of the season, even though Arsenal have been selling all our good players. :sadpanda:
If we can get Van Persie to just NOT GET INJURED AGAIN we might stand a chance.
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I wish US soccer wasn't such a joke. Then maybe I could be a fan, but right now there's not enough going on for me to watch.
You can always follow the other leagues.
I agree with what Zydar said, our league here in Sweden (Allsvenskan), the highest football league is about equal (quality-wise) to Championship in England, which is their second league.
Also, I'm gonna go ahead and guess the end-table, now I'm going 100% on gut-feel and not what I hope. :P
I think PL might end something like this:
1. Arsenal (I think they might surprise everyone)
2. Man United (I think they will win Champions League though)
3. Liverpool
4. Chelsea
5. Man City
6. Sunderland
7. Tottenham
8. Everton
9. Stoke
10. Aston Villa
11. Fulham
12. Bolton
13. West Bromwich
14. Queens Park Rangers
15. Swansea
16. Newcastle
17. Wigan
18. Wolverhampton
19. Blackburn
20. Norwich
Just a guess, obviously I hope that Man United will win, but after the last years, I wouldn't mind much if Arsenal got to win something.
I kinda like Wenger, and I think Arsenal might surprise people.
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Looking forward to the start of the season, even though Arsenal have been selling all our good players. :sadpanda:
If we can get Van Persie to just NOT GET INJURED AGAIN we might stand a chance.
Did you see the video I sent you on Facebook? That one is hilarious. :lol
As for Nasri and Fabregas leaving, I think it might be positive for Arsenal.
Both are star-players no doubt, but Nasri is kinda one of those 'seasonal'-players, really good when he's at is best, but completely invisible the rest of the year.
He's also one of those "typical" Arsenal-players that can't shoot when an opportunity comes, but instead passes the ball to someone else.
Fabregas had a fairly poor season last year, he was injured a lot, and when he did play, it looked like he was just running around and didn't really try much.
For the harmony in the team, this is probably the best thing Arsenal could have done.
Finally they end the Fabregas-story for good, Barcelona have been jerks about it in the media, but it's no surprise that it has affected Arsenal and made it harder for them to focus on other stuff.
As for Nasri, he has been whining for quite a while now, and I don't think he had his heart in Arsenal fully.
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1. Arsenal
7. Tottenham
ಠ_ಠ
As a Spurs fan this is not exactly how I envisage the end of the season haha. With the team (finally) coming into form pre-season and Kyle Walker back to give us more strength in defence I'm hoping for another good season for Tottenham, although I think Harry needs to pull his finger out and sign at least one striker before the window closes. Lennon is looking particularly sharp and if he's back on form with Bale fully fit after his injury, along with van der Vaart and a new striker then I think we could have one of the best attacking forces in the league. And here's hoping Brad Friedel gets chosen ahead of Gomes!
I'm not sure how Arsenal are going to perform. Gervinho looks good but van Glassie will inevitably get injured at some point and Fabregas and Nasri will be big losses. I'm also not sure that Wilshere is mature enough to have the midfield built around him, which is what Wenger seems to have planned. The Arsenal game is about to start, so lets see what happens!
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As I said, Spurs biggest problem is probably Redknapp and Levy.
For some reason, they can't seem to sell the shitty players (Pav, Defoe, Crouch), and at least bring on one good striker.
I'd say that Spurs probably has the best midfield in the league (or one of them at least), but their attackers aren't good, and I'm not quite sure who will be their first keeper, Gomes is known as one of the bigger soaps in the league, and Friedel is pushing 41 soon.
As for the results today, I'm a bit surprised that QPR got crushed by Bolton, but all I can say is... welcome to PL.
Liverpool - Sunderland was not a bad game, but it was easy to see that some of the players weren't that match-fit. (Suarez for example)
Watching Arsenal now, and I don't really think people should worry too much over the loss of Nasri and Fabregas.
This Arsenal in the first half is Arsenal as we have seen it the last year(s) with or without Nasri/Cesc, their biggest problem seem to be that RVP is the only player inside the penalty-box.
However, Gervinho looks promising, so Arsenal might just win this tough game.
Might also add that Szczesny looks really impressive, considering his age he has been very calm and controlled the defense fairly good.
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Well all the controversy surrounding Barton as usual. I think he's a fantastic player, shame about all the nonsense. Maybe he should have been sent off along with Gervinho, but then Song should have been sent off earlier for sure, so maybe justice has been done
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Barton is a disgrace for football.
But seriously, I'm really ashamed over the quality of the referee's in PL, which used to be so good, but now I feel like Howard Webb is the only referee who almost always does a good job.
Gervinho fell easily, but he was on his way up without complaining, when Barton started grabbing him, and even gripping his throat for a brief moment, but apparently that is correct behavior on the football-field.
I also noticed that there were loads of yellow cards today, despite neither Pool - Sunderland or Newcastle - Arsenal being 'ugly' games, to me it feels like 90% of the cards were BS.
As for the result, I think a draw was a decent result for Arsenal.
Sure 3 points would have been better, but Newcastle away is a tough game, and I don't think neither Man U, Chelsea or City will just go up there and earn 3 points, the interesting part is how Arsenal will handle Liverpool next weekend, and then Man U away the next weekend after that.
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Those games will be a challenge for Arsenal. I though Gervinho was your best player today, and now he'll be banhammered for three games. No point in him appealing it either, because although there's no doubt he was provoked, he did raise his hand to Barton's head and that's that. Arsenal will need Walcott and Arshavin to get into gear quickly, because they were pretty anonymous today and neither supplied van Persie with decent balls.
All in all, pretty quiet start to the season, but big games coming up tomorrow and monday, plus Spurs have yet to have their first game, which will obviously make the whole league much more exciting :biggrin:
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Well, I'm actually a United-fan. ;)
Just watching Arsenal a lot because they play (IMO) the best football in England, though Man U have started playing much more attractive as well.
Plus, my dad is a huge Gunners-fan, so I get to see them a lot because of that as well. :P
As for what you said, I think Gervinho was good today.
The red-card was foolish, but the ref should have sent off Barton as well.
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Ah whoops, my bad, I assumed you were a gooner because you speak so highly of them. United are by far my favourite of the so called 'big four' and I agree that their football is amongst the most attractive in the world. I disagree with your comments about Barton though. Yes he is a dickhead, but I think someone would only label him 'a disgrace to football' based on his history. Sure he provoked Gervinho, and some would say he grabbed Gervinho by the neck (although the camera angle was inconclusive during the live broadcast) but an occurance of equal or greater magnitude takes place every week, and the instigators of those are not labelled 'disgraces' based on those moments alone.
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One thing I've thought about a lot after the game was this...
Gervinho took a dive, but the referee did not stop the game, the ball was still in play.
When Gervinho was on his way up, out of nowhere... Barton runs up and started manhandling him, why wasn't Arsenal given a penalty then?
It sure was violent conduct, and the ball was still in play. :P
In my book that would have been a penalty, but instead the ref let the whole situation go out of hand, and he wasn't really objective about it when he only showed Gervinho the red.
Anyhow, I really look forward to the games today.
Chelsea will be interesting to see with their new coach, and I can't wait to see Man U go into PL. :)
I really hope De Gea get's a good game today, because some people were very critical about him after Community Shield, and I think people suck, because if a player doesn't impress with his first 2 games or so, then he is forever a bad player in their eyes.
Really hoping for a Man U win. :)
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Well, that was a lol-worthy start to the season for us. :lol
I agree with Jimmy that Arsenal probably play the nicest football, but I think Man U play the best football, which is a little different. I'm sure they'll have no problems today!
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Feels really nice with 3 points today, though not that good that both Rio and Vidic got injuries.
Man U is the only team out of the big ones that have actually won so far, even though City will most likely win tomorrow, still.. great start. :)
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Yep, great start for Man United! Although I could have lived without the injuries.
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Yeah, it is rumored that Vidic will be gone for 2 weeks and Rio for 6 weeks.
Hopefully shorter, but I have faith in Jones, Smalling and Evans.
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Some Champions League-games tonight, Arsenal won over Udinese with 1-0.
The game was pretty fun, Arsenal did a better first half, Udinese a slightly better second half, overall a tough fight.
I do feel like Arsenal should win this overall, I really can't imagine CL without Arsenal being in it, and if Udinese had faced another team, then they would most likely have advanced, but my bet is on Arsenal, even though they have a tough away-game against Udinese.
Tomorrow there will be more CL-games, I wont see any of the games, but I will follow Dinamo Zagreb - Malmö FF, seeing as I'm a Swede myself.
We haven't really had any teams in CL since.. like forever, so even though I don't really cheer for Malmö FF here normally, it would be fun to see a Swedish team to all the way to the group-stage at least, seeing as it would be a huge moneyboost.
I think the football here in Sweden has been fairly low-quality the last years, so it would mean a lot for us here. ;)
Apart from those notes, I am really excited about this weekend.
Saturday will be a huge football-day, starting early with Arsenal-Liverpool, then Everton-Queens Park Rangers, and then finally Chelsea-West Bromwich.
So Saturday will be kinda football-marathon for me, starting at 13.30 and ending at like 20.30, but Premier League... gotta love it!
Sunday looks fairly dull with not so many games, only Bolton-Man City, but I will most likely see it, wanna see how Aguero handles PL, after his debut yesterday.
On Monday I start studying again with a late night-class between 18-20, but I will rush home to see Man United-Spurs, high hopes for that game. :)
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Yes I'll be seeing Malmö FF tonight, I'm not a MFF fan but I really want a Swedish team to go to CL, it's been many years since we had a team in the group stages.
I'm also looking forward to the games this weekend, TV3 will show some games on Saturday (which I'm really glad about since I don't have the other channels). Arsenal-Liverpool will be the main event for sure, with Chelsea-West Bromwich as another interesting game. And what can you say about Man City... Wow, what a debut by Aguero. Sure it was against a real weak team, but nonetheless. It will be interesting to follow them this season, although I'm a devoted Man United fan.
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People, Barcelona won yesterday La Copa del Rey. 3-2 against Real Madrid. WHAT A MATCH!!! Even Fábregas played and did an (pre) assistance in the third goal. Best team in the whole world.
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Yeah I can't believe I forgot to watch that match! I watched the first leg but didn't realise the second was so soon. I don't have any real interest in La Liga but I always watch El Clasico because they're such entertaining games. Is there anybody in the world who wants Real to win except for their fans? They always strike me as trying to play dirty because they can't touch Barca in terms of footballing skills. And Mourinho is a wanker.
Spurs game under-way vs Hearts. Would have rather been playing Champs League football this season obviously, but after the Everton game was suspended i'm just glad to get the season started! And it's already 2-0 after 12 mins!
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I know a few people that like Real Madrid. I never understand why.. I mean, during the time when they had Zidane, Ronaldo, Figo, that was a great team and was very enjoyable. But now with Mou, they play awfully. Go Barcelona!
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Best team in the whole world.
Excuse me? Even FCB fans admit that Real was MUCH better in both of the matches. Barcelona won - but it doesn't mean they are the best, as they were noticeably worse than Real Madrid. The football RM played in those matches was much more offensive and enjoyable than FCB's.
The first match had such an unfair result. The second one - not that much, but RM should have won anyway.
Also, while Real does play dirty from time to time, so does Barcelona. And in addition to that, they dive way too much.
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First game of the season for Spurs, and a 5-0 victory away from home! The whole team played fantastic football, especially some of the younger players who got a chance with so many of the first team squad injured. On this showing, bring on United!
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I know a few people that like Real Madrid. I never understand why.. I mean, during the time when they had Zidane, Ronaldo, Figo, that was a great team and was very enjoyable. But now with Mou, they play awfully. Go Barcelona!
They don't.
I'll agree that they did play "pig"-football last year, but I take it you haven't seen the two games against Barca now, because during big parts of those games, Real outplayed Barca big time.
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This week's games, the ones in bold are the ones I'm watching myself, I'll also post what my thoughts on the end-results:
Saturday:
Sunderland v Newcastle (1)
Arsenal v Liverpool (1)
Aston Villa v Blackburn (1)
Everton v QPR (X)
Swansea City v Wigan Athletic (X)
Chelsea v WBA (1)
Sunday:
Norwich City v Stoke City (X)
Wolves v Fulham (X)
Bolton v Manchester City (2)
Monday:
Man United v Tottenham (1)
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Best team in the whole world.
Excuse me? Even FCB fans admit that Real was MUCH better in both of the matches. Barcelona won - but it doesn't mean they are the best, as they were noticeably worse than Real Madrid. The football RM played in those matches was much more offensive and enjoyable than FCB's.
The first match had such an unfair result. The second one - not that much, but RM should have won anyway.
Also, while Real does play dirty from time to time, so does Barcelona. And in addition to that, they dive way too much.
WTF! :rollin
I'm sorry, but how could you possibly miss the way Messi and Iniesta played the last match? Even Messi was really fat so I guess that would have helped you to catch him on camera. As heavy as he was, he's still the man who can associate himself perfectly with his team. Real Madrid was in their top game, they played the whole pre-season better than Barcelona did, had the whole team in better shape and still couldn't beat the fat, out of shape Culé players. THERE'S NO WAY REAL MADRID IS PLAYING BETTER. I'll give you this: Madrid is doing a better work at pressing and not letting Barcelona get the ball as much, but even with the out of shape Barcelona's left and right wingers (not taking into account that Piqué didn't play much of the first match due to an injury), Barca still outplayed them. Hey, I'm really surprised that Benzema could finally score a goal (what a terrible player!!!).
Let's wait for La Liga and the Champions to (really) start so we can see the players completely fit.
In other Spanish League news, Falcao García was transferred from Porto to the Atlético de Madrid (40 million Euros). Very mixed feelings about this, considering how bad Atlético is and how good is Falcao... only time will tell.
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Liverpool fan here, from their city too. Having watched the game, I must say that we deserved the win. Arsenal had some control but as soon as Frimpong got red-carded and the Liverpool changes were made then the game drastically changed. Excellent play and movement from Suarez and Mereiles. Downing impressed and so did Jose Enrique.
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Best team in the whole world.
Excuse me? Even FCB fans admit that Real was MUCH better in both of the matches. Barcelona won - but it doesn't mean they are the best, as they were noticeably worse than Real Madrid. The football RM played in those matches was much more offensive and enjoyable than FCB's.
The first match had such an unfair result. The second one - not that much, but RM should have won anyway.
Also, while Real does play dirty from time to time, so does Barcelona. And in addition to that, they dive way too much.
WTF! :rollin
I'm sorry, but how could you possibly miss the way Messi and Iniesta played the last match? Even Messi was really fat so I guess that would have helped you to catch him on camera. As heavy as he was, he's still the man who can associate himself perfectly with his team. Real Madrid was in their top game, they played the whole pre-season better than Barcelona did, had the whole team in better shape and still couldn't beat the fat, out of shape Culé players. THERE'S NO WAY REAL MADRID IS PLAYING BETTER. I'll give you this: Madrid is doing a better work at pressing and not letting Barcelona get the ball as much, but even with the out of shape Barcelona's left and right wingers (not taking into account that Piqué didn't play much of the first match due to an injury), Barca still outplayed them. Hey, I'm really surprised that Benzema could finally score a goal (what a terrible player!!!).
Let's wait for La Liga and the Champions to (really) start so we can see the players completely fit.
In other Spanish League news, Falcao García was transferred from Porto to the Atlético de Madrid (40 million Euros). Very mixed feelings about this, considering how bad Atlético is and how good is Falcao... only time will tell.
They were better in both of those matches. Much, MUCH better in the first match, and slightly better in the second. The only thing RM lacks at the moment is someone who's able to execute all the occasions to score a goal. Other than not being able to execute them, they pretty much outplayed Barcelona. They controlled the game for most of the time. They just had lots of bad luck and lacked a good offensive player.
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Some interesting results today in PL that I hadn't expected, right now W.Brom are leading 1-0 away against Chelsea, keep it up! :hat
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Doing a bit of plugging; any other British (citizens) signed the Hillsborough petition? Being a Liverpool fan, it was more or less a certainty to do so, but if you haven't then have a look on the e-petition site and it shouldn't be too hard to find. Spread the word to other football fans too but if the signatures aren't British then they will not count.
I'm sure football fans are aware of the Hillsborough disaster and I hope you see how important it is to get justice.
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Well that game didn't go to plan. Thought Spurs played well in the first half, but United outclassed them in the second. Still, we're only one point behind the gooners eh?
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Yeah, Man United did a great second half.
The second goal especially was amazing, Man United has really improved their play this season, I feel like they've glanced a bit at Barca's way of playing football, lots of position-changes, fast attacks and a lot of va-va-voom football. (or whatever you wanna call it)
On Wednesday I'll be watching Udinese-Arsenal, but can't wait for the next PL-round this weekend. :)
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Another great victory by Man United :tup
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So Arsenal just beat Udinese, no big surprise there.
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After our shaky start to the season, it was good to see that we were a bit more solid! Still going to lose to United at the weekend, but at least we're in the Champions League, so now we just need to sign a couple of good players who can go straight into the team and we're set!
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i say come on the mighty pilgrims (Plymouth Argyle ;D)
but i do also follow Man u
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I'm watching the draw for the Champions League groups now. Let's see which teams Man United will face against.
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Group A:
FC Bayern München
Villarreal CF
Manchester City FC
SSC Napoli
Group B:
FC Internazionale Milano
PFC CSKA Moskva
LOSC Lille Métropole
Trabzonspor AŞ
Group C:
Manchester United FC
SL Benfica
FC Basel 1893
FC Oţelul Galaţi
Group D:
Real Madrid CF
Olympique Lyonnais
AFC Ajax
GNK Dinamo Zagreb
Group E:
Chelsea FC
Villarreal CF
Bayer 04 Leverkusen
KRC Genk
Group F:
Arsenal FC
Olympique de Marseille
Olympiacos FC
Borussia Dortmund
Group G:
FC Porto
FC Shakhtar Donetsk
FC Zenit St Petersburg
APOEL FC
Group H:
Barcelona
AC Milan
FC BATE Borisov
FC Viktoria Plzeň
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United got a pretty boring group. Group H seems to be the highlight with Barca against Milan. It will be interesting to see how Manchester City will be doing in their group, that looks pretty tough too.
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A is the death group.
Messi was voted the best player in Europe 2010-2011.
He's D10S.
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United got a pretty boring group. Group H seems to be the highlight with Barca against Milan. It will be interesting to see how Manchester City will be doing in their group, that looks pretty tough too.
Isn't that a good thing? ;)
Can't say much about the draw, right now I'm more excited about this weekend and the game on Sunday.
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United got a pretty boring group. Group H seems to be the highlight with Barca against Milan. It will be interesting to see how Manchester City will be doing in their group, that looks pretty tough too.
Isn't that a good thing? ;)
Yeah sure, if you want smooth sailing out of the group. I'd want at least one other "big" team in there so there could be some exciting games in that group.
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I swear United always get the easiest groups, except last year (or was it the year before?) when Arsenal had the easiest group and we still nearly managed to screw it up. :lol
The Arsenal draw is decent though, we should be able to progress really.
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How is Arsenal supposed to win any game if they already sold their few good players?
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How is Arsenal supposed to win any game if they already sold their few good players?
I'm pretty sure they have great young players waiting for their chance in the first team. They should try to retain players for longer periods though. I think the only thing Arsenal lacks is experienced players.
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How is Arsenal supposed to win any game if they already sold their few good players?
I'm pretty sure they have great young players waiting for their chance in the first team.
:rollin :rollin :rollin :rollin
Good one. Please, they don't have La Macía.
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How is Arsenal supposed to win any game if they already sold their few good players?
Fabregas - injured 50% of the season, the other half he had about 70% missed passes out of all passes he did, add to that that he was by far the worst captain Arsenal has had in the last 15 years, and the fact that his heart wasn't in the club.
Nasri - one of the most overrated players in later years. Can do a few good games during the fall, but then do 20 shitty games during the spring where he's completely invisible.
Despite the huge praise he got last season, as a playmaker he only managed to get ONE assist, that's right.. ONE lousy assist, Denilson probably even had more then that.
He didn't have his heart in the club as well, money talks as they say.
So yeah, Arsenal got rid of two of their more overrated players, to make room for other players.
The only "weak" link they have left as I see it is Arshavin, who hasn't made that many good games since the 4-4 against Liverpool a few years ago when he scored all, now he mostly misses all of his passes, and don't really do much.
Arsenal with Wilshere and Ramsey as their heart and soul will be much better then Fabregas and Nasri, hands down.
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Plus it'll be kinda nice to have some British people in the middle of the pitch for once!
Yeah Arshavin is a bit of a weak link. He always just runs past everyone and then hits it into the side-netting. :lol
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Yeah that. :)
The thing in this case, is that all the people saying all "this is the end of Arsenal, loosing Nasri and Fabregas is the end" are people with no clue whatsoever.
People that probably play way too much Fifa or Football Manager, I think that most Arsenal-fans that follow them intensely would agree with me on what I said, selling Nasri and Fabregas at this stage was the best thing to do.
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Yeah Fabregas is a shame but he was injured half of last season anyway. Nasri has been looking better and better, but he appears to be greedy and just wants more money, and it's been obvious for weeks that he wants to go, so all my Arsenal-supporting friends have been keen for him to just go so we can get some money in and buy some players that actually want to be here!
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So, Barcelona wins yet another tournament. And responding to Zanteras and Ariichs comments on him, Fabregas scored the second goal ;)
I enjoy watching them play so much, but I think it's becoming a little boring now. They don't seem to be able to lose.
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They met Porto, a team that has lost their best goalscorer and their fantastic coach that took them so far.
Honestly though, Real Madrid has a much better team on paper then Barcelona has, both in terms of quality and a wider squad.
If Barca get's an injury on Messi or Xavi, I think it will be fairly easy to notice in their gameplay, meanwhile Real has much more cover for that.
Anyhow, I think Real will win the Spanish league and might win CL, it all comes down to if Mourinho does his thing again. ;)
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I can't believe no one has changed this back yet. :lol
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This weekend's games in Premier League: (as always, bold ones are the ones I'm seeing myself, I'll add what I think about possible results after each game)
Saturday:
Aston Villa - Wolverhampton (2)
Wigan - Queens Park Rangers (X)
Blackburn - Everton (X)
Chelsea - Norwich City (1)
Swansea - Sunderland (X)
Liverpool - Bolton (1)
Sunday:
Newcastle - Fulham (1)
Tottenham Hotspur - Manchester City (2)
West Bromwich Albion - Stoke City (1)
Manchester United - Arsenal (1)
Comments about this round:
Today I will try to catch Villa - Wolves out of the first games, I am a bit interested in seeing Wolves after their first two victories in two games, which I think is pretty impressive by a team like them, so I am interested in seeing how they play.
Then out of the middle games, Chelsea felt like the obvious choice to see, maybe Mata will be on the bench today, maybe not.
I'll also try to see Liverpool - Bolton afterwards, it has some potential to be a good game.
Tomorrow I'm seeing the two obvious games, Spurs - City has the potential to be something special, but the game I'm really looking forward to is Man U - Gunners.
I have a good feeling that Man U will get a good result, but on the other hand I think people are exaggerating Arsenal's situation, and I would honestly be happy with 1 point, though 3 points would be even better. (obviously) :P
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I'm working all this weekend so I get to watch no football at all :( Hoping for a Spurs win (obviously) but after the Man U game I'm not so confident. This game is at home but City are looking very very strong, plus we can't play Adebayor against them so we need a good game from VDV and Defoe. Hopefully Modric will play too! And I'm sure Man U will get a result against the Goons, hopefully by more than 3-0 to spare Spurs blushes!
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I can't believe no one has changed this back yet. :lol
Dammit Nick.
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So Rich, what happened in Manchester? :lol
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Man United, what can you say... Wow, I'm stunned.
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i think thought that its gotta be said arsenal probably shouldn't have shown up, then united would only have won by default (3-0)
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How is Arsenal supposed to win any game if they already sold their few good players?
Fabregas - injured 50% of the season, the other half he had about 70% missed passes out of all passes he did, add to that that he was by far the worst captain Arsenal has had in the last 15 years, and the fact that his heart wasn't in the club.
Nasri - one of the most overrated players in later years. Can do a few good games during the fall, but then do 20 shitty games during the spring where he's completely invisible.
Despite the huge praise he got last season, as a playmaker he only managed to get ONE assist, that's right.. ONE lousy assist, Denilson probably even had more then that.
He didn't have his heart in the club as well, money talks as they say.
So yeah, Arsenal got rid of two of their more overrated players, to make room for other players.
The only "weak" link they have left as I see it is Arshavin, who hasn't made that many good games since the 4-4 against Liverpool a few years ago when he scored all, now he mostly misses all of his passes, and don't really do much.
Arsenal with Wilshere and Ramsey as their heart and soul will be much better then Fabregas and Nasri, hands down.
8-2!!!!!!!!!!
I'd eight two be an Arsenal fan today.
(https://imgur.com/yVphw.png)
Gooner reaction watching the game:
(https://imgur.com/0cFQo.gif)
(https://www.bytelove.com/images/uploads/Bytelove/Generic/haha%20-%20zoom.jpg)
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It's funny seeing as I'm a Man U-fan, but sucks to be Rich today. :biggrin:
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It's funny that although you tried to defend Arsenal in your post... it just made it worse :lol
Rich... sometimes it's just better to take a stroll in the middle of the streets of NYC while Irene is still there.
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Well holy eight-goaled fuckety fuck, Arsenal. What in the name of Dennis Bergkamp just happened?
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Well, to be honest, I don't think people should take too much from this result.
Man U has started this season in a great form, apart from two injuries in their defense, Man U had pretty much their strongest starting-squad, sure some might argue that player X could be switch with player Y, but compare that to Arsenal that has what, 8 injuries or something?
Add to that about 3 or 4 players who were suspended due to red cards.
I'm obviously happy for the big win against another top team, but the situation was in Man U's favor obviously.
If Man U had to play with 10-11 of the "better" players gone against Arsenal's best team, the situation would have switched completely. :P
So yeah, fantastic win, but in the long run it doesn't really say much about Arsenal and how good they are, and I'm just happy with the 3 points really.
On another note, it fuckin' sucks that next weekend means no PL, seeing as it's small break for loads of National Team-games.
I honestly hate that, I don't really care much for international games between countries at all, I just want my PL. :lol
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On another note, it fuckin' sucks that next weekend means no PL, seeing as it's small break for loads of National Team-games.
I honestly hate that, I don't really care much for international games between countries at all, I just want my PL. :lol
I agree, I need my PL fix.
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Yeah I hate that there's no decent footballthis weekend. I work every other saturday and one sunday a month, and this past weekend I worked through ALL the games, and with no football on my weekend off that means I won't see anything till the Sunday after! I'm already getting withdrawls.
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Finally there is Premier League tomorrow again!
More excited then I have been in a while, really looking forward to seeing some games, and some new players that arrived late during the transfer-window. :)
This weekend's games: (games in bold are the one's I'm seeing, as usual I'll also add my thoughts on a possible result)
Saturday:
Arsenal - Swansea (1)
Everton - Aston Villa (X)
Man City - Wigan (1)
Stoke - Liverpool (2)
Sunderland Chelsea (X)
Wolverhampton - Tottenham (1)
Bolton - Man United (2)
Sunday:
Norwich - West Bromwich (X)
Fulham - Blackburn (1)
Monday:
Queens Park Rangers - Newcastle (1)
Really excited about seeing both Man U and then Arsenal, seeing as they will prolly have some new players (always fun to watch), overall I think that several of the good teams have tough games, Man U, Chelsea and Pool mostly, so I really hope for 3 points away against Bolton, because I'm confident that City will beat Wigan, and it would suck to loose points to City in the title-race. :/
For those who didn't know, Champions League starts on Tuesday/Wednesday as well, I'm really psyched about that as well, gonna try to catch Dortmund - Arsenal on Tuesday, and Benfica - Man United on Wednesday. :)
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Not many surprises this weekend, for those who don't know, Champions League starts on Tuesday. :hat
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Great win by United again. Can't wait for the CL!
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Rooney is just on FIRE. Can't believe how well he's playing right now. The league title is surely going to be between Man Utd and Man City.
Hoping Spurs will start moving up the table now we've gotten our first win. Wolves away was a tricky match with their form right now, and it was a decent performance. Top 4 finish looking pretty unlikely so far though, but at least it's looking equally unlikely for Arsenal :biggrin:
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Okay, time for another fantastic weekend with Premier League football!
This weekend, particularly Sunday has some really promising games, and I can't wait to get this weekend started! :D
Here are the games, as usual the ones in bold are the one's I'm going to see myself, and I'll also add my thoughts on possible end results.
Saturday:
Blackburn - Arsenal (2)
Aston Villa - Newcastle (1)
Bolton - Norwich (1)
Everton - Wigan (1)
Swansea - West Bromwich (2)
Wolverhampton - Queens Park Rangers (X)
Sunday:
Tottenham - Liverpool (X)
Fulham - Manchester City (2)
Sunderland - Stoke (X)
Manchester United - Chelsea (1)
Overall, Man U - Chelsea is obviously the highlight of the weekend for me, and I am really excited about it.
I'm fairly sure both Arsenal and Man City are hoping for draws in both Spurs - Pool and Man U - Chelsea, seeing as it would benefit them, but those two top-games can pretty much end either way, hopefully Man U can get 3 points. :hat
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I'll be watching the game against Chelsea tomorrow with a few friends at a sports bar. Looking forward to it.
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Hey Zantera, what are the numbers and crosses you put after each fixture? Been bugging me for ages :lol
Currently watching the Blackburn Arsenal game, though I really want to watch West Ham Millwall, however nobody IN THE WORLD has bought TV rights for that game, presumably because no channel wants to be showing it if something kicks off. That or police request, to stop fans gathering to watch it in pubs and potentially causing trouble. Would be a huge ratings draw though.
Second half kicking off, come on Blackburn!
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1= win for the home team
X = a draw
2 = win for the away team
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What Zydar said. :)
Also, lolArsenal. :rollin
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Oh wow I enjoyed the Spurs Liverpool game a lot. A great performance, glad to see we're getting started after those first couple of defeats
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So, Man U - Chelsea, 3-0 at half time.
Second half will be interesting!
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What a great day and indeed weekend for football. Thought about feeling sorry for Torres, then I remembered he must be on £150000+ a week and suddenly lost all sympathy
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Another great win for United, and we're at the top of the league table.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZSikdQkugQ
:rollin
Great result for Man United though, I can't complain. :)
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Bump, new weekend and a new round of Premier League!
This is the games this weekend, since Arch Benemy asked last time, I'll clarify it once again, the 1, X and 2's behind the games are my thoughts on the possible result, 1 means the home-team will win, 2 means the away-team will win, and X means it will end a draw.
Obviously all speculations since I can't see into the future, but it's fun speculating. :biggrin:
Also, games in bold are the games I'm going to see on TV myself, so yeah.. fun times.
Saturday:
Manchester City - Everton (1)
Arsenal - Bolton (1)
Chelsea - Swansea (1)
Liverpool - Wolverhampton (1)
Newcastle - Blackburn (1)
West Bromwich - Fulham (X)
Wigan - Tottenham (2)
Stoke - Manchester United (2)
Sunday:
Queens Park Rangers - Aston Villa (X)
Monday:
Norwich - Sunderland (X)
Some interesting games this weekend, for those wondering how I manage to see several games each Saturday, it's simply because there's almost always a game at 12:45, and one at 17.30, apart from the normal ones that starts at 15.00.
Today, Man City starts early and Man United starts late, so I get to see three games, yay!
Mostly excited about Man United tonight ofc, hopefully we can grab another win, and maintain the lead in the top of the table.
Stoke is not an easy team to face away, but I think Man U has good chances!
This week will also have more Champions League football, I know Man United has Basel on Tuesday, great way to spend my birthday! :heart
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We will lose.
Again.
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Just venting:
I'm a Real Madrid fan and I *hate* Mourinho. He never takes responsibility for the losses, it's always the referee's fault or some other crap. He's damaging the club's image in a way that will take decades to recover. We're the most hated club in Spain and probably Europe right now. If it were up to me I'd get rid of our stupid president, Mourinho and the butchers Pepe and Marcelo. Cristiano Ronaldo also needs to learn to play in a team instead of expecting everyone else to work for him.
Man it sucks when your team is in such a bad situation. Worst of all is that I really don't see any sign that it will get any better in the near future.
Venting over.
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Jeez, what´s with all the goalies and players getting hurt by collisions? We´ve had two severe cases over here in the last week and now I see what happend to Drogba?! Doesn´t look good. :omg:
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Just venting:
I'm a Real Madrid fan and I *hate* Mourinho. He never takes responsibility for the losses, it's always the referee's fault or some other crap. He's damaging the club's image in a way that will take decades to recover. We're the most hated club in Spain and probably Europe right now. If it were up to me I'd get rid of our stupid president, Mourinho and the butchers Pepe and Marcelo. Cristiano Ronaldo also needs to learn to play in a team instead of expecting everyone else to work for him.
Man it sucks when your team is in such a bad situation. Worst of all is that I really don't see any sign that it will get any better in the near future.
Venting over.
I can't say that I'm a HUGE Real-supporter, but if I would have to choose between them and FC Uefa, I would choose Real every day.
The only team I hate with a passion is Barcelolna, in comparison, I think teams like Man City and Chelsea who bought their success are much more admirable.
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FINALLY A PROPER WIN.
And finally Song did something good. So far his season has involved an own goal and a sending off, so it's nice he was able to score at the right end today.
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Just venting:
I'm a Real Madrid fan and I *hate* Mourinho. He never takes responsibility for the losses, it's always the referee's fault or some other crap. He's damaging the club's image in a way that will take decades to recover. We're the most hated club in Spain and probably Europe right now. If it were up to me I'd get rid of our stupid president, Mourinho and the butchers Pepe and Marcelo. Cristiano Ronaldo also needs to learn to play in a team instead of expecting everyone else to work for him.
Man it sucks when your team is in such a bad situation. Worst of all is that I really don't see any sign that it will get any better in the near future.
Venting over.
I can't say that I'm a HUGE Real-supporter, but if I would have to choose between them and FC Uefa, I would choose Real every day.
The only team I hate with a passion is Barcelolna, in comparison, I think teams like Man City and Chelsea who bought their success are much more admirable.
What?? It's more admirable to BUY your success than earn it after many years of good work??
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Not at all, but the way Barca get their success is horrible.
Surrounding referees, the whole 'untouchable'-status in the media, all of the players acting like complete pussies on the field, one interesting example is Mascherano, a player that was really tough to meet, a player that could do the worst tackles in Premier League, then he joins Barcelona and immediately starts diving all the time. :lol
I swear, Barca has some form of rule that awards the players that dive, I can only imagine Messi getting a 5000 bonus if he dives and gets a penalty. :)
In other news, Man United got a point from Stoke today, pretty decent.
I'm more concerned over the fact that Roo and Chicha will be out for a while, not much clear about how long yet, but Berbatov and Owen didn't really shine today, and Berba doesn't really fit into the new Man U playstyle that much. :/
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Not at all, but the way Barca get their success is horrible.
Surrounding referees, the whole 'untouchable'-status in the media, all of the players acting like complete pussies on the field, one interesting example is Mascherano, a player that was really tough to meet, a player that could do the worst tackles in Premier League, then he joins Barcelona and immediately starts diving all the time. :lol
I swear, Barca has some form of rule that awards the players that dive, I can only imagine Messi getting a 5000 bonus if he dives and gets a penalty. :)
I really don't know where you are getting all of this (unless you pay attention to what Mou says after every game). I watch practically all Barcelona games and yes, sometimes the referees make mistakes but to say they win because of that? That's plain bullshit. They win because they play great as a team. And Mascherano diving? I need a video of that. I will leave you with this one on how much balls that guy has.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHvgW7YRc5Q (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHvgW7YRc5Q)
He kept playing after that.
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Mascherano diving:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnNWd5IstXc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4Bfv674_fk
Alves diving:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCv6sFsGg2o
Busquets diving:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhoBrOvs0DE&feature=related
Villa diving:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qcux_nNLGQE
These are just a few videos at the top of my head, I know plenty of other games where Xavi, Iniesta and Messi has dived as well, but not everything ends up on the tube sadly. :/
Yeah I know that diving isn't only restricted to Barca, but a team with 11 cunts diving all the time, surrounding the referee on every decision, and by that I mean lolValdes who runs all the way from his own goal to the other half of the field, just to point out that he saw the situation better then the ref. :lol
I'm not trying to take away from Barca that they play nicely (sometimes), but there are just too many negative things about Barca to overlook.
In other examples, I think a team like Tottenham in PL also plays a really nice passing football, and at least they are not acting like jerks on the football field. :P
I think most of us saw Barcelona's game against Chelsea in 2009 and how horrible it was, I think most of us saw the game against Inter where Inter got a red card right away, almost like the referee wanted to make life a little harder for them.
And we also saw the game against Arsenal, where Robin Van Persie got the cheapest red card anyone has ever seen, and I still think this video says it all:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQjCCfI9vUQ
All I can say about Messi is this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfROdza2xAU
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Jimmy, your hatred of Barca is so unreasonable. :lol Yeah they dive quite a bit, but so do most Spanish teams. But they are also an amazingly talented team, and as Nekov said, they actually earner their success. I have infinitely more respect for them (and other great teams who earned success, like Man Utd) than Chelsea and Man City who are only good because they are backed by billionaires.
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Rich, I find it surprising or almost admirable that you don't hate Barcelona after the Fabregas-story. :P
Their behavior in that whole deal is seriously one of the worst things in recent football-history, I just laugh so hard when people like Xavi say their typical bullshit in the newspaper, like whenever Barcelona doesn't win a football game, and Xavi says that "it was a loss for football". :facepalm:
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Just saw the videos. I'l agree they dive sometimes, yet the one from Dani Alves is nowhere near a dive, Pepe almost cuts his leg in half. Also the one from Villa, Arbeloa steps on his leg. There is no diving there.
And I think Ariich has a point, maybe you are too used to the English league where the referees are more permissive than other leagues.
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I think the problem with the Dani Alves one is.. yeah, Pepe going into the situation is clumsy, and even though he doesn't hit Alves, that's still tackles that shouldn't be on the field.
However, Alves rolling around for 5 minutes and then having to substitute.. that was just rofl. :rollin
I get your point on the other though, I'm a huge PL-enthusiast, and I don't say that insane tackles should be allowed, but after all football is a contact-sport, and I don't think people should get cheap freekicks and cheap cards for nothing.
The few times I watch Spanish or Italian football, I just feel like many of the players act like women on the pitch, in England (even though there are people diving there too), some people take a karate kick in the chest, and then suck it up like a man and continue running. ;)
Things like this should be banned from the football-field:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YomM87GNvs
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Premier League-games this weekend:
Saturday:
Everton - Liverpool
Aston Villa - Wigan
Blackburn - Man City
Man United - Norwich
Sunderland - West Bromwich
Wolverhampton - Newcastle
Sunday:
Bolton - Chelsea
Fulham - Queens Park Rangers
Swansea - Stoke
Tottenham - Arsenal
So, the Liverpool-derby and Spurs-Arsenal should be great games.
I'll try to see Man United as well, though I think the 'main'-game they show on TV is Man City's game, I haven't quite decided which I'll see yet.
Should be a great football weekend at least, make sure to suck the most out of it, seeing as most weekend is pause for international-games, oh suicide inc. :xbones
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this thread....! one more reason to hang out at DTF all day! Looking forward to the derbies this weekend. Also hoping for Man. Utd to shape up and start winning again. Norwich should be a easy match.
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Pretty fun game so far in the Liverpool derby. One red card and a missed penalty.
Looking forward to United's game against Norwich after this one.
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Man United did not play well today, but still managed to get 3 points, and I'm happy with that. :)
I really felt bad for Norwich, because just by looking at the game, and the amount of chances, a better team then Norwich would have won with those chances. I think I counted at least 3 opportunity's when a Norwich player came alone against United's goal, and add to that the chance with almost open goal.
Yeah, Norwich really didn't use their chances well. :lol
On the sad part, I feel a bit disappointed that the beautiful attacking-football that Man United displayed the first games this season feels completely washed away.
The passing is nowhere near as good, it felt like Man United had gone back to how they played last season, and I don't think it's reasonable to blame injuries, because they don't have that many of them. (at least not on important players)
Oh well, 3 points.. looking forward to some games tomorrow. :corn
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Can't believe I am missing the games today (because I'm tied up with other stuff), especially seeing as it's Liverpool - Man United, a game I had been looking forward to for a long time. :(
Oh well, I will try to catch Arsenal tomorrow probably, to at least see one game this weekend.
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I'm really excited about the Man United game today against Liverpool. Finally we have league games again!
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Oh man have I ever missed football. I'm just going to lounge around and watch as many games as possible
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I'm really excited about the Man United game today against Liverpool. Finally we have league games again!
1-1 Great result for Mtd. Utd. Chicharitoooooooooooooooo
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I'm really excited about the Man United game today against Liverpool. Finally we have league games again!
1-1 Great result for Mtd. Utd. Chicharitoooooooooooooooo
Yeah I think they should be pleased with the results. WTF did Giggs do in that freekick? He'll have to take the heat for that one.
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It feels like a loss to me. Disappointing result. I'm a pool fan btw.
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United- City today, can't get much better than that. I hope United will step up the game, they have had some bad matches lately!
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Yeah, really big game today.
As a Man United-fan, I'm very excited, and I think I speak for all Man U-supporters when I say that 3 points today is a must!
It's not the end of the world if it ends a draw, but City has 2 points more, and this would be the golden opportunity to pass them in the table.
I must say though, despite having high hopes for the game, I think the people expecting a game with a lot of goals and opportunity's will be wrong.
Sure we remember the 4-3 game from a few seasons ago, but City under Mancini isn't like that, and I won't be surprised if he plays Barry-De Jong-Toure on the midfield, because a draw for City is very good.
I'm fairly confident the game will end 0-0 with as many opportunities, but I hope that Man U will win with a few goals ofc. :D
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I'm really excited about the Manchester derby today, I'll be watching it at a sports bar with a few mates from work.
Come on you Reds!
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Yeah, really big game today.
As a Man United-fan, I'm very excited, and I think I speak for all Man U-supporters when I say that 3 points today is a must!
It's not the end of the world if it ends a draw, but City has 2 points more, and this would be the golden opportunity to pass them in the table.
I must say though, despite having high hopes for the game, I think the people expecting a game with a lot of goals and opportunity's will be wrong.
Sure we remember the 4-3 game from a few seasons ago, but City under Mancini isn't like that, and I won't be surprised if he plays Barry-De Jong-Toure on the midfield, because a draw for City is very good.
I'm fairly confident the game will end 0-0 with as many opportunities, but I hope that Man U will win with a few goals ofc. :D
Yeah, it's a big game, but probably a boring one! If the match gets an early goal, I'll guess this match going to be a rollercoaster.. If not, I guess 0-0 or 1-0
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Was looking forward to watching the games today, but found out yesterday I had to work, so I'm just going to have to keep checking the bbc website all day for updates :( I'm hoping for a high-scoring derby game, largely because I have quite a few Man U and City players in my Fantasy League team!
Also hoping Spurs keep on playing well and beat Blackburn by about 5-0! Adebayor hat-trick! And seeing Stoke beat Arsenal is not impossible either, especially will van Persie starting on the bench.
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I've got a question for you Britts. How was the reaction to the owners of the Boston Red Sox here in America buying Liverpool F. C. ? And how have they done as owners since owning them?
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Oh, god.. United lacks so much creativity! They really do need a Sneijder/Nasriish player!
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The thing is though, Man United wouldn't work with Sneijder, because he plays on the same area that Rooney likes to drop down on.
Man United isn't about starting attacks from the center-midfield, they use their strong wingers, in this case Young and Nani.
As for Nasri, I couldn't think of a more overrated player.
He had one successful season in Arsenal, or more like 4-5 months, apart from a few goals, he only managed to do two assists, which is very bad for a playmaker.
One player I would have loved to see in Man U is Özil, but seeing as he went to Real, I think those chances are fairly low.
My biggest wish-player right now would be Hazard, or Götze, but time will tell.
As for the game, hoping that Man U will turn this around! ;)
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The thing is though, Man United wouldn't work with Sneijder, because he plays on the same area that Rooney likes to drop down on.
Man United isn't about starting attacks from the center-midfield, they use their strong wingers, in this case Young and Nani.
As for Nasri, I couldn't think of a more overrated player.
He had one successful season in Arsenal, or more like 4-5 months, apart from a few goals, he only managed to do two assists, which is very bad for a playmaker.
One player I would have loved to see in Man U is Özil, but seeing as he went to Real, I think those chances are fairly low.
My biggest wish-player right now would be Hazard, or Götze, but time will tell.
As for the game, hoping that Man U will turn this around! ;)
Johnny Evans.. Why does he play football? And why does he play for Man Utd? He always screws things up, your always afraid when he is close to the ball. Awful defending at first goal, missed the ball in front of Citys net, and got a red card! Definatly should've started with Phil Jones...
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Great game by Man United!
Also yeah, Johnny Evans should be sent to another league, so I don't have to see him again.
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Oh dear, not a good day for United. Three goals in stoppage time! :o
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1-6 and a red card :censored :censored :censored :getoffmylawn:
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I'm going to eat a lot of icecream with tons of fudge.. good bye
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On one hand I think a loss this big might be good, cause Fergie or the players can't smooth it all over with bullshit like "that was offside" or something like that.
The red card was so obvious that not even us, Man U-fans can deny it.
Some of the things that were wrong, as I see it:
Evans starting instead of Jones, the latter has quite possibly been Man United's best defender so far this season, and Evans is Evans.
Not the first time he ruins a game by getting sent off for something idiotic, and not the last time either.
Park starting on the bench, while I'm not suggesting that Nani is a bad player (he is probably better individually), I do think Park always shines in these kind of games, and Man United would have gotten more support on the defensive-side.
Hernandez not starting instead of Welbeck, while I don't think this really affected the outcome, Chicharito has become one of my favorite Man U-players since he joined, and I don't think Welbeck is good enough (YET) against a team like City.
He sure has the future in front of him, but a bit risky.
I do approve of the new players Man U has bought, I think Jones, De Gea and Young are fantastic additions to the team, but they didn't buy anything for the center-midfield, which is IMO the place where they need a new player the most.
I don't want Sneijder or Modric, but a bit of creativity. Like I said earlier, Özil, Hazard or Götze would have been nice, and would give the attacking-side a bit more support.
I don't think Man United has such a thing as a clear defensive midfielder either, I consider Anderson, Fletcher and Carrick fairly allround as players. They are not the best offensive midfielders, and not the best defensive ones, they sorta have qualities on both without being amazing at none.
Lastly, I don't think De Gea should get any blame, seeing as pretty much all the goals came from City outnumbering him.
Ferdinand and Evra sucked so bad today, when Man United needed a leader to emerge the most, these players just crashed and burned.
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On one hand I think a loss this big might be good, cause Fergie or the players can't smooth it all over with bullshit like "that was offside" or something like that.
The red card was so obvious that not even us, Man U-fans can deny it.
Some of the things that were wrong, as I see it:
Evans starting instead of Jones, the latter has quite possibly been Man United's best defender so far this season, and Evans is Evans.
Not the first time he ruins a game by getting sent off for something idiotic, and not the last time either.
Park starting on the bench, while I'm not suggesting that Nani is a bad player (he is probably better individually), I do think Park always shines in these kind of games, and Man United would have gotten more support on the defensive-side.
Hernandez not starting instead of Welbeck, while I don't think this really affected the outcome, Chicharito has become one of my favorite Man U-players since he joined, and I don't think Welbeck is good enough (YET) against a team like City.
He sure has the future in front of him, but a bit risky.
I do approve of the new players Man U has bought, I think Jones, De Gea and Young are fantastic additions to the team, but they didn't buy anything for the center-midfield, which is IMO the place where they need a new player the most.
I don't want Sneijder or Modric, but a bit of creativity. Like I said earlier, Özil, Hazard or Götze would have been nice, and would give the attacking-side a bit more support.
I don't think Man United has such a thing as a clear defensive midfielder either, I consider Anderson, Fletcher and Carrick fairly allround as players. They are not the best offensive midfielders, and not the best defensive ones, they sorta have qualities on both without being amazing at none.
Lastly, I don't think De Gea should get any blame, seeing as pretty much all the goals came from City outnumbering him.
Ferdinand and Evra sucked so bad today, when Man United needed a leader to emerge the most, these players just crashed and burned, they never learned
Sorry, it sucked.. but I've had that song on my mind all day....
I really think United could've won if they started with Jones, 6-1 sounds like United ever would have a chance against City, but that's not the fact. Well, it seemed like they were going to depend on Cleverly this season, wich didn't work out too good with his injury. Park is my favorite player (just because I'm asian), and I think he would've brought something to the game. Evans is Evans as you said, and he seems hopeless, just like Gibson.. Seems like he'll never get better.
I struggle to understand what SAF is doing. Last match against Liverpool wasn't any better.
On the bright side, QPR- Chelsea 1-0, bosingwa and Drogba with a red card!
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:sad:
anyway, there's a long way untill the end of the season, and i don't think city will last for so long
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I'm fairly confident the game will end 0-0 with as many opportunities,
ahaha! ;)
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I'm fairly confident the game will end 0-0 with as many opportunities,
ahaha! ;)
:lol
And wtf at Chelsea today? 2 red cards and 7 yellows!
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At least Chelsea lost as well.
Watched the game, and I must say... Queens Park fuckin' sucks.
Seriously, they were 2 more players for the whole second half, but they just barely managed to hold the lead.
Sure, Chelsea is a great team, but QPR really should sell some of the crap players and try to get players that are more used to PL.
I think Arsenal fans are pretty happy right now, they have like 4 or 5 (?) victories in a row, and before this weekend I felt confident that Chelsea would beat them next weekend, but now I must say that Arsenal has a nice opportunity.
Besides, pretty much all other top-teams (except City and Spurs) lost points this weekend, and Gervinho did one goal and two assists today, nice day for all the gunners.
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Yeah things are definitely starting to settle down for us now, which is good. Today was a strong victory!
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Yeah things are definitely starting to settle down for us now, which is good. Today was a strong victory!
Who's your team?
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Arsenal.
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Can't believe Liverpool didn't win. Especially with the amount of chances Suarez alone had. I also believe the substitutions were made too late and Bellamy shouldn't have gone off. As much as I love, respect and admire Dalglish, I would really want him to start making more changes, make them earlier to save games and adopt a style of ruthless management where you are took off if you are actually poor and not kept on.
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6-1!!! LOL!!!
(https://i.imgur.com/TbNhE.jpg)
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:lol
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This league has brought really nice surprises (8-2) and also this:
(https://i.imgur.com/Dsjek.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/Qs51T.jpg)
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As the season has looked so far, I wouldn't be surprised if Arsenal won PL.
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Three Way Football
There's an interesting article in one of the major Danish newspapers today (unfortunately not online yet, so no link) about the concept of three-way football, i.e. a match with three goals and three teams on a six-sided pitch, and how Athletic are leading the way in organizing tournaments in this "new" sport.
According to the article, the concept was thought up by a Danish artist, Asger Jorn (1914-73) as a challenge to the ordinary one-axis, two-sided way of thinking. He never wrote rules for the sport, but thought it up as a philosophical experiment.
And for some reason, somebody's decided to pick this up ahead of the 100-year anniversary of his birth in three years' time, and for some other unclear reason, Athletic become involved a few years ago.
The article quotes Galder Reguera, "event manager" at Athletic, who amongst a bunch of things says: "For us it looked like a good chance to examine how football, art, philosophy and society are interconnected. We are very interested in that sort of thing at Athletic Bilbao. For us, sport isn't just something isolated, it's connected to the culture, philosophy and society around us. In that way we're a different club, but we demand more of ourselves and our surroundings demand more than just winning football matches."
Anyway, in practical terms, according to the article there will be a tournament featuring 82 teams from the Basque Country "in a few months' time", and in the spring, hopefully a bigger tournament featuring other La Liga teams. And then in 2014, a tournament in Silkeborg, which hosts the Asger Jorn Museum, where it's planned to invite major teams from Spain and Denmark (if we can be said to have any..).
Interesting..
https://www.xtratime.org/forum/showthread.php?t=261065 (https://www.xtratime.org/forum/showthread.php?t=261065)
I found a website that describes how this works but it's in spanish. I think this would be really fun to play with friends.
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I've got a question for you Britts. How was the reaction to the owners of the Boston Red Sox here in America buying Liverpool F. C. ? And how have they done as owners since owning them?
I am not Brittish but I can say as a Liverpool fan, John Henry and NESV has been absolutely excellent as owner of the club. One of their first pieces of business was gettinf rid of Uncle Woy as manager and hiring the greatest player to ever pull on the red shirt, Kenny Dalglish as manager. On top of this, they have completely backed him and Comolli on every decision in the transfer front and have endorsed a youth policy at the club. Lets hope LFC can go down the same road as the red sox to be at the top where they belong.
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This weekend has a lot of great games, in particular the two early ones today. (though the moron that came up with the idea to have them on the same time should be killed, seeing as there's only one game tomorrow, and they could have put Man United there instead)
Oh well, the games:
Everton vs Man United
Chelsea vs Arsenal
Man City vs Wolverhampton
Norwich vs Blackburn
Sunderland vs Aston Villa
Swansea vs Bolton
Wigan vs Fulham
West Bromwich vs Liverpool
Tomorrow:
Tottenham vs Queens Park Rangers
Monday:
Stoke vs Newcastle
Should be a good weekend.
I feel a bit sad that I'm gonna miss Man United, I think that Everton away will be a good game, but Chelsea v Arsenal is just too promising to not watch, and as I said, there are never two early Saturday games ever, but now there is, which sucks. :/
Then I haven't decided if I'm gonna see Sunderland v Aston Villa or Man City v Wolves, the latter is shown on a common tv-channel here, which probably means more commercial-breaks and annoying things, but again it has a top-team, so will probably see it.
Chelsea - Arsenal ofc, the biggest highlight of the weekend, and I really hope that Arsenal will win it, because I think Chelsea has started out great, and I'm sorta afraid that they will pass Man United in the table if they keep it up, Arsenal however could actually use a win, they haven't had much to cheer for (in terms of beating very good teams) lately, so I think that a win against Chelsea would boost their morale.
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Yeah we've been getting back on our feet but we still can't beat any good teams, so a win would be fantastic. I'm not sure we'll get it though...
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Chelsea vs Arsenal should be a great game.
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Wow, just wow.
Chelsea - Arsenal was the best game I've seen in a long long long time, that game just had everything!
And the best part, Arsenal won! :D
Oh man, the adrenaline was seriously pumping through me during the whole game, I couldn't sit down at all, goal here, goal there, opportunities everywhere!
My dad is like the happiest Gunner-fan today. :)
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Man what a crazy game that was.
I'm watching the City game now, I guess there will be a lot of goals here too.
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Oh yeah, Man United won as well... great win. :)
City-game is kinda dull, first half at least, but hopefully Man City will loose a point, not that I think so, but Wolves have at least made it through the first 45 mins.
Besides, I don't care that City dropping points will mean that I won't win money this week, if they do drop points, Man U will close in. ;)
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Not surprising that City managed to get a few goals, but I was very happy with the Arsenal win! :D
I'll be watching Match of the Day tonight so will post my thoughts on the various matches once I've seen the highlights.
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As a Chelsea fan, this is gonna be a long friggin year. WTF?????????????
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It's been a strange couple of matches for you, but I'm sure you'll bounce back soon enough.
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I hope so. They just dont look good.
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Well, you won't against Liverpool! I'm feeling confident for both the League and the Cup game vrs. Chelsea.
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I think Chelsea needs more players like Mata to be honest, he has really impressed me.
Gotta love short, technical playmakers, players like Hazard, Özil, Mata, Silva, Ramsey, Wilshere... not necessarily the same types on all of them, but I'm just so fascinated by midfielders who add so much in the offensive.
:hefdaddy
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Yeah I am loving Ramsey for us this season, so great to have him back from injury. If we can get Wilshere back from injury as well and actually have them both playing at the same time, we'll be such a strong midfield force!
Mata is really good, his goal today was fantastic, and he gave us problems in general. Chelsea seem to be suffering from the same problems as Arsenal - strong attack and laughable defence.
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and just another day at the office for Messi.
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and just another day at the office for Messi.
Yesterday he conquered his #202 goal. What a beast!
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Not a big soccer fan, but I did catch Barca's and Chelsea's games last night. They were fun to watch.
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The 2009 matches?
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The 2009 matches?
No, yesterday's UEFA matches. Barca/Plzen and Chelsea/Genk.
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Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, right. hehe
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Another day of football today, some great games, and I'm fairly excited about seeing some of them! :)
The games are: (as I used to do it earlier, I'll post the ones I'm gonna watch in bold, and my thought on a possible result, 1 for home win, X for draw and 2 for away win) (starting times are local, aka how they are in England)
Today:
12.45 - Newcastle v Everton (X)
15.00 - Arsenal v West Bromwich (1)
15.00 - Aston Villa v Norwich (1)
15.00 - Blackburn v Chelsea (2)
15.00 - Liverpool v Swansea (1)
15.00 - Manchester United v Sunderland (1)
17.30 - Queens Park Rangers v Manchester City (2)
Sunday:
13.30 - Wolverhampton v Wigan (1)
15.00 - Bolton v Stoke (X)
16.00 - Fulham v Tottenham (2)
Haven't decided yet if I'm seeing Man U or Arsenal at 15, normally I'd say Man U, but seeing as my dad is a Gunners-fan and we watch the same TV, we normally flip coin or something. :biggrin:
Pretty much all of the top teams are playing today, which might be considered both good and bad, but Tottenham are playing tomorrow at least, so that's one game I don't want to miss.
All in all, I'm hoping that Chelsea and Man City will loose points in their away games, though I honestly don't expect them to.
Oh well, also hoping to win a lot of money on the games. ;)
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In theory, all the top 6 should be winning their games this weekend, although obviously someone could well slip up (most likely Arsenal, knowing our luck).
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Haha, Arsenal did loose at home against West Bromwich last year, but I don't think they will again. :P
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Good result for us today, we've finally found some form! :D
As expected most of the top teams did fine. Liverpool threw away a couple of points, but the rest all won.
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Yeah, I ended up seeing Arsenal's game, and it was by far the best (at least from what I grabbed from the highlights of the others)
Liverpool did indeed screw up, too bad City didn't loose some points as well.
Gonna enjoy some more football tomorrow, then there's a 2 week break... fml.
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Yeah City were a bit lucky, and so were Chelsea! Nearly scored an own goal towards the end.
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Bump, finally it's time for football again!
Really psyched about the games this weekend, these are the games: (games in bold are the ones I'm gonna watch myself, the result afterwards is my prediction of the outcome, 1 for home win, X for draw and 2 for away win etc)
Today:
[12.45] Norwich - Arsenal (2)
[15.00] Manchester City - Newcastle (1)
[15.00] Everton - Wolverhampton (1)
[15.00] Stoke - Queens Park Rangers (1)
[15.00] Sunderland - Fulham (X)
[15.00] West Bromwich - Bolton (X)
[15.00] Wigan - Blackburn (X)
[17.30] Swansea City - Manchester United (2)
Tomorrow:
[16.00] Chelsea - Liverpool (X)
Monday:
[20.00] Tottenham - Aston Villa (1)
Some really good games as you can see, today I will be seeing all the top-teams (Arsenal, City and United), really hoping that City will loose points, even though I think they are stronger at home, they do have Champions League next week, and maybe that will be their main-focus, Newcastle is a good team after all.
Hoping for 3 points for Man United as well, I don't think they have impressed much lately, so a comforting 3 points would be nice, hopefully 2-0 or 3-0, so that they can get some more confidence.
Chelsea - Liverpool is quite clear the big game this weekend, and I think the game can be something special.
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United should take three points today, Swansea shouldn't be a big threat. Man City-Newcastle will be a great game to watch.
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Awesome that I managed to win money yesterday, on what we have here in Sweden called "Stryktipset", which is pretty much 13 games, and you pick the outcomes etc, have to have 10 correct ones to win money, I had 12 out of 13 (lousy Birmingham ruined it for me!), and I managed to win 2509 sek, which is like ~274 euros, great weekend! :D
Anyhow, really excited about the game today, both teams have to go for a win, and that makes it very interesting.
I think I might be rooting a bit for Liverpool (feels wrong as a Man U-fan), but as I see it, Chelsea feels like a better team and a bigger opponent, so if they loose some points today, it's cool. (A draw would be nice too)
On another note, next weekend there's another big game, Liverpool vs Man City, so really hoping that Liverpool will have a great day then, so that Man U can gain some on them. (Man U is playing Newcastle at home)
Finally, there's Champions League this week again, Arsenal - Dortmund looks like one of the most promising games, but Napoli - Man City will be very interesting, and I'm hoping that Man United will win over Basel.
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Hey, congratulations! I only had 8 correct ones, no money here.
Looking forward to the Liverpool-Chelsea game today too. Should be a great one!
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Time for another weekend with PL-football, here are the games:
Today:
[12.45] Stoke vs Blackburn
[15.00] Bolton vs Everton
[15.00] Chelsea vs Wolverhampton
[15.00] Manchester United vs Newcastle
[15.00] Norwich vs Queens Park Rangers
[15.00] Sunderland vs Wigan
[15.00] West Bromwich vs Tottenham
[17.30] Arsenal vs Fulham
Tomorrow:
[13.30] Swansea vs Aston Villa
[16.00] Liverpool vs Manchester City
Some interesting games, Man United have a fairly good form in Premier League with some wins in a row, but all in all they haven't reached the "top team"-form yet, and Newcastle is the big surprise this year, so while I'm hoping for a Man U-win, I think Newcastle will put up a good fight, and if Man U doesn't focus enough, we might loose points. :/ (hopefully not!)
Chelsea has an important game against Wolves, AVB is one of the more questioned managers after a shaky start, the worst for them since Abramovich took over, and he isn't known for having patience with managers, so a win is very important.
I must say, personally I really like AVB and his training-style, wanting to play attractive football, but I think the problem is that Chelsea aren't good enough for that kind of football, they only have Mata that (IMO) is good enough for that quicker paced passing game, the rest of the players aren't bad ofc, but I feel like they are more suited for "boring" football. :lol
Some London-teams are in focus, Tottenham are playing against W.Bromwich, a tough away game, but their form has been rather brilliant since the shaky start, and I'll be surprised if Tottenham doesn't win with a few goals margin.
Arsenal are playing Fulham, and from the rumors I've heard, Wenger might be resting some players for the game, I've heard that Diaby might start instead of Ramsey, Arshavin instead of Walcott and Park or Chamakh instead of Van Persie, I can't promise anything, but it will be interesting to see.
Apart from Man City, Tottenham and Arsenal probably has the best forms, so I do think Man United, Chelsea and Pool (three other candidates for the CL-spots) need to step up a bit.
Pool - City tomorrow promises to be the BIG game of this weekend, I'll be rooting for Liverpool so hard that hopefully they will snatch 3 points, I think it's important for the league that City looses a game so that the other teams get more energy.
Didn't comment on the CL-games during the week, but it's interesting how Man City are pretty much 90% out of the tournament, Man United and Chelsea are almost out as well.
I think Man United might go further, but City and Chelsea are pretty much bye bye.
The interesting part here is that the highly criticized Arsenal was the first English team to qualify for the next round, and maybe they'll be the only team as well, the others have some tough games and scenarios ahead.
Arsenal also had the hardest group (after Man City) with teams like Dortmund and Marseille being very tricky, but they managed to do really well.
My guess before Cl started was that Real Madrid would win it, and I have no reason to change my theory, they have (IMO) the best squad by far, the most variety and the best players, and they are playing fantastic football at the moment.
Barcelona looks much weaker, they barely won over old Milan, the fact that Xavi had to dive for a penalty says a bit about how much trouble they had.
Still, Barcelona will probably make it to the last 4 (or 8), if not by themselves, then with some help from the referees. ;)
Real Madrid - Bayern Münich would probably be the best final IMO (as a neutral fan).
Last, Van Persie is close to beating Alan Shearer's goal record of scoring 36 goals during a "calendar-year" (from January - December), RVP has 31 goals right now, Shearer's record is at 36, so that means 5 goals in (6-7?) games, and I think he'll beat it.
He's in a sick form. :angel:
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I so wanna keep up with European soccer again. I've been focused only on the Egyptian one.
My problem here in the U.S is that I dunno anyone to watch the games with which I can manage but the point of my soccer friends back home was to remind me of when to turn the TV on to watch :lol
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Another win for Spurs, once City get disqualified for being too rich the title will be ours! Mwahhahaha
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Interesting that Man U and Arsenal lost points.
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Tragic news about Gary Speed. True legend of the game.
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Yeah, sad news about Gary Speed indeed. :(
I remember him quite well, I've been watching football for about 10-11 years now, and I remember him playing for Newcastle like it was yesterday, even his last seasons in Bolton and Sheffield United.
R.I.P to a great football player, one of the Premier League-legends!
To something fun instead, today starts the 14th round of Premier League, and I am excited!
The games that will be played this weekend are:
Saturday:
[12:45] Newcastle - Chelsea
[15:00] Blackburn - Swansea
[15:00] Man City - Norwich
[15:00] Queens Park Rangers - West Bromwich
[15:00] Tottenham - Bolton
[15:00] Wigan - Arsenal
[17:30] Aston Villa - Man United
Sunday:
[15:00] Everton - Stoke
[16:00] Wolverhampton - Sunderland
Monday:
[20:00] Fulham - Liverpool
Some interesting games, particularly Newcastle against Chelsea, a game where I hold Newcastle as favorites (they have the home advantage as well), but Chelsea are under pressure and really HAVE to win, so the outcome could go either way.
Chelsea are so vulnerable in their defense, and Newcastle managed to get a point away against Man United last weekend, so taking points of Chelsea shouldn't be impossible.
Out of the 15:00-games I will personally watch Wigan - Arsenal, interested to see if Van Persie can continue to score goals, Man City - Norwich is the "main"-game on TV here today, but I feel like Norwich has very little chance of shaking them, so I'd rather see a more "open" game. Wigan are fighting for their lives, and did win against Sunderland last weekend, which led to Sunderland sacking Steve Bruce.
I will probably miss the Sunday-games since I'm going to a concert, and the Monday-game since I have a huge math-test around that time, but there will also be Champions League next week.
There are a couple of groups where it's already clear, but I would recommend following the English-teams, Chelsea - Valencia has the potential to be one of the classic CL-games, for those who haven't followed closely, Chelsea and Valencia are at the same points, this is the last game and whoever get's the result goes through to the next round. If I'm not mistaken, 0-0 will take Chelsea through, but 1-1 or 2-2 (a draw with goals scored) will tip the favor to Valencia, since they have better results overall then.
Man City - Bayern and Villareal - Napoli will be interesting, Man City are almost out of CL already, not what they had hoped for after spending ~8 billion on the club, money isn't everything, but IF they shall have the smallest chance of going through, Villareal has to beat Napoli, and City has to beat Bayern, problem is that Bayern is the best team in the group (so it's hard for City to beat them), and Villareal has 0 points so far, so Napoli should beat them.
And last, Basel - Man United can be interesting as well, if Basel wins they go through, if Man U gets a draw or wins, they go through.
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Another win for Spurs today, and that'll take us up to 2nd, if only for a few hours. Here's hoping Villa can get a result against Man U!
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I must admit, I think it's kinda surprising how good Spurs have been in PL vs how shitty they have been in Europa League.
Though, I have no idea what kind of team they have used, but their group looks fairly easy, and it's still a tournament that Spurs could win. :P
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They've definitely been playin the 'b' team in Europe, mostly kids and non regular starters. That's part of the reason why the first team has been performing so well in the league, because the first 11 are always well rested.
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Man. City- Man. Utd in the third round of the FA Cup, this is going to be interesting!
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HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
MANCHESTER UNITED ELIMINATED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(https://soccernet-assets.espn.go.com/design05/images/2011/1207/manutdwoe20111207_576x324.jpg)
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Forgot to post about the games today, but cool win for Arsenal, and Man United got a nice victory.
Biggest games this weekend is El Clasico (Real Madrid - Barcelona) tonight and Chelsea - Man City on Monday, I probably won't be able to see any of them, but I'll be rooting for Real and Chelsea.
I honestly can't stand it if the cheating bastards of FC Uefa wins tonight, Real MUST win.. not just for themselves, but for football in general, and to prove that there is a god after all. That mankind isn't doomed, that there is still hope and light for us.
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Anyone following the CL and Europa League-draw?
Out of the PL-interest I have, Arsenal got a pretty good draw against Milan. I think we could see two interesting games, but I'd hold Arsenal as favorites, and I think they could win both games.
Chelsea got a much harder draw against Napoli who pushed Man City out, and it's hard for me to guess about it, on one hand I would be sad if another English team left so early in CL, cause the league itself would suffer a bit, but I've really been impressed by Napoli, and they really have my respect.
Otherwise most games looks fairly obvious, Barcelona and Real will probably advance, Lyon and the other "normal" teams.
Europa League... oh hell. Porto - Man City, then Ajax - Man United, really promising draws. On one hand, lame that they are so early in the tournament, but both those games could have been CL quarter-finals or something.
Stoke will face Valencia, another interesting game.
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Some interesting draws, both the CL and EL ones. United will face Ajax, that should be an interesting game.
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It'll be interesting to see what sort of teams the manchesters will put out for the Europa League. They could see it as a very good chance of winning some silverwear and put strong teams out.
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Tragic news about Gary Speed. True legend of the game.
I am very late, but R.I.P. Gary Speed.
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Okay, time for another round in Premier League.
Interestingly enough, this weekend most of the "good" games will be played tomorrow, but as always there are games today as well.
This is the last week I will be able to post this for now, (going away over Christmas and New Years), and as some of you know, Premier League goes into hard-mode at this time of the year, 2-3 games a week for the coming 2 weeks, so there are a lot of points on stake.
This weekend's games:
Today:
[15:00] Blackburn vs West Bromwich
[15:00] Everton vs Norwich
[15:00] Fulham vs Bolton
[15:00] Newcastle vs Swansea
[15:00] Wolverhampton vs Stoke
[17:30] Wigan vs Chelsea
Tomorrow:
[12:00] Queens Park Rangers vs Man United
[14:05] Aston Villa vs Liverpool
[15:00] Tottenham vs Sunderland
[16:10] Man City vs Arsenal
Games in bold are the ones I'm going to see myself, the big game of the weekend is without doubt Manchester City - Arsenal tomorrow.
City has recently been pushed out of Champions League and lost their first game in the PL last Monday against Chelsea, and if there is any team that can beat City right now, Arsenal is one of them.
Very interesting to see, I'm hoping that Arsenal can do to City - what they did to Chelsea, a 5-3 win away, would be great for the table. :D
As for Man United, some troubles regarding the midfield... Fletcher has retired from football for now, for those of you who haven't heard the news, Fletcher has been battling a disease for a while now, he has a bowel disease that stopped him from playing a lot last season. Add to that Anderson, Cleverley and Gibson who are all injured, and Man United does not have many options left, most likely Carrick-Giggs or Carrick-Jones. Maybe (if things won't get better) we get to see Ravel Morrison or Paul Pogba on the bench for United during the Holiday-games, if Fergie feels like giving them a chance. :)
On another note, Barcelona is playing Santos in the Club World Cup-final on Sunday, another interesting game.
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Anyone else watching Barcelona - Santos? I was hoping for a little bit more resistance from Santos to be honest.
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Nah I'm watching QPR - Man United right now, but not really surprised that Barcelona won so easily.
Sadly I feel like Neymar will be one of the next Brazilians that starts off promising but ends up as a failure, like Robinho or Ronaldinho (who had some great years in Barcelona, but fell to the bottom quickly).
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I hope not. The guy is a great player but the trend with brazilian stars lately is that they glow for a cople of years and then fall into oblivion.
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Yeah, I mean.. I hope that he will become a good player, but I feel like people are hyping him a lot for no reason.
There's a big difference in playing well in the Brazilian league, and playing well in one of the major leagues, the big question is what team will buy him, Barcelona doesn't really have the economy for it, Real could buy him, but they have Benzema and Higuain who are both doing well, while the Spanish league would probably "suit" him best, I think that teams like City or Chelsea could offer him more playtime, so it's tricky.
On another note, good and solid win for Man United, now I am going to watch a bit of Villa - Liverpool while I study some, and then it is time for the big game - City vs Arsenal. :D
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I'll probably catch the arsenal one while having lunch.
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I honestly can't stand it if the cheating bastards of FC Uefa wins tonight, Real MUST win.. not just for themselves, but for football in general, and to prove that there is a god after all. That mankind isn't doomed, that there is still hope and light for us.
Just embrace the best team in history already! Or not, every time you make a negative comment about Barcelona I just smile because Barça has won yet another title. 13 titles in three years? That's a new record. But keep crying and telling yourself that Barcelona are cheaters, I'll just smile and learn to pretend to care while I remember enjoying every single celebration winning those cups brought to me.
Oh, and let's add this remark Neymar said after today's game that crowned, again, Barcelona as World-Wide Champion (4-0 btw): "Today we learned how to play football."
(https://www.futbolred.com/contenido/otras_competencias/noticias_otrascomp/IMAGEN/IMAGEN-10918750-2.png)
(https://www.futbolred.com/contenido/otras_competencias/noticias_otrascomp/IMAGEN/IMAGEN-10918727-2.jpg)
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I don't really think it's worth discussing it with a one-eyed Barcelona-supporter to be honest, I haven't come across a single Barcelona-supporter that can be objective and say "hey, even though Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets and Dani Alves are good players, they still dive a lot, and it isn't good behavior", for some reason most Barcelona fans defend their players like crazy, it's ok to dive and whine to the referee if you are a good player apparently.
You could tell me that Nani is a diver, and that Ronaldo was the same in Man U, and I would completely agree with you.
I don't get why we should overlook all the bad things because of other things, and are you really surprised that Barcelona won the Club World Cup? That tournament is such a joke, it consists of 6 crap teams and one that is at least 5 levels above, and that is always the team from Europe. If it had been Stoke, Malaga or Palermo, even they would have won the whole tournament.
As for the whole "today we learned how to play football", I know that many people hold Barcelona's playingstyle as something good, while I personally don't care for all the sideways-passing.
Anyhow, what does bother me is Xavi and all his talk about "A win/A loss for football". Don't get me wrong, Xavi is a great player, but as soon as Barcelona looses a game, Xavi says that the result is a "loss for football", and when Barcelona wins, it's a "win for football", I don't think I've ever come across a player as arrogant as him. :P
While Barcelona is a great team, I wouldn't say that they are the best team. Why? Because I think they are too dependent on Messi. Seeing as Messi is practically NEVER injured, Barcelona doesn't have to face the same problems as other teams has, Ronaldo has some injuries every now and then which makes it worse for Real, Rooney has been injured on and off for Man U, Van Persie in Arsenal is another example, and I could do examples all day long.
The fact that Messi is involved in 60-70% of their goals says something, and I believe that if he was injured, they wouldn't be anywhere near AS good.
While other teams may not reach the quality of Barcelona with all their players healthy, the real truth is that the best teams very rarely have all players healthy, and it's normal for many teams to have their best players away every now and then.
I also find it funny how Messi is never injured, yet Barca claims that everyone is out to "get him". Back in Roy Keane's days, it was just a kick in the knee and the career was ruined, apparently nobody in Real (Pepe or the other "butchers") knows how to tackle properly.
On another note, too bad for Arsenal that they lost the game today.
While City played good, I feel like Arsenal was just as good, and they were robbed of a penalty, so a bit unlucky there.
However, I do think City will have a "bad"-period in the spring, or maybe even now during New Years, so hopefully they can loose some points.
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I think in the whole we have to give Barca their credit. They are currently the best team in the world. Man U has proven they are not. Barca recently beat Real handily. Who else is there to beat? Best team ever. Well thats a tall task to claim. I can go back to many teams over the past 40 years I have been following soccer that may be better. But for now I for one ( and I am a Juventus and Chelsea guy) will say they are best best club team in the world.
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United just ruined my new years eve.. FUUU! Well, time to get drunk, happy new year!
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Paul Scholes on the bench today, jee .. I'm so excited about this! Though I'm afraid the results today will be in Man. City's favor!
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Cracking match! Good to see city knocked down a peg.
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Pew that Man United won.
After the first half I thought "this shouldn't be that hard now", but Lindegaard proved me wrong by throwing in two easy balls, and if the game had gone on for 10 more minutes, that could have been 2-3 goals more for Man City.
I'm not saying that De Gea has been the best keeper ever so far, but he has the future in front of him, he has the talent, and Lindegaard is AT best a reserve-keeper for a PL-team.
At least Man United won.
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Claiming that Messi is the sole responsible for this team to win their games is completely false. He never gets an injury? Thank God his bones are like rubber, honestly. I can't explain why he's so lucky, but he is. He does get sick though, that's why last week he didn't play full time. When Barcelona beat Real Madrid 5-0 Messi didn't score a single goal. Today we beat Real Madrid 1-2, though he did make that incredible pass to Abidal. But why forget Busquets -the whiniest guy EVER!!!- who knows how to win a ball back, or Xavi who is with CR7 the second best player in the world right now, or Iniesta a genius on the field, or Fabregas a great forward, or Alexis who demonstrated today his quality, or Carles Puyol who is the best defense player in the history of the team (and who also scores with his magnificent and powerful headers like shown today), or Gerard Piqué who -considering that today was a terrible day for him- stabilizes most of the attacks Barcelona receives and what about Valdes who is not the best goalkeeper (or near Iker Casillas level) in the world yet not having him on the court makes a great difference (Pinto is sooo bad! that first goal was a gift to CR7). Of course Messi is the best player in the world and he does make an insanely amount of difference, yet, as he has pointed out, he is that good because his teammates are also THAT good.
The point is that Barcelona have great players and have a great Cantera called La Macía that creates great football players. Barcelona is not a wallet team like RM (which is fine in its own way) but a formation team.
If Xavi is arrogant it is because he can be one; results speak for themselves. But if we are saying arrogant in a negative connotation what about CR7 and Mourinho's absence in the last Fifa award ceremony? What a shame!
I digress. --- Today was an exciting Clásico. Cristiano Ronaldo played confidently the first minutes, scored a good goal and then... he disappeared. We have a name for that: pecho frío.
Alexis is such a fantastic player, I'm so happy with him!
Please, Spanish Federation or Fifa, do something about Pepe. This is inadmissible and a disgrace to football in general: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXO3_CfC7bA
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I actually watched the game, but I must say the the whole excitement about El Classico is gone.
Real plays tough and sorta boring (apart from those two games before the season, where Real was actually the better team IMO), but they don't really want to play football against Barcelona, and Pepe made a fool out of himself with all the diving and some harsh tackles, all in all the harsh tackle-part fits most players in Real.
And Barcelona are what they normally are, 90% passing sideways, and throwing in tons of diving and surrounding the referee between that, the whole game becomes more breaks then football, cause every time a Real player tackles a Barca-player, we have the 30 second break and talking to a ref, gets a bit annoying.
While Real aren't much better then Barcelona (in terms of diving and trying to cheat), I think the big difference is that most people in the world knows that Real are like this. Nobody is defending Pepe, we know what kind of player he is, and what he does on the field. Nobody is defending Di Maria when he dives, we know he does it. But Barcelona has that "best team in the world"-stamp on them, and I'm by no means criticizing the quality of these players, but their behavior and attitude on the field says a lot, take the situation where Pepe walked over Messi's hand for example. Clumsy of Pepe and a yellow card, but did Messi really have to roll around for 3 minutes after it happened? I really don't think so, while a normal man had gotten up, and asked Pepe "what are you doing?", he decided to act like a woman and roll around on the grass.
It's a bit sad really, it's very hard for me to look at Barca's players with anything but disgust after all the diving and surrounding the referee, if they are the best team in the world, they shouldn't have to dive or try to affect the referee, they should be able to win anyway.
Oh well, just my 5 cents.
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Your hate for Barcelona never ceases to impress me Zantera. As I said before, I think you watch too much Premier League because what happens in Barcelona games is the exact same thing that happens in every other game that is not Premier League. The fact that you keep bashing at them like they are the uber cry babies is kind of annoying.
I do agree that football shouldn't have all the acting and talking to the ref that goes on nowadays but unfortunately it's the way this sport has evolved with all the TV and publicity the players get. And it's also a fact that refs are high pressured because every time they make a mistake they are the center of the storm and in this particular case there is a lot of talk about refs benefiting one of the two teams which also contributes to all the circus.
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Yeah but it saddens me that the only league that is close to Premier League quality-wise is Bundesliga. :P
And I don't only hate on Barcelona for diving, I think diving itself is rather disgusting, and you wont see me defend Nani even if I'm a Man U-fan, cause I feel ashamed whenever he dives, or whenever any Man U-player dives. I don't think it's something anyone can defend even if they like the team, but with Barcelona it's never like that. If you ask a Barcelona-supporter, their players never dive, they never do anything out of the ordinary, and it just saddens me that people have a hard time being objective about things.
As I said with Barcelona, the big difference is that people never talk about the bad stuff. I even see people defend the diving part with bullshit like "if they tackle hard, its okay to dive to show the referee that it isn't ok", but that's not okay to do. That's pathetic behavior, let the ref do his job and everything would be much better.
It's not like I have anything against Barcelona as a club, if it would have been Chelsea or Bayern Munich (or any other team) that had acted this way with diving, I would have bashed those clubs instead. :lol
I just think it would be a great idea to hand out penalties for players who dive, like they could watch certain situations after the games, and if someone used a dive, they could suspend the player for X amount of games.
It's sad that it has become such a big part of the game, and I really think that it's a problem they should take seriously and try to do something about, whether it's Barcelona, Man United or AC Milan, or any other team, diving should reward in suspensions.
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The Spanish Liga needs Premier refs. That's all.
Messi gets stomped, suffers the pain of that incredible act, yet still wins... Where are you trying to get at? Barcelona still managed to do what you said. They won.
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Well, my point was that over exaggerating a certain situation to try and force a card is a bit lame. ;)
But yeah, Barcelona won the game, and I think it was a fair result. Real just seemed like they didn't want to win the game, they didn't play nowhere near as good as they did when the teams met each other in two games pre-season, those games were good.
All in all I got the feeling that neither of the teams really cared much about the game, it was "just" the Cup after all, and there wasn't a lot of chances IMO, two pretty solid defenses.
Another thing I think is pretty interesting is the fact that Barcelona never has injuries on their key players. Sure Iniesta and Xavi might miss a game here and there, but unlike other teams where the key-players can be away for months, that never happens in Barcelona. I bow to their physical trainer, he must be doing something right. And despite all the talk about lots of players tackling Messi rough, he's never injured. I don't know what his bones are made of, but he's like Wolverine. :lol
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Crazy day of football yesterday, lets hope the big games today are equally as exciting. I'm hoping for a Spurs win over City but I'd settle for a draw, similarly I'm hoping for a draw between Arsenal and Man U but I'd settle for a Man U win!
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Can't wait for the two games today!
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Come on, Reds!
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So nice to see Radamel Falcao García score a hat-trick on yesterday's game against Real Sociedad!
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3 points for Man United, but they honestly didn't deserve them.
I almost get angry watching Arsenal, because they should have easily grabbed those 3 points, but the same problems occur every game, and it's hard to blame it on anything.
I think Wenger did a poor game for several reasons. Replacing Chamberlain who was the best player on the field, or if not then Arsenal's best player at least, with a completely useless Arshavin is the best example. Arshavin wouldn't even get a starting place in Bolton's team, the only two things he brings to the table when he plays are A) Missing opportunities that are goals 99 out of 100 times and B) Giving away goals to the other team, today he managed to do B when his poor defending led to 2-1.
The problem is that Arshavin is horrible, yet always comes in with the objective to change the game around with a goal or two, something he hasn't done in ages.
And sending in Park in minute 84? He didn't look bad at all, but what does Wenger honestly expect from a player that never gets to play, and he got a good ~10 minutes of gametime.
Walcott was really bad today, and I don't think a single person could list a reason why he wasn't substituted instead of Chamberlain, other then the fact that Walcott has more experience, but that is a rather poor reason looking at his performance.
Nice with 3 points for Man U, but again.. they didn't deserve them at all.
I feel bad for Arsenal.
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Oh dear Lord, Messi! Hat-Trick... just because he can. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTzXP2LUGfw
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Ugh, Balotelli's such a cunt. A four game ban doesn't seem enough for what he did.
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Mighty Reds fan here
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You want real football? To the top of its level? Watch the replay of today's Clásico. Fuck, what a good game (and yo, Zantera, Real Madrid played better! Doesn't matter, had sex!)
Enjoy this gem by Dani Alves: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_cfL86Gspk
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Can someone get me in the loop? I haven't watched any games in a almost a year.
What interesting leagues or cups are going on right now?
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Can someone get me in the loop? I haven't watched any games in a almost a year.
What interesting leagues or cups are going on right now?
I am the most interested in the English Premier League, I've always been interested by English football. La Liga is always about the same two teams each year, so that's kind of boring - but sure, both Barcelona and Real Madrid play outstanding football. Serie A is a little more unpredictable since both Milan, Juventus, and Napoli are in the title race. And now Inter seems to be heading towards the top again too.
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I did watch the El Classico, and while it was the best El Classico I've seen in a while, I still think it's a bit overhyped atm.
Mostly because there are 5000 situations throughout the game where the referee has to stop it, which ruins the flow a bit, but what's up with Spanish Production having 3648 replays of everything? :lol I rarely watch Spanish football, but everytime I get the feeling that they roll replays here and there, zooming in players faces to get some form of reaction, I just thought that part was a bit silly, cause I never see that in Premier League, Ligue 1 or Bundesliga. :P
The game itself was interesting, rarely you see Real dominate Barca on Camp Nou, but I'd say Real were the better team quite easily. The first game wasn't much to talk about that Barca won, but this time it was a much more even game and more interesting.
I sort of feel for Real, cause even though they had game against Barcelona's goal through the first half, Barcelona managed to score 2 goals out of thin air near the end, so the result didn't really reflect the game.
I think Real should have used their opportunities better, they could have easily won with 5-2 if they had used their chances in a better way, but maybe that happens another time.
But again, it makes me a bit sad to see how two of the best teams in the world act on the field. We have the incident where Lass most likely should have been sent off (again I think the ref gave him a very easy first yellow card, so it was almost like karma), but we had all of Barcelona's team surrounding the referee, and then several Real players as well. I think it's a dick move no matter what team you're in, if you're gonna surround the ref and trying to force out a card.
All the diving... while it was better this game then in the last, we saw Pepe do a couple of dives, and the usual dives from Fabregas, Messi, Alves, Iniesta and Busquets, it's sad to see no matter what team does it.
But to sum it up, I thought the El Classico yesterday was one of the better out of the last games, but there are still so many things that both teams has to stop with, diving, tackling hard and trying to surround the ref for example.
I think the worst part with the game was to see the reactions from both the Real and the Barca-fans yesterday, talk about some of the most one-eyed fans ever. The Real fans were all about "The referee sucked, should have gotten two penalties", meanwhile the Barca-fans still continue to miss all the diving situations, which leads me to wonder if they have accepted diving as something positive in the sport.
Anyhow, it was a pretty solid game, though personally I'd say Premier League has had quite a lot of those games this season. Just look at Chelsea - Arsenal (3-5) for example. :lol
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I agree, the animosity is getting ridiculous.
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FA Cup games today! Got a couple of bets on too!
Come on Liverpool, lets make it two victories this week1
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Diiiiiirrrrkkk Kuyt for the winnn!!! :hefdaddy
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Great week..mancs gone from Cups all over the place.....ynwa
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Anyone else starting to suspect another fail season for Manchester City? Out of Carling Cup, out of the FA-Cup, and out of Champions League, while they're split with Man United for the lead in Premier League, I strongly doubt that they will win the league. I'm not saying that Man United will either, but personally I think Spurs has a slightly higher chance of winning it. Let's say Man United wins the Premier League (which isn't impossible at all), that leaves Europe League for City, a team that has spent several billions trying to buy success. :lol
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I hope they fail. I hate those teams that have lots of money and think that by buying a lot of good players at the same time will get them titles. I think that kind of management is destroying the national teams to some extent. Instead of developing good young players they just buy start from other countries which in turn makes the players adjust to a playing style that might not be the one they will practice with their national team.
I think that was very clear in the last world cup with Italy. Their best team at that time was Inter which is full of foreigners so they based their team on Juventus, a club that wasn't playing a good football and the results were very evident. I think something similar happens in England where the main teams have very few English players and lots of foreigners.
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I sorta get what you mean, but I do think there's a glimmer of hope for England.
In a few years, they might have a team that looks something like this:
Hart
Walker-Jones-Smalling-Richards
Rodwell-McEachran
Chamberlain-Wilshere-Johnson
Welbeck
And spice that up with some of the current players that will still be around, like Rooney for example. There is potential, but one of the sad things is that few of the teams give their young players a chance. Arsenal and Man United try to do it, and that is a great thing. What makes me a bit mad about Chelsea is that they have a player like McEachran, yet he doesn't get the chance to play in any Cup-game, despite the fact that most of Chelsea has been very bad this season, at least the midfielders.
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You know McEachran is on loan at Swansea right? I'm loving the new look top four at the moment, with Spurs and City pushing Arsenal and Liverpool out. I'd love to see Newcastle in there too, but doubt that's going to happen. My predicted Premier League table at the end of the season:
1 - Manchester United
2 - Manchester City
3 - Spurs
4 - Chelsea
5 - Arsenal
6 - Liverpool
7 - Newcastle
8 - Sunderland
9 - Stoke
10 - Everton
11 - Aston Villa
12 - Fulham
13 - Swansea
14 - West Brom
15 - Norwich
16 - QPR
17 - Bolton
18 - Blackburn
19 - Wolves
20 - Wigan
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Yeah I know he's on loan. :P
I'll give it a try as well, I think the table will end something like this:
1. Man United
2. Man City
3. Arsenal (because why not? they have most of the good teams at home, it can only go up from here)
4. Tottenham (I think they might drop a bit due to the tough schedule they have)
5. Chelsea
6. Sunderland
7. Liverpool
8. Newcastle
9. Stoke
10. Swansea
11. Everton
12. Fulham
13. West Brom
14. Norwich
15. QPR
16. Bolton
17. Wolverhampton
18. Aston Villa (Because they have a shit coach)
19. Blackburn
20. Wigan
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1. Tottenham
2. Man United
3. Man City
4. Liverpool
5. Chelsea
6. Arsenal
7. Newcastle
8. Everton
9. Stoke
10. West Brom
11. Sunderland
12. Fulham
13. Aston Villa
14. QPR
15. Norwich
16. Wolves
17. Swansea
18. Bolton
19. Blackburn
20. Wigan
Liverpool will get fourth as long as they gather and build on the momentum. Spurs will go on a roll after the Liverpool game (cause they will lose) and City will fall away, United and Citys Europa League schedules will be their downfall.
I have no interest what so ever in the future England team personally, I'm a club over country person. If Gerrard isn't made England captain (which he should've been years ago) then I will be done with England and The FA.
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No way in hell is Tottenham winning the league and it would be even harder to see Liverpool on the top 4.
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No way in hell is Tottenham winning the league and it would be even harder to see Liverpool on the top 4.
I agree with this. One of the Manchesters will take the league. I think Zantera's top 4 is the most likely to happen.
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The most important part of the season is so much more easier for Spurs, if they are still in with a chance then they will win it. Their run in (April-May)/ last 8 games are so much more easier on paper.
Who knows what could go on. Stranger things have happened.
If Liverpool don't get fourth, I will eat my own hat.
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The most important part of the season is so much more easier for Spurs, if they are still in with a chance then they will win it. Their run in (April-May)/ last 8 games are so much more easier on paper.
Who knows what could go on. Stranger things have happened.
If Liverpool don't get fourth, I will eat my own hat.
And you will record it on video and post it for our amusement. ;)
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3 points for Man United, but they honestly didn't deserve them.
I almost get angry watching Arsenal, because they should have easily grabbed those 3 points, but the same problems occur every game, and it's hard to blame it on anything.
I think Wenger did a poor game for several reasons. Replacing Chamberlain who was the best player on the field, or if not then Arsenal's best player at least, with a completely useless Arshavin is the best example. Arshavin wouldn't even get a starting place in Bolton's team, the only two things he brings to the table when he plays are A) Missing opportunities that are goals 99 out of 100 times and B) Giving away goals to the other team, today he managed to do B when his poor defending led to 2-1.
The problem is that Arshavin is horrible, yet always comes in with the objective to change the game around with a goal or two, something he hasn't done in ages.
And sending in Park in minute 84? He didn't look bad at all, but what does Wenger honestly expect from a player that never gets to play, and he got a good ~10 minutes of gametime.
Walcott was really bad today, and I don't think a single person could list a reason why he wasn't substituted instead of Chamberlain, other then the fact that Walcott has more experience, but that is a rather poor reason looking at his performance.
Nice with 3 points for Man U, but again.. they didn't deserve them at all.
I feel bad for Arsenal.
A bit late I know, but I pretty much agree with all of this, other than the fact that the Ox was brought off due to fatigue - he's young and I think that was his first ever start in the Premier League. But bringing on Arshavin (in that or any other match) is always a dumb idea, the guy is so useless these days. And yeah Walcott had a really bad match as well, it was frustrating.
Today went rather a lot better, totally was not expecting a 7-1 win!
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Man U v. Liverpool.
Come on Liverpool!
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Just bet Over 2.5 Goals Liverpool V Man Utd..Dont care who wins..Just give me goals :eek
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Come on United!
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1 More Goal and Im a winner :tup
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SUAREZ 2-1.. :tup :tup ;D GET IN THERE!!!!
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Poor game in all fairness. All 3 goals could've been prevented. Obviously overshadowed by the off field antics, I'm trying not to say anything that can turn discussion sour!
Not shocked that Everton beat Chelsea to be honest. I think AVB will gone shortly.
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Honestly, they should ban Suarez for the season. His behaviour is bizarre. He even bit a player on the shoulder in our national league over here. (Bakal). Now he refused to shake Evra´s hand. The guy´s a douche.
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Poor game in all fairness. All 3 goals could've been prevented. Obviously overshadowed by the off field antics, I'm trying not to say anything that can turn discussion sour!
Not shocked that Everton beat Chelsea to be honest. I think AVB will gone shortly.
It pleases me muchly seeing Chelsea fail this year.
My prediction (in line with what I hope and what's realistic)
1. Man U
2. Man C
3. Tottenham
4. Arsenal
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Honestly, they should ban Suarez for the season. His behaviour is bizarre. He even bit a player on the shoulder in our national league over here. (Bakal). Now he refused to shake Evra´s hand. The guy´s a douche.
True. King Kenny is doing himself no favours with his blind support of the guy if you ask me.
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Honestly, they should ban Suarez for the season. His behaviour is bizarre. He even bit a player on the shoulder in our national league over here. (Bakal). Now he refused to shake Evra´s hand. The guy´s a douche.
+1
Can't stand the guy.
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I'm "biting my lip" metaphorically on here re: Suarez/Evra.
Meanwhile, didn't see Spurs leading 4-0 against Newcastle.
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Suarez is bad, but if they're gonna ban him, then please ban Evra as well.
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Honestly, they should ban Suarez for the season. His behaviour is bizarre. He even bit a player on the shoulder in our national league over here. (Bakal). Now he refused to shake Evra´s hand. The guy´s a douche.
Nah, people are paying to much attention to that, and it feels a little bit hypocritical IMO. Taking into account all the insults/aggressions/bad blood that occur all the time among football players, calling someone out because he refused to shake hands is pretty lame.
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Saw this video posted on a few sites I'm on after a few people have cast their judgements, alternate angles definitely change the matter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gh2GklvY7eQ - hmmm...
Who's to blame there? Plus, they aren't mentioning Evra taunting Suarez after the whistle.
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It's OBVIOUSLY Evra's fault. He pulls his hand off and then tries to reach Suarez like saying "Dude, don't be stupid! Shake my hand!" Pffff Evra doesn't fool anyone. Suarez has always been a dick, but I'm siding with him on this one. And then Evra runs to celebrate in front of Suarez? What a douche.
(https://i.imgur.com/WjO5O.jpg)
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Yeah, well they´re both to blame. Not very professional, though.
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Aaron Ramsey scores against Man United - Osama Bin Laden dies the next day.
Aaron Ramsey scores against Tottenham - Steve Jobs dies two days after.
Aaron Ramsey scores against Marseille - Muammar Gaddafi dies the next day.
Aaron Ramsey scores against Sunderland - Whitney Houston dies the next day.
I'm beginning to see a pattern, and I wonder what the hell happens if Ramsey would score a hattrick. :lol
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Holy shit :lol
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Well, John Guidetti (on loan from Man city) scored his THIRD hattrick this season for Feyenoord. Mmmm.... :angel:
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Lets get this one straight,
Suarez DID NOT shake Evra's hand !!!
Suarez has apologised along with Liverpool and by doing so admitted to their guilt.
So please no bullsh*t frames showing what you want it to be.
Liverpool have been in the wrong for this whole affair and now they have realised that Suarez is the liar....he always was !
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And he needs to get the fuck out of football, he is very talented but he is a disgrace, he is a cheater, he needs to go back to his country(Or any latin american league) so he can keep doing what he does best: cheating.
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And he needs to get the fuck out of football, he is very talented but he is a disgrace, he is a cheater, he needs to go back to his country(Or any latin american league) so he can keep doing what he does best: cheating.
Or he can just join FC Barcelona. Should fit right in. ;)
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Anyway, shame to see Mick McCarthy go, I like the man, tells it as it is. I can see Steve Bruce/Neil Warnock going their now but I'm not sure if Wolves can stay up.
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Excellent weekend of football so far. Hope the Carling Cup is exciting, not a Liverpool whitewash.
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Spurs just got pounded by Gunners.
And Man U managed to beat Norwich with a last minute goal by Giggs, in his 900th game for the club.
Great weekend. :)
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The Cardiff goal was great news for the neutral. Second half just started...
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Spurs just got pounded by Gunners.
Really did not see that coming, but a pleasant surprise! :D
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Spurs just got pounded by Gunners.
Really did not see that coming, but a pleasant surprise! :D
And another brilliant game between 2 of the top clubs. So many belters this season :hat
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That game was exhausting. So happy we ended our 6 year trophy-less spell. It was a nail-bitter and horrible to watch during the penalties but I'm so relieved we won and hopefully it will lead to better things for Liverpool!
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Spurs just got pounded by Gunners.
Really did not see that coming, but a pleasant surprise! :D
And another brilliant game between 2 of the top clubs. So many belters this season :hat
Yeah seriously, just watched Match of the Day and it was a really energetic game, great stuff.
And the Carling Cup final - good lord! That was fantastic stuff. Such a shame Cardiff screwed up at the end, although both teams took pretty terrible penalties. :lol
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And he needs to get the fuck out of football, he is very talented but he is a disgrace, he is a cheater, he needs to go back to his country(Or any latin american league) so he can keep doing what he does best: cheating.
What the fuck is your problem?
Or he can just join FC Barcelona. Should fit right in. ;)
Cry more.
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And he needs to get the fuck out of football, he is very talented but he is a disgrace, he is a cheater, he needs to go back to his country(Or any latin american league) so he can keep doing what he does best: cheating.
What the fuck is your problem?
What the fuck is yours?
I don't like cheaters and specially the ones like Suarez. He has the fucking ability to outplay a lot of people and there he goes and cheats and acts cowardly in almost every game he is in.
He sucks monkey dick.
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Toro, while I agree with you, it's almost useless to discuss the whole diving/"acting like a dick on the field" with emindead, considering his views on the subject. :P
International games this week also. I really don't like it, because I feel like it interferes with the different leagues, and I don't feel as excited watching a country play, as watching a team play. I might watch Sweden though, I do feel like we have a decent shot at going past the group-stage in Euro 2012. (the other teams in the group are France, England and Ukraine) England and France feel like good teams that haven't met their expectations in a while, and I don't know.. Sweden could surprise people.
I would love to see Sweden play something like this:
Guidetti
Elmander-Ibrahimovic-Larsson
Elm-Källström
M.Olsson-Mellberg-J.Olsson-Lustig
Isaksson
Something like that would be pretty interesting.
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I dislike Balotelli but I have to applaud him here
(https://d24w6bsrhbeh9d.cloudfront.net/photo/3071214_460s.jpg)
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Toro, while I agree with you, it's almost useless to discuss the whole diving/"acting like a dick on the field" with emindead, considering his views on the subject. :P
International games this week also. I really don't like it, because I feel like it interferes with the different leagues, and I don't feel as excited watching a country play, as watching a team play. I might watch Sweden though, I do feel like we have a decent shot at going past the group-stage in Euro 2012. (the other teams in the group are France, England and Ukraine) England and France feel like good teams that haven't met their expectations in a while, and I don't know.. Sweden could surprise people.
I would love to see Sweden play something like this:
Guidetti
Elmander-Ibrahimovic-Larsson
Elm-Källström
M.Olsson-Mellberg-J.Olsson-Lustig
Isaksson
Something like that would be pretty interesting.
i've been to swe v cro match on saturday (i'm croat). all i can say is this: if King Zlatan keeps on playing like this, Sweden could be a very pleasant surprise and go very far in EURO. half of the match he wasn't even trying, just walking around minding his own business. and when he felt like it he took the ball, ran with it for 50 m and created goals for his team like a boss. but truth be told, our team generally didn't really feel the need to make it difficult for him :biggrin:
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:lol That Ballotelli account is a parody.
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All I want from Sweden is to let Guidetti play and him scoring goals, then I know we have a crown prince after Zlatan stops playing.
Would be fun to go through the group too, not the easiest group thought, everyone is a threat. But I can see Sweden winning over Ukraine and England, but France might be harder.
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Looks like a very great weekend for all Arsenal-supporters. The game today was quite interesting to say the least. Liverpool had most of the opportunities, but when you fail to score them, and face a team with Van Persie in it, anything can happen. It was really one of those "didn't deserve it - but hell we made it"-victories, and I think Arsenal should be very happy with it. Add to that the fact that Chelsea lost their game, and Spurs will surely loose tomorrow against Man United (Mr.Optimist here!) and Arsenal might be able to climb even higher. ;)
Spurs has Everton away next weekend, and Chelsea away after that. It isn't impossible or unlikely that they wont win either of these games, so if the other teams do their thing, Spurs could soon be out of the top4.
Really stoked about Spurs - Man U tomorrow ofc. After seeing Spurs getting crushed by Arsenal last weekend, I have high hopes for a Man United win. Lets face it, if Arsenal (a team that hasn't really peaked their highest form this season) was able to totally crush Spurs with 5-2, Man U should be able to win with higher numbers. Still, a trip to WHL is always hard, but hopefully 3 points are within reach, Man City can't increase their lead more!
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I don't know what to say. You get 12 corners in the match, miss a penalty, hit the post twice.
I'm speechless.
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Villas-Boas sacked.
Honestly I just laugh at Chelsea, with Roman Abramovich as the owner, they will never win Champions League, unless Mourinho decides to come back, but he left the club once because of Abramovich, and why would he come back?
It doesn't work to kick the coach everytime you get a few bad results, while Chelsea haven't been that good this season, the main reason is that the core of their squad consists of players over the age of 30, even 33, 34 and so on.
The only quality player that has been solid this season in Chelsea is Mata, the rest has been so bad. But yeah, let's see what Di Matteo can do with a group of camels. :lol
So yeah, this means that Arsenal can pretty much feel very comfortable with their Champions League spot, because there's no way Chelsea can fight for it now.
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I'm not sure Arsenal have got 4th place wrapped up just yet. Chelsea are not out of it by a long shot - Terry and Lampard are definitely fighters.
It's a shame, but everybody who knows any thing about football could see AVB's sacking coming a mile off though - Abramovich has got himself and and his club into an awful downward spiral in my opinion. He really needs to keep faith with a manager for longer than 1 or 2 years. If Alex Ferguson had been sacked after his first two or three years (which was apparently a real possibility), imagine where Man United would be now.
The word is that Rafa Benitez has been made favourite to replace AVB, which would be an absolute disaster for Chelsea. Mourinho is the obvious (and correct) choice.
Good win for Man United this afternoon, April 30th is beginning to look ever more important.
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Rafa would be a dangerous choice, I wouldn't like him to go to Chelsea because he would do a good job plus IF it didn't work out, I don't want to see a person I have so much respect for get treated like Abramovichs latest playtoy.
Mourinho won't go back.
For me, David Moyes deserves a top job at a club with money. He is a great manager, rivalry aside, he has done wonders on a tight budget at Everton.
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Lolchelsea. You just can't buy the champions league.. or maybe you can you just need to spend like Man City.
Surely mourinho has too much pride to go back to chelsea and their let's face it ailing squad. I'd much rather see him at tottenham if harry takes the england job.
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And he needs to get the fuck out of football, he is very talented but he is a disgrace, he is a cheater, he needs to go back to his country(Or any latin american league) so he can keep doing what he does best: cheating.
What the fuck is your problem?
What the fuck is yours?
I don't like cheaters and specially the ones like Suarez. He has the fucking ability to outplay a lot of people and there he goes and cheats and acts cowardly in almost every game he is in.
He sucks monkey dick.
"Or any Latin American League" was the part that bothered me.
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It's half time and Arsenal is beating Milan 3-0. Who would have thought?
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Yeah I'm watching that game now. It's really exciting!
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I hope they don't screw it up!
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Too bad for Arsenal, Milan is such a lame team. The only good thing is that Milan will go out in the next round anyways.
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I had a good feeling before the game, was expecting them to do it after being 3-0 up at half time. Don't care if Chelsea go through, but looks like there could be no english teams in the quarter finals, which is a shame for the competition imo.
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Barcelona 2 - Bayern L. 0
Messi makes this look sooo easy.
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Messi is truely a legend. He gets you 50 goals a season and countless assists i'm sure.
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3-0 all by Messi.
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:clap:
I intended to watch the match but I've been working a lot. And yes, Messi is a legend and I'm proud he was born in Argentina.
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5-0; Messi four goals, Tello (in his international debut) one.
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Bayern Leverkusen isn't exactly the best team around, big shocker that Barcelona would win.
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Bayern Leverkusen isn't exactly the best team around, big shocker that Barcelona would win.
Perhaps, but you can't argue with the football they play. Messi could be remembered at the end of his career as greater than even pele/maradona.
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And he needs to get the fuck out of football, he is very talented but he is a disgrace, he is a cheater, he needs to go back to his country(Or any latin american league) so he can keep doing what he does best: cheating.
What the fuck is your problem?
What the fuck is yours?
I don't like cheaters and specially the ones like Suarez. He has the fucking ability to outplay a lot of people and there he goes and cheats and acts cowardly in almost every game he is in.
He sucks monkey dick.
"Or any Latin American League" was the part that bothered me.
Don't worry bro, I'm Latin American(Mexico) and I know what I'm talking about. LA leagues are corrupted from the Top to the field. I would love to say this is not true but it sadly is, just look at La Copa Libertadores(I'm Looking at you Grondona)
Also Goddamn, Barcelona. It's not even fair anymore :lol
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Yeah, freaking Grondona needs to step down from everything football related. He destroyed Argentina's league already, it's awful to watch a match even when the best teams are playing and Copa Libertadores seems to be going the same route.
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Bayern Leverkusen isn't exactly the best team around, big shocker that Barcelona would win.
Perhaps, but you can't argue with the football they play. Messi could be remembered at the end of his career as greater than even pele/maradona.
Honestly I think he should be able to perform in Argentina if he should be anywhere close to being "the greatest" or whatever. Scoring 5 goals against teams like Leverkusen, Sporting Gijon & Villareal is one thing, but if you look at Pele and Maradona they did an amazing job playing for their countries as well, and Messi doesn't exactly have bad team mates in Argentina. Aguero, Higuain, Di Maria, Lavezzi. (the list goes on really)
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That is true but I'm not sure if you've seen any Argentina match lately. It's bascially the rest of the team giving the ball to Messi and then standing in the field waiting for him to work some magic. The other teams know that this happens so they get 2 or 3 players to match up with Messi making it impossible for him to do anything. I think Messi does a good job every time he plays in the national team, but this is a team sport and no matter how good a player is, the rest of the team still needs to do a good job too.
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Well, last time I saw Argentina was probably World Cup '10. But still. Of course it's a team sport, but Argentina is after all one of the big countries, and Messi has all the right conditions in order to reach success with them, though he hasn't yet. Obviously he's still young, and could reach success in the next world cup, or the one after that.
A personal favorite of mine, Ryan Giggs who I consider to be one of the best (not saying THE best) has the bad luck of coming from Wales. Sure, England hasn't had any success lately either, so it probably wouldn't have been a different situation if he had played there, but it's a shame that he never got to reach any success on the international-level, due to coming from Wales. Messi is pretty lucky in that sense, Argentina is a great football-country.
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I agree on almost everything you say there, Argentina has some great players but non of the last 4 managers we've had has been able to make the team work well. We are struggling in every match we play because the defense is not solid, the midfielders are not able to generate any danger to the opposing team and we rely on Messi, Higuain or Agüero to come up with all the goal situations. Messi has excellent players surrounding him but none of them is able to perform nearly as well as they do in their teams and that has an impact on Messi's game.
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Bayern Leverkusen isn't exactly the best team around, big shocker that Barcelona would win.
Perhaps, but you can't argue with the football they play. Messi could be remembered at the end of his career as greater than even pele/maradona.
Honestly I think he should be able to perform in Argentina if he should be anywhere close to being "the greatest" or whatever. Scoring 5 goals against teams like Leverkusen, Sporting Gijon & Villareal is one thing, but if you look at Pele and Maradona they did an amazing job playing for their countries as well, and Messi doesn't exactly have bad team mates in Argentina. Aguero, Higuain, Di Maria, Lavezzi. (the list goes on really)
I do agree.. in order to be truely considered the best he probably needs to win a World Cup. Maradona pretty much dragged Argentina to victory in '86 or whenever it was, but Pele had an absolutely formidable team behind him. As you say, the Argentine players aren't exactly bad, but winning the World Cup is far less under an individual player's control, particularly when you have Spain at the other end of the pitch!
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Football is a team game, but you need excellent individual players for the squad to become that good. Pelé's Santos and Brazil team had them; Maradona's Argentina had it as well (I'll give it to you the part that he basically, alone, gave Fiorentina's title). After '06, Argentina has had not a superb coach managing their squad. José Nestor Pekerman (Argentina's '06 coach resigned after Germany's cheating -you know, the penalties scandal -- he is now directing Colombia's national team, so I'm really, really excited about it; we beat Mexico 2-0 in that last friendly game) is an excellent coach, and the current one, Alejandro Sabella, is also really good.
Pekerman basically was the responsible to discover Messi. Many criticise him because he didn't let Messi play against Germany in 2006 (and they lost), the thing is that by then he was still too young. Messi's last game with Argentina was last week against Switzerland and he did a hat-trick. In sum, he has scored eight goals in two games. Not bad, not bad at all. I do believe Messi should play better in his national team, I'm sure that with Sabella he will.
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Messi is a great player no doubt. When people ask me who I think is best out of Ronaldo or Messi, I tend to say Ronaldo though. Sure I know Messi has great statistics in the El Classico-games, and I don't mean it as anything negative towards Messi, but in terms of being a more "allround" player, I think Ronaldo has that. I mean, he started out as a sort of Right Midfielder in Man United (in a 4-4-2 system), but eventually developed his offensive game loads, becoming more of a winger, and also a striker. I think Ronaldo has a few qualities that Messi doesn't have, like being pretty good on the head, great corners for example. Messi might be more technical, so this is just how I feel "overall".
Honestly I don't really like the term "best player", because it is impossible to judge such a thing. The general idea is that people go for offensive qualities such as goal-scoring, technical abilities, but Defensive ones are just as important in the sport.
Personally I prefer the term "Favorite"-player, because it's a subjective thing after all. And on that part I would say Özil, who scores goals, but also makes incredible assists. Seeing him in the World Cup '10 was amazing, and he did a big impact on me personally. I think he could take another step and become even more awesome, but he's one of the best playmakers already, and I'm still really bummed that Man U didn't buy him when they had the chance, he joined Madrid for like 8 million or something, real bargain.
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Last Clásico Özil was the man of the match, no doubt. He's a fantastic player.
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Bah. Bilbao deserved the win though, amazing game from them. Really interesting team overall, players like Muniain, Javi Martinez, Herrera and Llorente, some quality right there. Interesting game to watch, though a bit frustrating that Man United didn't do a better performance. I feel like they are starting to slack with their title-chances, while they are still in it for the Premier League-race, they have gone to hell in the League Cup, FA-Cup and Champions, if Man City ends up winning, that means a 0 titles-season for Man United, which is a bit surprising looking at the last couple of seasons.
Personally it wouldn't matter to me if Man U got demoted to Championship since I would still root for them (so no titles isn't that big of a problem for me), but I would love to see Man United play a more attractive football, something I doubt will happen under Ferguson. :/
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I would love to see Man United play a more attractive football, something I doubt will happen under Ferguson. :/
He's been responsible for some pretty attractive football over the last 25 years i'd say! He's hardly a cautious manager.
Another good game. United didn't deserve to win although no doubt they'll be pissed as the second goal was marginally offside, and the third came from the (dubious?) freekick when evra lost his shoe. Really poor defending from rafael there though.
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I would love to see Man United play a more attractive football, something I doubt will happen under Ferguson. :/
He's been responsible for some pretty attractive football over the last 25 years i'd say! He's hardly a cautious manager.
I agree. I think what Manchester United needs is a renewal of players, bringing in mostly players that haven't won any titles yet and are eager to get a championship.
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I'm not saying that Man United are playing dull football, but I'm not the biggest fan of the 4-4-2 system. Personally I'm more into playing a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 with a really good playmaker behind the striker, but Ferguson is more of a "attack on the sides"-kind of coach. Would love to see them go a bit more technical, but then they need to buy a few players who can handle that type of playing.
It will also be interesting to see who becomes the next manager for Man United, personally I think that either Giggs, Solskjĉr or Scholes would be interesting ideas, because they would have that Man United-status, and they know how the club works, so they could easily keep Ferguson's legacy going.
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Bah. Bilbao deserved the win though, amazing game from them. Really interesting team overall, players like Muniain, Javi Martinez, Herrera and Llorente, some quality right there.
Oh, that's the signature of Marcelo Bielsa. Another excellent coach from Argentina.
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Reds. Silverware. Europe.
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Nice win for Arsenal. The win tonight, the one against Sunderland and the one against Liverpool have all been fantastic and important, three games that were all decided in additional time, and it's that kind of flow or "luck" that signifies a top team. You can chase that late goal all you want, but scoring it... that's a quality that most top teams have.
Must feel really sucky to be a Spurs-supporter now, it looked good a while ago, but there's really nothing that speaks for a Champions League spot anymore, next up Spurs have a tough game away against Chelsea, a team that is really hungry and needs to win. Chelsea will win it, because Spurs have been horrible against good teams this season. A lot of speculations about how Spurs would become a top team, and that they would sign Hazard and so on, but now it looks like the only thing they'll be celebrating is a spot in Europa League.
Van Der Vaart said that the difference between Tottenham and Real Madrid was that in Madrid, there were 2 hour long tactics before the game, and in Spurs there's Redknapp saying "go out there and earn the fans love". This says quite a lot, and I don't think Spurs will win anything under Redknapp. He's a solid coach, but not a big tactician, and I don't get why everyone wants to see him as the coach for England, they could do better.
Top4 how it will end:
1. Man U
2. Man C
3. Arsenal
4. Chelsea
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I'll be perfectly content with top 4, but if we can pip Spurs to 3rd, that would be great, and if they drop out of the top 4, even better! :biggrin:
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I don't really follow soccer outside of MLS, and now that the season is here it's time for me to return to my regularly scheduled alcoholism. :biggrin:
And I will say this: If last night's game is indicative of how this season is going to go for the Union, I'm going to be drinking even more heavily than normal. Ugh what a terrible, terrible game.
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Athletic Club Bilbao eliminated Manchester United. Man U is in a downhill spiral.
This also shows how incredible Marcelo Bielsa is as a coach.
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Athletic Club Bilbao eliminated Manchester United. Man U is in a downhill spiral.
This also shows how incredible Marcelo Bielsa is as a coach.
I don't really know about "downward spiral". They're certainly not as good as they were last season (or the season before that), but it's consequences you have to take when you're in a renewal-phase. Several young players getting some time, and while Jones and De Gea (for example) will most likely be among the best in a few years, being as young as they are now, it is expected that they will have good and bad games.
Still, while Man U have been disappointing in Europe and in the cups, they're still top of the table in Premier League, and I have no doubt at all that they will win it. The team still looks the strongest and has the "winners" in the team. What does Man City have? A good squad, but how many of the players has actually won something? Add to that the fact that City has a much tougher schedule with 5 (I think) games against other top teams left, meanwhile Man U only has City. (unless I missed something) So yeah, they're still favorites and will most likely win PL.
Honestly I think a lot of the talks about a team being in a "crisis" and similar situations are normally far fetched. Every team encounters a weaker season, and if this is a bad season for Man U, and they still win Premier League, then it's not a bad season really? :P
I do hope for some transfers during the summer though, Man U has tried to play more attractive this season, and that is something I approve of. I think both Barcelona and Real has showed the other teams that playing nice is the way to go (which Real has been doing this season), so hopefully Ferguson will learn from that. Would love to see Man U sign Hazard, but he would cost 30-35 or something, so it's not the kind of money anyone would just pay up.
Still, I think Bilbao deserved to go through. As I mentioned last game, Llorente, Muniain, Herrera and Martinez are all very interesting players. The sad part for Bilbao is that Barca or Real will probably snatch Muniain eventually.
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Thank you for remembering you're supposed to say "downward" :lol
And if Man Utd is on top of the table and yet they get eliminated from the Europe League it says a lot of the English teams. I don't see Chelsea reaching the semi-finals in the Champions.
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And Barcelona will be playing the final of the Copa del Rey against Athletic de Bilbao. Yikes!
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Well, Man United sucks against teams that play like Barcelona. I'm not saying that Bilbao are as good, but they play a very technical and fast football, and Man U had problems with it. And if you look at it from another PoV, Bilbao had everything to win, meanwhile Man U had everything to loose, like how APOEL won over Lyon.
As for Chelsea going further in CL, I think it's possible. We haven't seen the draws yet, and it wouldn't be impossible for Chelsea to get either Apoel, and then Benfica or Marseille. It all comes down to the draw. I think most people will agree that if Chelsea gets either of the two Spanish teams or Bayern, it's probably bye bye.
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Really depressing scenes at White Hart Lane. The game between Spurs - Bolton has been called off, Muamba collapsed in the middle of the field, with what looks like a heart-related problem. Apparently he's been rushed to the hospital, and I really hope he makes it. This brings back memories to other players who have had the same destiny, and suddenly the sport itself feels very unimportant. :(
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:( That's very sad news. I hope he is Ok
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Messiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
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:( That's very sad news. I hope he is Ok
He can speak and move his arms and legs, but his condition was yesterday still critical.
I check for possible new news.
Nothing special.
Seems that he survives. Everything good for him.
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:( That's very sad news. I hope he is Ok
He can speak and move his arms and legs, but his condition was yesterday still critical.
I check for possible new news.
Nothing special.
Seems that he survives. Everything good for him.
That's great news :)
Also, Messi :clap:
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Here in Sweden, the journalists in the newspaper are almost surprised that Messi broke the record, or treating it like the biggest thing ever. Don't get me wrong, Messi is fantastic, but looking at the fact that he's what, 24? And only needed to score 1 or 2 goals to break the record. He has at least 8-9 years left where he can maintain most of his skills, and he can probably keep it up for a few years after that if he wants to. I wouldn't be shocked if Messi did over 400 or 500 goals for Barcelona, as long as he doesn't get any serious injuries. Really, what's stopping him?
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Well, it's journalism. They over exaggerate everything. I believe it does deserve some media coverage because even though we all knew this was going to happen, he broke a record and deserves some praise for that.
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I really, really, really, hope QPR go down.
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Arsenal have passed Spurs now. :) Soon Chelsea will do the same! Too bad Chelsea couldn't snatch some points from City today, still I feel 100% confident that Man U will win Premier League.
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I really, really, really, hope QPR go down.
I really hope they beat liverpool.. oo looks like they did!
Does mancini have a short memory? I thought he said tevez would never play for City again..
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Mancini is such a clown, wouldn't be a big shocker if he gets to leave after another season without titles. Sure he won the FA Cup last year, but with the team he has, winning no trophies... even Liverpool has won a trophy this season. I can't take a coach seriously who says "this player will never play for the club again", but then doesn't hold his word. Lame doesn't even begin to describe it.
But what's even more lame is City's fans. Seriously, applauding Tevez? He refused to be substituted, managed to bitch his way to the reserve team for half a year, lots of talk about how the city sucks, "I want to play somewhere else", yadayadayada. And they are fuckin' applauding him when he comes on? Fuck that.
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Mancini is such a clown, wouldn't be a big shocker if he gets to leave after another season without titles. Sure he won the FA Cup last year, but with the team he has, winning no trophies... even Liverpool has won a trophy this season. I can't take a coach seriously who says "this player will never play for the club again", but then doesn't hold his word. Lame doesn't even begin to describe it.
But what's even more lame is City's fans. Seriously, applauding Tevez? He refused to be substituted, managed to bitch his way to the reserve team for half a year, lots of talk about how the city sucks, "I want to play somewhere else", yadayadayada. And they are fuckin' applauding him when he comes on? Fuck that.
True: the fans suit the ethos of the club really..
I reckon if fergie or wenger had that squad at their disposal they'd run away with the league.
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^ That. The way Tevez handled himself should have gotten him to not play for the whole season anf the fact that he makes in the team again after 6 months of doing nothing is not good for the team at all. If I was a player that busted my ass off training every day and then see him going into the team I would be pissed off to no end.
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REAL MADRID TIED!!!!
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So, if both Barcelona and Chelsea win this round they will be facing each other and coincidentaly I will be in London when they play at Chelsea's stadium. I know it's gonna cost a fuckton of money but it's probably going to be my only chance to watch these two great teams. Does anyone know where I can get tickets?
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ahh yeaaah! Sunderland made a draw against Man. City, Arsenal lost against QPR.. and WHAT? Torres scored....
What a day.. Hope Man. United don't mess it up against B'burn on monday! Who would've thought that United would be in the leading position with their squad and injuries?
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I think PL is all done now. When Man U defeats Blackburn on Monday there will be 5 points between, next weekend City have Arsenal away, where I think Arsenal will win it. (better form despite the loss today) And then (if Man U do their part) there might be a 8 points difference after the next round. I'm happy. :)
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I'm considering not watching CL at all anymore, it just tends to be the same ol' stuff over and over. I don't really blame Barca for all the diving/surround the referee/general behaviour, what makes me sad is that the referees tend to buy it 90% of the times. CL really needs better referees, it's not just a problem in the games with Barcelona, but generally I feel like the quality of them has decreased a lot over the last years. And what's up with the penalty box-referees? Have they EVER done anything? Like, being a part of a decision? :lol
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And what's up with the penalty box-referees? Have they EVER done anything? Like, being a part of a decision? :lol
Barely noticed them, even though I know they are there.
And your(our) wish came true, ah I'm happy!! A lot has to go wrong for United to mess this up.. The interesting part of the league now is who's getting into top four. I really hope Chelsea will miss the spot, so either Newcastle or Spurs would make smile.. There's just been way too many cocky Chelsea fans the past years.
Oh, and Liverpool is just 4 points away from 14th...! :D
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If I would pick with my heart, Arsenal and Newcastle would end up 3 & 4, but the logic says that Chelsea will take the 4th spot. And yeah, it may sound easy to say it now, but I did see City's drop coming. There's another very interesting game in two weeks, Arsenal - Chelsea, which will be very important for the top. I do believe Arsenal will win it, but even a draw isn't that good for Chelsea, they're still two behind Spurs. But if I didn't miss something, Newcastle are at the same points as Spurs now right? (but worse goal difference) Would be really fun to see Newcastle reach CL, they do have interesting players like Ben Arfa, Tiote, Cabaye, Ba and Cissé, with the extra cash they would get from going to CL, they could bring on a few more great players.
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Madness for Liverpool and the goalkeeper situations recently. I knew the reserve keeper (Doni or Jones) would save a penalty in Reinas absence (especially with Reinas old reputation of being a penalty stopper)
Delighted to see Brad Jones get the chance and stop that penalty especially with what has been happening in his family life.
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Man U got their ass handed to them by Wigan and Man City looked good. This race isnt over yet. and on a great note Juventus won!
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Well, to be fair I think Wigan has more to play for. While the title is certainly a huge achievement, hanging onto Premier League as a small club can be the difference between success and going under. We've all seen clubs that have gone out, and then fallen deeper and deeper.
I do think the race is over though, how often does Man U loose points against lesser teams? It happened today, but I don't see it happen much more of the season. And besides, who says that City will beat United? :P
Would have preferred a win tonight though.
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Well, to be fair I think Wigan has more to play for. While the title is certainly a huge achievement, hanging onto Premier League as a small club can be the difference between success and going under. We've all seen clubs that have gone out, and then fallen deeper and deeper.
I do think the race is over though, how often does Man U loose points against lesser teams? It happened today, but I don't see it happen much more of the season. And besides, who says that City will beat United? :P
Would have preferred a win tonight though.
The hardest opponents at the end of season is always the clubs fighting for their spot in the league..The rest of the teams UTD will meet, don't have anything to play for with the exception of City... It's just too bad United always make it more interesting at the end of the season, just like last year when Chelsea was 12 points behind and at one point they were 2 or something.
I find my english very bad when discussing football.. sorry about that!
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I tend to agree, Man U has just looked a bit shaky lately. It will be hard for City to catch them and it is a must win for City when they play Man U. If they can get there, City currently holds goal differential.
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I'm considering not watching CL at all anymore, it just tends to be the same ol' stuff over and over.
Don't be a cry-baby. Just appeal to your nationalist gut and root for Chelsea. Is it gonna be payback? I don't think so.
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I'm considering not watching CL at all anymore, it just tends to be the same ol' stuff over and over.
Don't be a cry-baby. Just appeal to your nationalist gut and root for Chelsea. Is it gonna be payback? I don't think so.
Let's face it though, Champions League has become stale. Where is the excitement? It's always the same teams, and sure there were a few surprises with Man U and City going out so fast, but am I surprised about the Semi Final-teams? No. I would probably have said Man U instead of Chelsea, but otherwise Barca, Real and Bayern were all expected to go far.
All in all I think the tournament has lost a bit of it's charm, it's especially noticeable in the group-stage where many of the big teams rest players because they face lesser teams. Another factor might be that Barca and Real are the best teams by far in Europe right now, and it would feel much more interesting if there were other teams that felt as solid.
Predictions: Real beats Bayern, Barca beats Chelsea. Real gets an early questionable red card in the final, Barca scores a goal or two, game ends.
But obviously I will cheer for Chelsea though. I think that one of the few things that are in their favour is that nobody is expecting them to do anything, if you ask a million people, there might be 5 people who thinks Chelsea has a chance.
In short terms my frustration is mostly aimed towards many of the other top teams being more shit then usual. :P I remember the year when it was Monaco - Porto in the finals, talk about crazy year. No-one had expected any of them to go so far, so it was nice. The Liverpool-Milan final was also crazy (the one where Pool turned 0-3 to 3-3). Not sure when the last exciting final was, all I remember is Man U getting their asses handed to them by Barca.
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Believe it or not -before Bayern plays against Real- I think Munich is the best team right now. They are INCREDIBLY good this season. I'm quite scared, to be honest.
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Believe it or not -before Bayern plays against Real- I think Munich is the best team right now. They are INCREDIBLY good this season. I'm quite scared, to be honest.
Really? I used to think so, but they have been quite uneven this season. They've had a few streaks with winning big, but they lost two times to Dortmund, and will most likely not win the league. While a final at home would be a nice carrot to do good games against Real, I think the latter is a more solid team.
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Semi-finals for the FA Cup this weekend. I am going with 2 tight games.
Liverpool 1 - Everton 0 (Carroll)
Tottenham 2 - Chelsea 3
Eitherway, come on Liverpool!
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Emindead, even you have to admit that Cuenca's penalty was cheap? :biggrin:
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Liverpool is in FA Cup finals!
We'll win two trophies. ManU wins one. Maybe ;D.
I hope that Tottenham will be the second final team.
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Knew Carroll would score the winner!!
Let's go and get ourselves a domestic double!
I personally want Chelsea in the final. I'd feel more confident against them, plus I'd love to see Torres and Meireles react should we win.
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Knew Carroll would score the winner!!
Let's go and get ourselves a domestic double!
I personally want Chelsea in the final. I'd feel more confident against them, plus I'd love to see Torres and Meireles react should we win.
...Or Liverpool's reaction if Torres scores the deciding goal and Chelsea wins. :biggrin:
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I am wholly confident no such thing would happen.
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Liverpool vs Chelsea, Carroll vs Torres (just who was the biggest utter waste of money.. :corn)
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Well obviously it is Torres as for £50m he has only given Chelsea about 8 goals since he signed, whereas Carroll for £35m has given us 11 goals in 51 games. Facts may be wrong but I know for a fact Carroll has scored more than Torres in all competitions. This is why I hate British media. They are quick to give Carroll stick, but call Torres "unlucky" or "trying too hard." Carroll will get little praise or media spotlight even if he scored 5 goals vs. top of the table.
Still not good, nor do I agree with the prices paid, but I stand by Torres being more of a waste of money.
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Well obviously it is Torres as for £50m he has only given Chelsea about 8 goals since he signed, whereas Carroll for £35m has given us 11 goals in 51 games. Facts may be wrong but I know for a fact Carroll has scored more than Torres in all competitions. This is why I hate British media. They are quick to give Carroll stick, but call Torres "unlucky" or "trying too hard." Carroll will get little praise or media spotlight even if he scored 5 goals vs. top of the table.
Still not good, nor do I agree with the prices paid, but I stand by Torres being more of a waste of money.
Torres gets ALOT of stick from the general public, although I have heard pundits say he's played a good game 'for the team' bla bla.
As for Caroll, he's scored 2 or 3 goals recently which has improved his record slightly (granted, an important one yesterday) but I still think he's been a shadow of the player he was at newcastle previously.
More stocking ref'ing in the totenham chelsea game today!
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I am disgusted at the antics of some Chelsea fans during the minutes silence today.
I can't wait to play them and beat them well in memory of the 96.
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I am disgusted at the antics of some Chelsea fans during the minutes silence today.
I can't wait to play them and beat them well in memory of the 96.
Pretty poor behaviour. Never had the Chelsea fans down as much dicks. Taking a leaf from members of their team it would seem..
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That's Ashley Young!
(https://imgur.com/WqQ3Q.gif)
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ynwa. Great Win.
Justice for the 96
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I am wholly confident no such thing would happen.
Me too.
Chelsea is quite neutral for me. More negative than positive.
And Torres will score none, and Carroll a hat trick!
E: I saw that Ashley Young one in sports news. It was quite fun when the reporter said something like "Young was knocked over". Fuck, he knocked himself over :P.
I hate when players do that. I haven't yet forgiven Arjen Robben of his mighty flight in World Cup quarter finals in 2010.
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Ashley Young's behaviour is something I don't like. He's a great football player, but I don't tolerate diving no matter who it comes from, so it's frustrating to see. I think it was even worse against QPR because Derry got a red card for taking down Young, when there was barely any contact.
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what a week for Wigan!
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Good game yesterday. Think the result keeps the game fairly open, though I think it's a better result for Real then for Bayern.
Also looking forward to the game tonight, come on Chelsea! :hat
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It was an entertaining game but I'm becoming increasingly fed up with Mourinho. I don't get why he plays Coentrao, he's a putrid defender and doesn't do much on attack. Marcelo is way superior IMO, though I admit he has the drawback of being easily angered, as the last minutes of the game showed (he should have been ejected).
Another player I don't get his love for is Khedira. Whenever he plays the ball movement is a lot worse than when Sahin or Granero play.
Still, a decent result but considering I'm almost certain Bayern will score in Madrid, we'll have to score at least 2 goals (3 if we don't want extra time) so there's still a lot of work ahead.
Edit: Bayern is now 9 wins, 1 draw, 0 losses against Real Madrid when they play at home. I was hoping we could break this statistic this year, but I guess we'll have to wait.
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CHELSEA! :D
The game was pretty much the opposite from yesterday, instead of being fun, fast and very open, this game was very different. As usual Barca has the ball more often, long periods of the game consisted of passing sideways, and Chelsea playing defense.
Great that Chelsea won, despite having a shaky season they displayed a solid defense, and it was very important that Barca didn't get to score any goals.
I really think Chelsea can do this. Obviously they need to be as good in the next game, but if they get a corner or something and score a goal, that could be important as hell.
So yeah, to quote Xavi: "This was a victory for football". :hat
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And there goes another game. Big thanks to UEFA and the referee for putting Barca in the finals.
Awesome job!
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Come on Chelsea!
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I still think the result is way too little to go on for Chelsea, they need another goal if they're gonna have a chance.
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Come on Chelsea!
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YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSS!
Fernando Torres out of all players. Man, I'm so happy now. My heart is pounding, the last 15 minutes were exciting.
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It had to be torres sealing barca's fate. What a dismal few days for them, all but losing the league, now this.
Chelsea vs Mourinho for the final please!
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Lol Barcelona, that was embarrasing :rollin Playing against 10 for almost an hour, they ley Chelsea tie
I think it's very good for them and their fans to lose the League and the Champions, so they can stop being the most arrogant team on the planet, stop making demeaning commentaries about teams they consider inferior, and to reconsider their boring style of playing. They put everybody to sleep with their short passes instead of attacking aggressively, and when that doesn't work (like in the last 3 games) they always cry saying "we play the real football, our style is the best, this is so unfair, we can't do much about coward teams that only defend", etc. They have to accept that other styles are as valid as their own, and that sometimes they need to adapt to different circumstances and stop forgetting that the purpose is to score goals, not to achieve the largest number of passes.
Congratulations to Chelsea fans, they deserve this, they fought really hard. I found this very appropiate.
So yeah, to quote Xavi: "This was a victory for football". :hat
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Man, I can't imagine how the Chelsea-fans are feeling, I'm a Man U-fan but I was totally into the game.
It will be interesting to see what Barca blames this on now, after all they got both a cheap penalty and a cheap red card, so they had their chances. 3 bad games in a row now, can't all be bad luck.
Man what a great night to get me excited before seeing Steven Wilson tomorrow. :hat
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As a HUGE Chelsea fan, I am on cloud 9. and it was a great game. Tomorrow should be interesting. Rooting for Bayern becasue i think a Chelsea v Bayern could be epic.
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Finally someone besides Mou destroyed Uefalona "circle-jerking" style of playing. I'm so fucking happy.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6RG6yxgeFE
^Gary Neville orgasming over the 2-2 goal. :rollin
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:(
I really didn't get Mourinho in this game. Playing Kaka who is absolutely worthless, letting him and Ramos shoot penalties instead of people like Higuain or Marcelo... I was watching it in a bar and as soon as we saw Ramos was going to shoot next everyone started screaming that it was over. We even called that he would shoot it too high like he always does... what a disappointing end.
I guess we'll have to do with the Liga but winning just one cup is going to feel very underwhelming after such a strong season.
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How bout that Fernando Torres. Maybe he looked at his paychecks for once and felt bad about not doing his job.
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Roy Hodgson presented the new head coach for the English national team. :tup
Personally I think he was the better pick out of the two options, Redknapp was also speculated, but if anything Hodgson is a much stronger tactician, and while he didn't have the best of luck at Liverpool, has Dalglish really performed better despite spending several millions?
Though I'm not sure if the pick was good from a Swede's point of view. We have England in the group stage this summer, and Roy has a better knowledge about Swedish football. But hopefully we can still go through.
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Hodgson doesn't appear to be the most popular choice here in the UK. I'm a little undecided, I think Harry's man management skills and respect amongst the england players would be invaluable, time will tell if Roy can make the big decisions whilst keeping people on his side. He's done well most of his career apart from with Liverpool, but i'm not sure many managers would succeed with their current crop of players in fairness.
So, looks like Man City are back in the driving seat for the Premier League title.. and they say money can't buy you trophies, :lol
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Last English coach for the English national team (Steve McClaren) was an epic fail.
Hodgson has some great merits, like almost leading the Finnish national team to European Championships ( :facepalm:). And leading Fulham to European League final was also a good result.
Knowledge about Swedish football? Sure, like the Swedish football of the 80s :P. But if it is true, it's a great thing from a Finn's point of view ;).
So, looks like Man City are back in the driving seat for the Premier League title.. and they say money can't buy you trophies, :lol
YESSS! Liverpool 1 - ManU 0. And more to come :D.
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Well that was quite the match yesterday.
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Too bad City won. While I don't think Man United deserves to win the PL-title (because they've been pretty shite from time to time), it's still obvious that I would want them to win.
The two good things I feel right now, A) Spurs and Newcastle didn't take the chance, so Arsenal still has the best chance for the third spot, and I enjoy Arsenal, so I hope they grab the spot. B) The failure in Man U might lead to some changes. It has been rumoured that Kagawa might come, and that would make me happy since he's awesome. I would also love to see Hazard, but I doubt we could afford him.
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Good god, what an absolutely epic day of football!
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My United heart bleeds right now, but damn what an exciting game that was!
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United 0 trophies this season.
Pool 1 trophy this season.
FUCK YEAH!
Though I don't like City anymore, anything is better than ManU. Also Chelsea is not in top 5! :D :D :D :D :D :D :D.
Go Magpies and Spurs!
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Christ what a comeback, City.
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Interesting day for football. I feel both happy and sad, for many different reasons. To sum up this day, and this season, here are some thoughts:
It might sound odd, but I'm happy with Man United's season, even though we didn't win. Lots of difficult injuries this season, Vidic has been away for all of it, Fletcher had to take a time out due to his problems. A whole new defense, De Gea is really growing with each game for me, and I think the summer-break will benefit him since he can adapt more to England, learn more English and have a proper pre-season with Man United. We've also had to play a lot with Jones and Smalling, who are both great and promising, but not "world class" yet, so I'm glad they have gotten so many games, because they have grown as players. I'm excited about signings for the next season, Kagawa is one rumour that I am very excited about, he has the creative qualities that I would really like to see in the team, and lets face it - Scholes and Giggs can't play forever. ;)
I also feel like the season wasn't decided by the games today, Man United shouldn't have lost against Wigan, or dropped points against Everton, or getting beaten twice by City this season.
Biggest surprises this year - Newcastle and Swansea. They have both played really nice football and surprised most of the viewers, and they placed higher then most people expected them to. On the contrary, Aston Villa was a major disappointment for me, and I really wanted to see them go down. McLeish is one of my least favorite managers in the league, he has very little identity with the football he wants to play, and to me he feels like a "lets grab one point instead of three"-kind of manager, and it's sad to see what he has done to Aston Villa, a team that just a few seasons ago could snatch points from even the best teams in the league.
Otherwise I would just like to congratulate Man City on the win, and Arsenal for taking the third spot. Very interesting game next week between Bayern Munich and Chelsea, I think the Tottenham-fans will be very nervous about the game.
Apart from that game I'm just looking forward to a great silly season, I'll most likely post regularly in this thread during the summer about signings here and there, and if Man United would just buy Hazard and Kagawa, I would be really happy. :)
Also looking forward to another big tournament this summer - Euro 2012. Tough group for Sweden with France, England and Ukraine, but I think we can make it. Both England and France have shown tendencies to shake a bit, hopefully we can take advantage from that.
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Very interesting game next week between Bayern Munich and Chelsea, I think the Tottenham-fans will be very nervous about the game.
I only realised how that result will affect whether 4th place gets Champions League next year, so I'm so relieved that Arsenal managed to get third!
Needless to say, I'll be supporting Chelsea in the final. :biggrin:
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United 0 trophies this season.
Don't forget the charity shield! :laugh:
What a day.. amazing stuff, fitting end to the best premier league season I can remember.
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Very interesting game next week between Bayern Munich and Chelsea, I think the Tottenham-fans will be very nervous about the game.
I only realised how that result will affect whether 4th place gets Champions League next year, so I'm so relieved that Arsenal managed to get third!
Needless to say, I'll be supporting Chelsea in the final. :biggrin:
If I'm not mistaken it does affect them though (if Chelsea wins Arsenal will have to play the play-off round to get into the group stage).
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Nah. From what I understand, if Chelsea wins, they get Tottenham's fourth spot, but they are also direct qualified to the tournament. Neither Arsenal or Chelsea will have to qualify. I'm not 100% sure, but I think they re-arrange the tournament slightly so that another team (that would have faced the fourth best English team) gets a direct ticket as well.
Also, today the Swedish coach, Erik Hamrén will announce the Swedish squad for Euro 2012. I'm excited about it, here's how I hope the starting line-up will look:
Guidetti
Kacaniklic - Ibrahimovic - Larsson
Källström - Elm
M. Olsson - J. Olsson - Mellberg - Lustig
Isaksson
I would love to see that. Kacaniklic is a bit of an outsider, but he has done it really well in the games for Fulham that I've seen. He's fast and promising, and I don't think we have many good options on the left side. Bajrami has been on the bench a lot this season, and as much as I like Hysén, I don't think players from Allsvenskan (the Swedish league) should be in the starting squad. If Elmander comes back from his injury - good, but I still want to see what Guidetti can do. Some solid backups in Toivonen, Wernbloom and Bajrami.
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Guidetti fan eh? Only took this guy three weeks to get masssively popular with the Feyenoord fans. He´s legendary now. ;D
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Guidetti wasn't in the squad. :( I imagine it's because of his injury and that he wont be able to get well in time. Otherwise it's outrageous to pick Hysén over Guidetti.
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Yeah I was confused why Guidetti wasn't in the squad, but then Hamrén said it was because of his injury. Fair enough. I would have loved to seen him in the European Championships.
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You guys didn´t know about his injury? He has a nerve-injury, that´s why he didn´t play the last three matches with Feyenoord.
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I did know about the injury, but not that it was so bad. I feel bad for him, and I do think Sweden would have a better team with him. :(
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Yeah I knew about the injury too, but the reports said he would be okay for the Championships. Apparently not :(
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Nah. From what I understand, if Chelsea wins, they get Tottenham's fourth spot, but they are also direct qualified to the tournament. Neither Arsenal or Chelsea will have to qualify. I'm not 100% sure, but I think they re-arrange the tournament slightly so that another team (that would have faced the fourth best English team) gets a direct ticket as well.
You're right:
The following changes to the default allocation system above will be made depending on the result of the 2012 UEFA Champions League Final:
If Bayern Munich win
Anderlecht (the Belgian champion) are promoted from the third qualifying round to the group stage.
Basel (the Swiss champion) are promoted from the second qualifying round to the third qualifying round.
Valletta (the Maltese champion) and Linfield (champion of Northern Ireland) are promoted from the first qualifying round to the second qualifying round.
If Chelsea win
Because of the restriction that no association can have more than four teams playing in the Champions League, Tottenham Hotspur (the fourth-placed team of the 201112 Premier League), which would have entered in the 201213 Champions League play-off round, will be moved to the 201213 UEFA Europa League. Moreover, Braga (as the third-placed team from Portugal) and Spartak Moscow (runners-up from Russia) are promoted from the third qualifying round to the play-off round.
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Awesome weekend for football.
City's comeback was exciting and the finals of my County's league were just as exciting.
I love football.
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CHELSEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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FUCK YEAH
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Wow. What a match.
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Overall the game was I thought not all that exciting. Bayern played better overall, but they just couldn't get it in. I loved how they had Neuer deliver one of the penalty kicks :lol
rumborak
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Yeah I agree, it didn't really get good till about 70 mins. After that, it was European football at its best, so tense.
And so happy an English team has finally beaten the Germans in a penalty shootout!
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Haha yeah, probably a lot of people sat in English homes thinking "Aww great, penalty shots against Germany again." :lol
rumborak
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I'm almost certain we'll now lose to Germany in the Euros, on penalties. It'll definitely come back to haunt us. Gareth Southgate all over again...
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United 0 trophies this season.
Don't forget the charity shield! :laugh:
Oh shit. Then we're tied.
I saw the penalties. Strange to be excited for Chelsea. I guess I hate Bayern Munchen very much. Pity that Tottenham isn't in Champions League next season, but they'll kick Arsenal's ass big time next PL season.
And so happy an English team has finally beaten the Germans in a penalty shootout!
And German (Schweinsteiger) missed a penalty and gave Drogba the keys of won. David Luiz's penalty was absolutely amazing.
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Man, what a game. I had to collect my thoughts and sleep on it, that was a crazy night, and that comes from a Man United-fan. :lol
Game was pretty much like I had expected, Bayern having most of the possession and creating chances, Chelsea focusing more on their defensive strengths, fighting tough. Some people say Chelsea won with a boring way of playing football, and that they should have attacked more, I think that's silly. Chelsea has probably their worst squad in 10 years, and if you compare their current offensive players against Bayern's, then the latter will have the advantage.
Chelsea again did a perfect game, very solid defense and they picked their attacks very well. Drogba still remains one of the best attackers, he might not be as fast anymore, but in the penalty-box he is dangerous.
Di Matteo did the impossible, and I think I speak for everyone when I say that nobody had expected Chelsea to win CL, not this year. If this performance doesn't give Di Matteo a lifelong-contract or that he gets knighted among the monks of Mongolia, I don't know what will.
When Mata missed his penalty I thought Chelsea would go out, but they managed to score the other 4, and the night was just crazy. Chelsea totally deserved it though, if you can defeat big teams like Napoli, Barcelona and Bayern Münich on the way, you deserve to win.
Also nice to see Harry Rednose and Tottenham play EL next year. :lol
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Well, that was totally undeserved, but hey....that´s football for you. When you´re missing penalty´s it´s gonna bite you in the ass.
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(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/163558_10150788330401933_185733581932_9681343_1772926181_n.jpg) :rollin
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haha :lol
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Who'd have bet on Chelsea winning a penalty shoot out to germans in their own back yard, brilliant! :lol
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Chelsea were lucky. Scoring last-minute goals against Barcelona and Bayern is just wow. But to be fair they deserved it. They've gone to the finals multiple times and lost.
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Actually, the only time Chelsea has made it to the finals before was in 08 when Man United won on penalties. But that was such a painful experience that Chelsea really deserved to win it this time. :P
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So the Hazard transfer-saga has me on edge. I really hope he joins Man United, if he does then I'm totally changing my avatar to #7 Hazard. While City and Chelsea could offer more cash, Man United still remains a bigger club, and he will get lots of playtime. And we have the best manager, so.
There's also still talks about Kagawa, if we landed both then I could die happy. :D
Just imagine a team looking something like this:
Hazard - Rooney - Nani
Kagawa
Carrick - Cleverley
Evra - Vidic - Ferdinand - Rafael
De Gea
With awesome back-up in Valencia, Young, Hernandez, Welbeck, Scholes and Giggs. :caffeine:
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United also linked strongly in the British press with Leighton Baines. Could be a good replacement for Evra, who had a poor season in my opinion.
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Shinji Kagawa to Man United (https://www.manutd.com/en/News-And-Features/Football-News/2012/Jun/manchester-united-agree-shinji-kagawa-transfer.aspx)
(https://i.minus.com/izdtC5xlBidwZ.gif)
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Yeah I just read that. I don't know anything about him, but I'm still excited about this.
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He's really good. I've followed Dortmund quite a bit this season, and getting a creative and offensive midfielder is just what we need IMO. Also a nice replacement for Scholes.
I would say that Kagawa was Dortmund's best player last season. Götze had some injuries, otherwise Lewandowski and Hummels were great as always, but Kagawa really shined.
Also, Kagawa's statistics for the last season in Dortmund:
Games: 45 Goals: 21 Assists: 10
Quite nice for a midfielder. :) It's interesting because I saw a comparison with Hazard, and Kagawa has actually done more goals/assists I believe overall, so getting Kagawa cheaper is a nice deal.
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First time I've heard of that guy. Not sure it that's the kind of player MU needs right now but I hope he helps improve the team.
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First time I've heard of that guy. Not sure it that's the kind of player MU needs right now but I hope he helps improve the team.
A quality-player is always needed, even in a team like Man United. Besides, he's better then all of our central midfielders so it's a nice addition to the squad. :)
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Well the Euro starts this Friday so here are my predictions on who will advance in the groups.
Group A- Greece, Russia, Czech Republic, Poland
Group B- Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, Denmark
Group C- Spain, Italy, Croatia, Ireland
Group D- France, England, Sweden, Ukraine
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Okay, here's my prediction:
Group A- Greece, Russia, Czech Republic, Poland
Group B- Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, Denmark
Group C- Spain, Italy, Croatia, Ireland
Group D- France, England, Sweden, Ukraine
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Group A- Greece, Russia, Czech Republic, Poland
Group B- Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, Denmark
Group C- Spain, Italy, Croatia, Ireland
Group D- France, England, Sweden, Ukraine
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Group A- Greece, Russia, Czech Republic, Poland
Group B- Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, Denmark
Group C- Spain, Italy, Croatia, Ireland
Group D- France, England, Sweden, Ukraine
Every team in group B is better than any team in group B.
Italy will fail again. They have failed two times in a row and the last World Championships. Though they may not play in EC at all.
Seriously Nekov? (I understand Zantera, because he's a Swede.) France hasn't lost an international game in long time, they have at least drew their last 21 matches.
I don't like France, but still.
Spain wins. Germany takes the silver medals.
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Personally I think both France and England falls under the "have good teams but havent shown it", but if anything I'd say that England has a higher chance of going out than France. Honestly I think the group feels very open, let's not forget that Ukraine is one of the hosts so they might take some points as well.
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Well, to be honest I haven't been following France lately and I still have the pathetic image they left during the world cup. I take Sweden over them because they are in transition right now with a lot of younger guys and I'm not sure they will be able to deal with the pressure this kind of tournament has.
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Should be very interesting and some unexpected things could happen.
Its always an advantage when you are the host so Ukraine and Poland could have a big chance to get through too.
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Greece plays soccer like they pay taxes.
good grief....why not just forfeit....there's no bailout coming here.
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Every team in group B is better than any team in group B.
Mind=Blown
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So, Man United and Barcelona are meeting each other in a friendly game right here in Gothenburg in August.
I want to go so badly that I'd be willing to sell a kidney for a ticket, but they are a bit expensive. I'm hoping for a miracle that I'll win money this weekend on football-games, and that I'll be able to afford them. :lol
Man, I would die inside if I missed the chance to see my favorite team, right here in my backyard.
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Your favourite team but also your most hated team. :lol
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Yeah but that makes it even more interesting. :millahhhh
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I JUST FIXED TICKETS! I'M SEEING MAN UNITED IN A MONTH! :caffeine: :caffeine:
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Bump for the new season (Premier League) tomorrow.
Hope we (Liverpool) get off to a good start and win our first game against West Brom. I can see us either winning 3/4-0 or getting beat 1-0.
Transfer wise, Van Persie to Man Utd is a shocker for me!
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I'm really looking forward to the Premier League start tomorrow. As a United fan I'm really excited and happy about the Van Persie transfer. That's one major step up towards winning the league title. But I think City will be even tougher this season, although they are the favourites now - that can be a burden.
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Been meaning to post here for a while about some transfers, the situation before the league starts pretty much. Waited until now because transfers happen, and 3 days ago RVP was still in Arsenal for example, so things change fast.
I can't describe enough how excited I am for tomorrow, seeing both Arsenal - Sunderland, and afterwards Newcastle - Tottenham. Also seeing both games on Sunday and Man United on Monday.
Anyhow, I thought I would share some of the transfer-situation regarding the BIG clubs. The clubs that will most likely have something to say in the table this year. Some people might have missed transfers, so this way it gets summed up quite nicely. Starting alphabetically:
*Arsenal
In: Olivier Giroud (Montpellier), Lukas Podolski (Köln), Santi Cazorla (Malaga)
Out: Robin Van Persie (Man United), Alex Song (Barcelona, not 100% confirmed, but likely), Denilson (Sao Paolo), Joel Campbell (Betis), Manuel Almunia (Watford), Carlos Vela (Real Sociedad), Gavin Hoyte (Dag & Red)
*Chelsea
In: Eden Hazard (Lille), Oscar (Internacional), Marko Marin (Werder Bremen), Thorgan Hazard (Lens)
Out: Didier Drogba (Shanghai Shenhua) Jacob Mellis (Barnsley), Salomon Kalou (Lille), Jose Bosingwa (Queens Park Rangers), Ulises Davila (Sabadell, loan), Milan Lakovic (Guimaraes, loan), Matej Delac (Guimaraes, loan), Kevin De Bruyne (Werder Bremen, loan), Romalu Lukaku (West Brom, loan)
*Liverpool
In: Fabio Borini (Roma), Joe Allen (Swansea), Oussama Assaidi (Herenveen), Brendan Rodgers (new manager, Swansea)
Out: Dirk Kuyt (Fenerbache), Fabio Aurelio (Gremio), David Amoo (Preston North End), Stephen Darby (Bradford), Maxi Rodriguez (Newell's Old Boys), Alberto Aquilani (Fiorentina), Craig Bellamy (Cardiff)
*Manchester City
In: Jack Rodwell (Everton)
Out: Owen Hargreaves, Stuart Taylor, Vladimir Weiss (Pescara), Mohammed Abu (Rayo Vallecano, loan), Wayne Bridge (Brighton)
*Manchester United
In: Shinji Kagawa (Dortmund), Robin Van Persie (Arsenal), Nick Powell (Crewe), Angelo Hernandez (Universidad)
Out: Fabio (Queens Park Rangers, loan), Tomasz Kuszczak (Brighton), Richie De Laet (Leicester), Matty James (Leicester) Michael Owen, Park Ji-Sung (Queens Park Rangers), Ezekiel Fryers, Paul Pogba (Juventus), Ben Amos (Hull, loan)
*Tottenham
In: Gylfi Sigurdsson (Hoffenheim), Jan Vertonghen (Ajax), André Villas-Boas (new manager, Chelsea)
Out: Vedran Corluka (Lokomotiv Moscow), Niko Kranjcar (Dynamo Kiev), Ryan Nelsen (Queens Park Rangers), Louis Saha (Sunderland), Ben Alnwick, Oscar Jansson (Shamrock Rovers), Steven Pienaar (Everton), Ledley King (retires), Bongani Khumalo (PAOK, loan), Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
Those 6 teams will most likely be the big ones to watch out for. I could have done this for all teams, but I don't think anyone is interested enough, and the post would be even longer. :lol
I'll also predict how I think the table will look after the season:
1. Man United
2. Arsenal
3. Man City
4. Chelsea
5. Liverpool
6. Tottenham
7. Newcastle
8. Everton
9. Fulham
10. Aston Villa
11. Sunderland
12. West Bromwich
13. Norwitch
14. Southampton
15. Swansea
16. Stoke
17. Wigan
18. West Ham
19. Queens Park Rangers
20. Reading
Some comments:
I'm really interested in seeing Arsenal this season. Fantastic additions in Giroud, Podolski and Cazorla (the latter possibly the best transfer in PL this summer), and while RVP is leaving, I don't think he will be as missed as you would expect. Wilshere will also be coming back, he also got the nr10 jersey, and Vermaelen is a new captain.
Man United has done some great transfers. Kagawa and Powell has me very excited. RVP is another deal. I really didn't want Man U to buy him, because the price was high, he is getting older, injuries and no matter what he does, he will still be an Arsenal player in my eyes. Still, a partnership with Rooney might be amazing.
Liverpool and Tottenham have new managers, who I feel will be good additions to both teams. Both will be interesting to follow, though Spurs needs to buy strikers.
Regarding the parts of the table that aren't related to the very top, I'm very interested in seeing Aston Villa under Paul Lambert. Last season they were almost relegated due to having a shitty manager, but this new manager plus some new players looks promising. I think they can get a top 10 spot. It will also be interesting to see how Newcastle will follow up their previous successful season, not that many transfers, but they've kept most of their squad, so it looks good.
I've also taken out my fantasy squad here: https://puu.sh/WiGV
I'm pretty happy with it. :P
Oh well, that's it for now. But I'm gonna keep coming back with big ass posts, because PL is such a huge interest for me. I try to watch at least 4-5 games per week.
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Here is my fantasy team. https://i46.tinypic.com/22ypkx.png
1. Man City
2. Man Utd
3. Chelsea
4. Liverpool
5. Arsenal
6. Tottenham
7. Everton
8. Fulham
9. Newcastle
10. Sunderland
11. QPR
12. Aston Villa
13. West Ham
14. Swansea
15. West Brom
16. Stoke
17. Wigan
18. Norwich
19. Southampton
20. Reading
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I have a feeling Man City will win again with Man U close behind. Haven't missed the premier league as there's been so much other sport on, but now it's back i'm glad!
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Chelsea: offense for the first 6, defense for the last 84 apparently.
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Finally it's time for the second week of Premier League. For those who missed it, Chelsea played an extra game against Reading during the week (Chelsea won 4-2), this because Chelsea has the European cup-game against Athletico Madrid next weekend.
Anyhow, the games this weekend: (I'll do what I did last year, games in bold are the ones I'm going to see myself, the 1, X or 2 after the game is my thought about the outcome. 1 means homewin, X means a draw and 2 means the away team wins) :P
Also, times are British.
Today (Saturday):
[12:45] Swansea - West Ham (1)
[15:00] Manchester United - Fulham (1)
[15:00] Aston Villa - Everton (X)
[15:00] Norwich - Queens Park Rangers (1)
[15:00] Southampton - Wigan (1)
[15:00] Sunderland - Reading (1)
[15:00] Tottenham - West Bromwich (X)
[17:30] Chelsea - Newcastle (1)
Tomorrow (Sunday):
[13:30] Stoke - Arsenal (2)
[16:30] Liverpool - Manchester City (X)
Some thoughts about the games this weekend:
Swansea and Fulham both came out of amazing games last weekend when both teams won with 5-0. (Swansea did it against QPR, Fulham against Norwich) And I think both teams will be interesting to see now. Swansea plays at home against West Ham, another newcomer, and I think Swansea has a very good opportunity here. I would put some money on them for sure. Fulham on the other side has a tricky game away against Man United. While I am a fan of Man United, there is a lot of injuries in the defense, and it's not at all impossible for Fulham to get away with a point today, especially not if their offense is as great as in the last game.
Everton did a great job of defeating Man United last weekend, today they have Aston Villa away, a team that wants to win after dropping points in the first game. I predict a tight game that could end just about every way possible, but I'm feeling a draw.
Norwich - QPR is pretty much the battle of the losers. Both teams lost the first week with 5-0, and didn't really do anything right at all. This time both wants points badly, and like the Villa - Everton game, I think this could go either way.
Southampton - Wigan is another interesting game. Two teams that want to play a nice attacking football, but lacks a good defense. This could turn out to be the goal-fest, and I think both teams has the chance to win it.
Sunderland faces Reading. Tricky game, but Sunderland did a good job of defending against Arsenal last weekend, and they do have more experience of playing in the league.
Tottenham takes on West Bromwich in what looks to be another very tough game this weekend. Tottenham lost last weekend against Newcastle (result was 2-1), and while Tottenham played very good, they didn't get anything for it. West Brom on the other hand defeated Liverpool with 3-0, a very impressive victory. While on one hand, Tottenham is going for their first points, I feel like West Brom might be one tough cookie.
In the late game today, Chelsea takes on Newcastle. What a lovely game. Newcastle has shown us by now that they can take on the big teams, and Chelsea did show some mistakes in the defense against Reading. Hazard is on fire though, so far in the two games for Chelsea he has given them two penalties (both were correct) and he has already done 3 goal-assists, so I feel pretty lucky that I picked him in my fantasy team. :lol Either way, I think he might score his first goal tonight. If not, we'll still probably see some magic. I predict a tight game, but my feeling is that Chelsea takes it.
Two interesting games tomorrow. Stoke - Arsenal has been one of Arsenal's harder games over the last seasons, mostly because Stoke play very physical and rough, compared to Arsenal's more modern way of attacking. While a draw feels most logical here, I'm going to go with Arsenal. They didn't look as bad as people say against Sunderland, and Cazorla, Podolski and Giroud are all great additions to the team. Who will score? That's the question.
Liverpool - City is probably the BIG game of the weekend. While City are favorites, they haven't won on Anfield for quite a while now, and Liverpool are very strong at home. I'd say either a draw or a win for Pool, but City might prove me wrong. A very open game.
So yeah, just some thoughts. :)
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Well, Hazard did get his first.
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I can't help but feel disappointed after the Man City game. A simple clearance would've prevented their second goal but no.
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So, I just read that Nicolas Bertolo from Palermo received a fine of 2000 Euros for diving in the area during the match against Napoli. Do you think the different leagues around the world should start doing this? What possible problems do you see? I think this could help the sport to get rid of lots of simulations
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To be honest I would love seeing more penalties regarding diving, if that's a fine or more cards, that doesn't matter that much. Right now the sport is rewarding cheaters, since diving often results in cards on the other player or a penalty, so I really think they should stop it.
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Champions groups have been drawn. Group D will be very interesting
GROUP A
Porto
Dinamo de Kiev
PSG
Dinamo Zagreb
GROUP B
Arsenal
Schalke 04
Olympiakos
Montpellier
GROUP C
Milan
Zenit de Rusia
Anderlecht de Bélgica
Málaga
GROUP D
Real Madrid
Manchester City
Ajax
Borussia Dortmund
GROUP E
Chelsea
Shakhtar
Juventus
Nordsjĉlland
GROUP F
Bayern Munich
Valencia
Lille de Francia
Bate Borisov de Bielorrusia
GROUP G
Barcelona
Benfica de Portugal
Spartak de Mouscú
Celtic de Escocia
GROUP H
Manchester United
Sporting Braga de Portugal
Galatasaray de Turquía
Cluj de Rumania
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Pretty happy with Manchester United's group. Group D looks tough.
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While we are at it, predictions:
A: Porto - PSG
B: Arsenal - Schalke 04
C: Milan - Malaga
D: Real Madrid (I really hope they don't but I'm being realistic) - Manchester City
E: Chelsea - Juventus
F: Bayern Munich - Valencia
G: Barcelona - Benfica
H: Manchester Utd - Galatasaray
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Some interesting transfers done on deadline-day, I'm too tired to go through them all, but here are some of the bigger ones:
*Dimitar Berbatov - Fulham (from Man United)
*Hugo Lloris - Tottenham (from Lyon)
*Clint Dempsey - Tottenham (from Fulham)
*Michael Essien - Real Madrid (from Chelsea, on loan)
*Scott Sinclair - Man City (from Swansea)
*Maicon - Man City (from Inter)
*Andy Carroll - West Ham (from Liverpool, on loan)
There's more at: https://www1.skysports.com/transfer-centre/clockwatch
Anyhow, I'm going to be out tomorrow most of the morning/day (won't get home until the 15:00 games start), but here are the games in Premier League this weekend: (result afterwards is my prediction of the outcome, games in bold are the ones I'm seeing myself)
Saturday:
[12:45] West Ham - Fulham (2)
[15:00] Swansea - Sunderland (1)
[15:00] Tottenham - Norwich (1)
[15:00] West Bromwich - Everton (X)
[15:00] Wigan - Stoke (1)
[17:30] Manchester City - Queens Park Rangers (1)
Sunday:
[13:30] Liverpool - Arsenal (X)
[17:00] Newcastle - Aston Villa (1)
[17:00] Southampton - Manchester United (2)
Comments:
Really interested in seeing some new players this weekend. Sahin should be able to debut for Liverpool against Arsenal (probably the biggest highlight of the weekend, despite Man United also playing afterwards), a game that will be interesting. Liverpool looked fantastic against Man City and should have gotten 3 points. Arsenal haven't scored a single goal yet (but on the other hand two clean sheets), so if they loose this game and don't score any goals, people will start asking what the fuck is up, and why they didn't buy any more players.
Will also be interesting seeing Man United (hopefully 3 points), Tottenham with some new players, and to see if Swansea can keep doing well.
If anyone wonders why Chelsea and Reading aren't playing, they had their game last week, because Chelsea had the supercup-game against Athletico Madrid tonight. (Chelsea lost by 4-1)
Also, regarding Arsenal's transfer-situation. They've actually gone plus this year again, which is really crazy. I know a lot of people question Wenger, but as far as I'm concerned, people should be questioning the board instead. If Wenger could, he would bring on players to really improve the game, but the board is more interested in seeing the team go well financially, than to spend any money. It's a shame.
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So van Persie scored three for Man U. Nice, only wish he'd do that in the Dutch team sometime. But hey.
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So van Persie scored three for Man U. Nice, only wish he'd do that in the Dutch team sometime. But hey.
Good job he did cos he would have been flamed for that penalty miss otherwise..
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So finally, time for football again. Last weekend was all about international games (which I have really no interest in), so it's great to have the real football back again. :D
The games in Premier League this weekend: (in bold are the ones I'm seeing, number after is my guess at the result)
Today:
[12:45] Norwich - West Ham (X)
[15:00] Arsenal - Southampton (1)
[15:00] Aston Villa - Swansea (X)
[15:00] Fulham - West Bromwich (X)
[15:00] Man United - Wigan (1)
[15:00] Queens Park Rangers - Chelsea (2)
[15:00] Stoke - Man City (X)
[17:30] Sunderland - Liverpool (2)
Tomorrow:
[16:00] Reading - Tottenham (2)
Monday:
[20:00] Everton - Newcastle (1)
Thoughts:
Should be a good weekend. A bit sad over the fact that almost all of the top-teams go out at 15:00 today, would have loved it if Man United or Arsenal for example had their game early tomorrow (normally there's 2 on Sundays), but I'll live I guess. If anyone wonders why I'm seeing Chelsea over my team (Man United), it's because that's the game they're showing on TV here, so I have to settle with it. ;)
Sunderland - Pool sounds like an interesting game as well.
Also, I thought I would mention that you should probably prepare for an epic day next Sunday. First we have the classic game between Liverpool and Man United, and after that there is Manchester City against Arsenal. If there's one Sunday where you bunk up with chips, beer and whatever, it's next Sunday. :)
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Champions League has finally started as well, was happy to see Man United win, even if the game was very tight. Man City on the other hand lost, and I think the group will be very tough for them now, both Real Madrid and Dortmund are at 3 points, so it will be tough. Anyhow, time for more Premier League this weekend, the games: (games in bold are the ones I'm seeing myself, result afterwards is my thoughts on the possible outcome)
Today:
[12:45] Swansea - Everton (X)
[15:00] Chelsea - Stoke (1)
[15:00] Southampton - Aston Villa (X)
[15:00] West Bromwich - Reading (1)
[15:00] West Ham - Sunderland (1)
[15:00] Wigan - Fulham (2)
Tomorrow:
[13:30] Liverpool - Manchester United (2)
[15:00] Newcastle - Norwich (1)
[16:00] Manchester City - Arsenal (2)
[16:00] Tottenham - Queens Park Rangers (1)
Thoughts:
Saturday naturally falls in the shadow of the awesomeness of tomorrow, but there are highlights. Swansea - Everton promises to be an interesting game with two teams that have impressed us so far, and it could be a very funny and entertaining game. At 15:00 I'm seeing Chelsea - Stoke, Chelsea are in the hunt for another 3 points, but Stoke has shown us before that they can make life hard for the good teams. Wigan - Fulham is another very interesting game, Wigan have shown us that they can play good football, but Fulham have been looking strong with the addition of Berbatov, and their new interesting Swede, Kacaniklic on the left wing. That game could go either way, but I hold Fulham as small favorites.
But tomorrow is very much the highlight of the weekend. Liverpool - Man United is not only a huge game because of history and rivalry, but they are the two most successful clubs in England, and Man United recently passed Liverpool with getting 1 more league title, so it should be a good game. Liverpool has impressed me so far in the league, they've played some amazing football, but haven't gotten much points for it. Trouble with the scoring. This game could go either way, I'm holding my team as favorites, but Liverpool might as well win it. I wouldn't be sad if we only got 1 point, but that also depends a bit on other results.
Manchester City - Arsenal is the other highlight of the day. I haven't been that impressed by City so far in the league, but Arsenal has really grown. The game against Montpellier this week in CL wasn't the best, but they won after all. Arsenal also has a fairly decent history against City, they won with 1-0 on Emirates last season, and if you go back 2 (?) seasons, Arsenal won on Etihad Stadium with 3-0, so they've shown in the past that they can beat City. City will probably be favorites though, but gogo Arsenal.
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Fuck yeah, Chelsea.
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Great victory for Man United against Liverpool :metal
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Way to go Sweden! Puting a comeback against Germany being 4-0 down and with only half an hour left is not something you do every day. Congrats!
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Yeah I don't know what to say... I'm speechless about it all. That was the strangest game I've ever watched.
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I honestly thought that Germany would win by 6-0 or something so I felt pretty shocked as well. I did witness something similar last year when Arsenal had 4-0 against Newcastle at half time, but Newcastle managed to go up to 4-4.
Still, crazy game. :lol
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I wasn't able to watch the second half of the game and when I saw the score I was all like "WTF is this shit?"
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Good luck indeed.
We can't even beat Georgia at home :censored.
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Me as well.. first saw that 4-0 score then twenty minutes later or so It was 4-3 I was like 'What?!' :omg: Better watch this....
Off course, there was a foul by Ibrahimovitz prior to the 4-4 (elbow) but hey..
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Haven't posted here in a while, sorry been kinda busy. But I'm posting here now, hopefully we can get the thread a bit more active, seeing as football is the ultimate sport. ;)
The Premier League this weekend: (Games in bold are the ones I'm seeing)
Today:
[12:45] Manchester United vs Arsenal
[15:00] Fulham vs Everton
[15:00] Norwich vs Stoke
[15:00] Sunderland vs Aston Villa
[15:00] Swansea vs Chelsea
[15:00] Tottenham vs Wigan
[17:30] West Ham - Manchester City
Tomorrow:
[13:30] Queens Park Rangers - Reading
[16:00] Liverpool - Newcastle
Especially excited about Man United - Arsenal. Hopefully it will be a good game, and I want to see Man United win without the referee giving them horrible advantages like last weekend against Chelsea.
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I'll be watching the Man United game, I wouldn't mind Van Persie scoring a couple of goals against his former team ;D
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Dat commentator! :lol
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzvQCbdAIZQ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzvQCbdAIZQ)
That goal was just craazy!
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Times are tough at the Ptpie household without hockey and the Mr. is attempting to get into football.
I'm having a hard time following the league set up. I wish I had some sort of visual that helped better explain. I think I have a general understanding, but then go and get the UEFA Champ league confused with the English Champ league. :loser:
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:lol
Easy to get confused if you are not familiar. So, basically you have all the domestic leagues in each country, the league cups which are cups that are played along all the divisions from one country, and then you have the UEFA Champions League and the Europa League which are continental competitions in Europe.
The only way to differentiate the continental ones from the domestic ones is if you know the teams since you'll know which country they're from.
I don't know if this will help you or add more to your confusion, sorry if the later :)
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Thats basically a great summary of what I've spent the entire day trying to figure out! :rollin
Looks like a few of the groups in the UEFA are very interesting going into this weekend. I don't have a team that I root for yet - who does each person on here root for? I assume its mostly teams local for the European board members?
Also - what other big name players are out there? I know Messie and Ronaldo... but thats it.
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Messi and Ronaldo, yeah, that's about it....lol, why not take the absolute best?
Well, all Dutch teams are out, so yeah, basically, we suck. Always liked Chelsea, Liverpool, Man U and Arsenal. Won't bore you with Djnepr Djneprpretrovsk (say that three times fast) Or teams like Zenith St. Petersburg. Paris St. Germain (French team) is always nice with Zlatan Ibrahimovitz. Italian teams: AC Milan or Juventus this year.
Oh and for a good outsider, FC Bayern Munich or Schalke 04 are always nice teams to follow, plus the Portugese contignent with Braga, Porto, Benfica....
Also worth noting: January sees the start of the African Cup. If you can find it somewhere (I use Eurosport) it's a very fresh, festive and colourful (duhh) tournement with often chaotic but at least free flowing footbal.
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This may sound totally biased but to me the Champions League is boring without Liverpool in it.
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I like Barcelona a lot, my favorite team from Europe. From Italy I follow Juventus and from England I like Tottenham.
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So far I'm liking Juventus. However, I keep hearing the name pronounced in so many different ways.
You-ven-toose
You-ven-tiss
Who-ven-toose
Who-ven-tiss
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Definetly not those last two.
On other news Shaktar, Juve, PSG and Borussia have been playing some sweet sweet football.
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Yes they have, I'm very eager to see the draws for the Champions League, there should be some interesting matches.
So far I'm liking Juventus. However, I keep hearing the name pronounced in so many different ways.
You-ven-toose
You're following the right Italian team :tup. And that one would be the right pronunciation
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And Messi gets his 4th consecutive Golden Ball. :clap:
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I never thought there would be a better player thane Pele. I have been fortunate enough to have seen/ met, even ate dinner a few times with him. The greatest soccer player i thought could never be surpassed. What we are now witnessing with Messi, is truly amazing. Only 25 years old, we are witnessing the greatest soccer player ever right now.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXrltgfrrqw
all of Leo's goals this year. Impressive.
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Do you mean Ballon d'or? I looked up the Golden Ball and that's a World Cup thing.
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Do you mean Ballon d'or? I looked up the Golden Ball and that's a World Cup thing.
Yeah. I was translating that.
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I tried to do a google translate on Ballon d'or and got nothing! So it does mean "golden ball"?
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Yep. I guess so. That's how it's translated to spanish plus the trophy is a huge golden ball :laugh:
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They had a selection of Messi goals on 60 Minutes last night. Every one was outstanding. There was one he scored like 8 seconds into the game.
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That guy is amazing at getting sharp angles and smooth overheads at one-on-one situations. My favorite soccer player remains Ronaldo (the Brazilian one) but I have to admit Messi is pretty amazing.
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Does anyone watch BeIN Sport feeds for Barca? Roy Hudson makes the most hilarious statements:
Moves he learned from Bernie Madoff
Traveling at the speed of the USS enterprise
Messi knows the laws of physics, but the laws of physics don't know Messi!
He made those defenders disappear like the kids on Blair witch!
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Thoughts on the big scandal? Is there anything out concerning which exact games were affected?
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Well we are looking at:
About 380 of the suspicious matches were played in Europe, and a further 300 were identified in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
between 2008 and 2011
Thats a lot of games and a pretty wide timeframe.
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The first thing that came to my mind when reading the article was:
Barça. Chelsea. 2009.
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Haha yeah. Barcelona - Chelsea was horrible, I suffered so much with the Chelsea players.
Big game tonight. Real Madrid - Man United. I'm so excited, I know my team will probably go into it with defense in mind, and Real will probably do the most, but I really hope for a good result.
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Come on United!
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Terrific result. I'd back Utd to go through now.
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Necro BUMP.
We have 2 awesome games today. And we had to awesome games yesterday, that Borussi/Malaga game had me at the edge of my seat. :metal :metal
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Here's hoping PSG can defeat Barcelona tonight.
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Here's hoping PSG can defeat Barcelona tonight.
I'm wearing a Messi jersey at work today...
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Here's hoping PSG can defeat Barcelona tonight.
I'm wearing a Messi jersey at work today...
You did well :tup
Here's hoping PSG can defeat Barcelona tonight.
:whatisthisidonteven:
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Sir Alex Ferguson announced his retirement after this season. I just want to say thanks for all the amazing years. I've been a Manchester United fan for about 16 years, and I have only experienced Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson.
To be honest, I'm pretty nervous about the future. There are a lot of great managers who could do great things with the club, but I feel like the presence of Sir Alex was so big and so meaningful that the team got a lot of points just because he was the manager. The solid Manchester United that could win 10 games in a row, maybe with just "1-0", but at least getting the 3 points. I have no idea what will happen now.
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As a Chelsea fan I'm really worried now that José Mourinho will now be highly considering the United job if it is offered rather than Chelsea.
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You never know in football. I don't think Man United will go for Mourinho though. I love Mourinho, and I think he is one of the best, but he has a tendency to get tired of his clubs after 2 years. I think Man United will try to go for a more "solid" manager. By that I mean someone who is really there 100% and won't start thinking about leaving after a few years.
My money is on Moyes or Klopp.
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You never know in football. I don't think Man United will go for Mourinho though. I love Mourinho, and I think he is one of the best, but he has a tendency to get tired of his clubs after 2 years. I think Man United will try to go for a more "solid" manager. By that I mean someone who is really there 100% and won't start thinking about leaving after a few years.
My money is on Moyes or Klopp.
Klopp is not going anywhere until '16.
I seriously believe Mourinho might join United. He was very PC after their knockout game in Old Traffrord. I can totally see him join United.
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"Manchester United will appoint their new manager within the next 48 hours!" (Sky Sports)
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It feels like it will be Moyes. Ferguson has been friends with him for quite a while, he has done a fantastic job at Everton, he's also British and his contract at Everton ends this summer, so he won't cost that much to get.
I feel like Mourinho to Chelsea has been a done deal for a couple of months now. Benitez even went out and said "there will be a new manager here next season, and you all know who", and I doubt that is something you would say if they had a completely different manager in mind, when all the talks have been about Mourinho joining Chelsea.
Apart from Moyes, Solskjĉr is also a possibility, but even though he's a Man United-guy, I doubt it since he has only done great in the Norwegian league.
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I think it will be Moyes.
This is truly the end of an era at Manchester United and in English football. Ferguson's teams in the 1990s and early 2000s defined my childhood. Football will never be the same.
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Aaaand it's the end of the dynasty of ManU, I guess.
But they'll still play better than Liverpool next season. :P But if Moyes leaves, maybe we'll be able to beat Everton.
Times have changed. The championship was so close in 2008-2009, now we can't even qualify for European Cup :P :P :P.
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Moyes confirmed for 6 years. I'm excited. :)
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Moyes confirmed for 6 years. I'm excited. :)
I'm not. He hasn't won anything.
He hasn't played in the Champions league, or knows what it is to get a point outside home in a difficult ground. And I also do not like the way he plays.
I hope he proves me wrong tho.
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He's turned Everton into a solid top-half team with basically no money or prestige. I think that's damn impressive.
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He's turned Everton into a solid top-half team with basically no money or prestige. I think that's damn impressive.
I know that, but he is really green in European competitons.
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I haven't really followed Everton through the years, so I don't know his philosophy or tactical preferences.
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He's turned Everton into a solid top-half team with basically no money or prestige. I think that's damn impressive.
This. He actually might get something great (bad for me) done with better resources.
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He's turned Everton into a solid top-half team with basically no money or prestige. I think that's damn impressive.
This. He actually might get something great (bad for me) done with better resources.
Really defensive. Even when he has a team that could easily play with an offensive mind-set.
I'm not a big fan. He is more into "Just getting a result" instead of getting a result while playing good football.
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Well, that's not too different from what Man United has been doing for the last years. I'll admit it, Man United has played amazing football from time to time, but in the long term, many games have been about establishing control and getting a lead with 1 or 2 goals. After that it's pretty much just getting the time to tick away, not by defending insanely or anything, but not really bothered too much about attacking either. So on that front I don't think Moyes is too different from Ferguson, and it's not like Man United are playing football like Barcelona, as in still putting 95% into attacking even when they are ahead.
As for Moyes not winning any trophies, I don't think that is something you can hold against him. He hasn't had the resources and he has been stuck with a paper thin squad for a long time. When he came to Everton, they were almost equal to a club like Wigan for example. No big resources, a fairly thin squad and he took that and turned it into a club that would go on and finish in the top8 almost every year for a decade. He even took Everton to Champions League where they were defeated just barely by Villareal who would later go on to have a very successful year. So I don't think anyone can hold that over his head. As for not winning any trophies, that part is not just about skill but also very based on luck. Everton made it to an FA-Cup Final and had to meet the champions, Chelsea. While another club like Portsmouth who won it, had their game against Coventry. So there is a lot of luck in winning a cup trophy as well.
In the end, Moyes has the attributes that are the most important ones that Ferguson had. Integrity and being a very solid manager. He stuck with Everton for over a decade despite the fact that he could have left them earlier. He's used to making great transfers without too much money, and while Man United is one of the richest teams, they aren't Man City or Chelsea for example. He seems excellent at motivating his players and getting 100% out of them. His accomplishments with Everton are amazing, and in the end he is a much better suited manager for Man United than someone like José Mourinho for example.
With all this said, Man United might still have a tough season next year. But I feel like that would have been the case even if Ferguson had stayed for another year. City will make some new transfers due to not winning anything this year, Chelsea will get José Mourinho (most likely) and he will want to buy some players as well, specifically a striker who can score. Arsenal will finally have to spend money in order to keep up, and you have clubs like Liverpool and Tottenham, both will continue to improve under their managers. So the competition is bigger and tougher than ever, and even if we don't win Premier League next season, that won't necessarily be Moyes´ fault.
IN MOYES WE TRUST. :tup
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My only real grudge against him is the lack of experience against big teams and UEFA competitions.
I really hope he does good for the sake of the team.
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I can understand that. On the other hand, Man United have done just horribly in Champions League lately. Okay, going out against Real in the way they did it was bad luck, but it was early in Champions League. And the year before, they didn't make it out of the group stage. So, in that way Moyes comes into the club at the perfect time. As long as he gets the team through the groupstage and maybe goes through another round, he has already done better than the previous two seasons. ;)
Obviously we will hope for something more, a final or a trophy, but still. :metal
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I'm beyond words excited for Premier League starting again. I wish I could say the same about Man United, but the summer has been a disappointment in terms of transfers, and I think we'll end up third at best in the table. Still, really excited and happy to see PL again. :) The games, and how I think they will end:
Saturday:
Liverpool - Stoke (1)
Arsenal - Aston Villa (1)
Norwich - Everton (X)
Sunderland - Fulham (X)
West Brom - Southampton (2)
West Ham - Cardiff (1)
Swansea - Man United (1)
Sunday:
Crystal Palace - Tottenham (2)
Chelsea - Hull (1)
Monday:
Man City - Newcastle (1)
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Any Serie A fan here? :D
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So excited for today and tomorrow. Looking forward to Villa vs. Arsenal today and Chelsea vs. Hull tomorrow.
My predictions are:
1. Chelsea
2. City
3. United
4. Arsenal
With Hull, Southampton and Cardiff dropping.
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Really excited about Premier League finally starting again. I have a very uncertain feeling about my Man United this year without Sir Alex. A lot depends on if they can keep Rooney or not.
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Swansea will be known as the team who were there for Manchester United's pivotal moments. We were the opposition for Fergie's last home game, and the trophy presentation, and the opposition for Moyes' first league game.
Glad to have got it out of the way though. Hopefully it's just a blip.
This is definitely the most intriguing PL season for a long long time, perhaps ever. Hopefully it lives up to the hype. I'm going to go for Chelsea to win the title.
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FOOTBALL'S BACK, BITCHES
I support Arsenal in the PL and I don't know what to say about today's match or the preseason. Everything has been completely stale.
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What happened to Giggs? I turned away for a second and down he went.
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I missed the late game due to a concert, but can't believe we won with 4-1. Incredible. Zydar, did you watch the game? If so, how was it?
Arsenal were just awful earlier. They need to get a new board and manager asap. I'm not even an Arsenal-fan but I get offended when Wenger does his stupid clichés about how "we only buy the right players" when clearly, EVERYONE would be the right player, and give the team something more than they already have. Their squad is paper thin, they lack big star names, and I hate to say it, but I don't see them getting a CL-spot this season. Man City, Chelsea, Man United and Spurs all look stronger.
On another note, great to see Liverpool win their game. It might sound weird coming from a Man United supporter, but I appreciate the kind of football they try to play, and Rodgers has a philosophy I can get behind. They have an interesting team and they play attacking football, so I'm glad they could get 3 points. Especially against Stoke, send them down to Championship right now.
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I missed the late game due to a concert, but can't believe we won with 4-1. Incredible. Zydar, did you watch the game? If so, how was it?
I only managed to see the first 30 minutes, but I liked what I saw. Van Persie opened his season with two goals right away, and it's great to have Welbeck finding the net again.
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Any Serie A fan here? :D
I watch the occasional game. Italian football is not my favorite but there are some teams that are interesting to watch, specially Juventus
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A little late, but thank you to Manchester City for scoring 4 goals on Monday, and taking Swansea off the bottom of the table. :D
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I think Arsenal will have big big big problems to get a CL-spot this season. Not only is the squad paper thin, but Wenger seems more delusional than ever, and pretty much all big available top players have gone to other teams. Wenger feels so out of the loop at this point, it seems to me like he is stuck in the 90's, where "a player isn't worth more than 15m £", but this is 2013, and you have to pay if you want a good player.
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Arsenal is an interesting case, I usually think giving a coach a long run will end up being beneficial to the team as he will have time to build something that will last but in this case I think his time expired, about 2 seasons ago. It's evident that Arsenal is not at the same level as the Manchesters and Chelsea, or even Tottenham. The Arsenal board needs to thank Wenger for all he has done for them and get a new coach soon.
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Big bump here! How does one buy tickets to an international football game? Headed to Barcelona in the future and no idea how to buy a ticket to go see a game!
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Often they're sold on the relevant Football Association's website. Otherwise, try contacting the stadium itself?
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Just looked and it doesn't look like there is a game in Barca when we were planning on going. Darn it! They play in Madrid though... wonder if a day trip might be in order... hmm
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I think Arsenal will have big big big problems to get a CL-spot this season. Not only is the squad paper thin, but Wenger seems more delusional than ever, and pretty much all big available top players have gone to other teams. Wenger feels so out of the loop at this point, it seems to me like he is stuck in the 90's, where "a player isn't worth more than 15m £", but this is 2013, and you have to pay if you want a good player.
Just quoting this for hilarity. :biggrin:
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To be honest, I think the Özil and Flamini transfers were enough to change that. They got a star-player and they got a leader. I'd say Arsenal will win PL this season without a doubt in my mind.
If I had to guess right now, I would say top4 will be: Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea and maybe Liverpool or Everton for the 4th spot.
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To be honest, I think the Özil and Flamini transfers were enough to change that. They got a star-player and they got a leader.
The Özil transfer especially has given us a new energy and confidence, but so has the way that Ramsey has suddenly become a god. Those two things combined have really led our strength this season.
I'd say Arsenal will win PL this season without a doubt in my mind.
It's still early days, so I'm not sure about that. We still have our run of difficult games against the other top teams coming up. It's possible though. For some reason, almost every pundit on Match of the Day says that there's no way Arsenal can keep it up. Harsh.
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Oh yeah, Ramsey and Giroud being so good is also a plus of course. I think a transfer like Özil is impressive on many levels, not only do you get one of the best players in the world (for me he would be top3), but you also boost the morale and confidence of the whole team, and the message it sends to everybody when you land a player like that is huge. Arsenal really seems to be enjoying their football right now. Earlier seasons they would almost look like they were in pain, to try and live up to these huge expectations of winning trophies, but now they play with more confidence and the defense is more solid than ever.
It's a joy watching them right now, I wish I could say the same for Man United. :\
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It's remarkable how something as simple as a few losses in a row can send you tumbling down the table. On the first Saturday after the last international break, Southampton were third, and with an (admittedly unlikely but still perfectly possible) set of results, they could've gone to the top. Now, with 3 losses, they're down in 8th.
Exciting season though. Good win for my Swans last night.
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Giroud being so good
Yeah no, I don't think so. They need to get a stronger scorer if you ask me, they've been doing really well involving all the team and having such a wide variety of ways to score but there are some games where the other team plays a tight defense and lock you up and in those moments you need a guy that make a difference by his own and score and Giroud is not that guy. I don't feel his the guy that can have only one chance throughout the whole game and being able to score under pressure.
Other than that, Arsenal are the strongest candidate right now to win the PL but if they advance in the Champions they might start having issues with the rotation since they don't seem to have many strong players on the bench the way Chelsea or Manchester City do.
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Often they're sold on the relevant Football Association's website. Otherwise, try contacting the stadium itself?
hmm well I was able to go through the club's website but can't seem to find 2 seats together. My guess is the el classico is pretty close to sold out! Is there an international version of stubhub? lol
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Oh right, when you said international football game, I thought you meant a match between two countries. I imagine El Clasico is sold out, yeah.
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OK, Argentina got the best draw available :laugh:
Sorry for you brits, seems you are quite complicated
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Germany and USA in the same group? Gnah.
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Germany and USA in the same group? Gnah.
That will be an interesting day at the office for you :lol
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So did anyone else catch the World Cup draw? God, what a douchebag this Blatter is. Calling a minute silence for the passing of Mandela and then after about 12 seconds cutting it short....shameful. :tdwn
Also, the female presenter was wayy distracting. Netherlands drew Spain, Chile and Australia in their group....gonna be tough, I think.
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So did anyone else catch the World Cup draw? God, what a douchebag this Blatter is. Calling a minute silence for the passing of Mandela and then after about 12 seconds cutting it short....shameful. :tdwn
Also, the female presenter was wayy distracting. Netherlands drew Spain, Chile and Australia in their group....gonna be tough, I think.
Yep, that group and also the one with Uruguay, England, Italy and Costa Rica will be really interesting to watch.
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Giroud being so good
Yeah no, I don't think so. They need to get a stronger scorer if you ask me, they've been doing really well involving all the team and having such a wide variety of ways to score but there are some games where the other team plays a tight defense and lock you up and in those moments you need a guy that make a difference by his own and score and Giroud is not that guy. I don't feel his the guy that can have only one chance throughout the whole game and being able to score under pressure.
Other than that, Arsenal are the strongest candidate right now to win the PL but if they advance in the Champions they might start having issues with the rotation since they don't seem to have many strong players on the bench the way Chelsea or Manchester City do.
I gotta say, I've watched most (if not all) of Arsenal's games this season, and Giroud has been incredible. He has really improved since last season, and he does pretty much everything right on the field. He needs to score a few more goals to be up there with the biggest goal-poachers of the league, but in terms of quality he is good enough. He's also the kind of striker that does things right, and gives his teammates better chances to do something. He gives players like Özil and Ramsey a bit more freedom, since the defenders have to keep an eye on him all the time, and that could also be one reason why their midfield has scored more this year.
When it comes down to it, having a well functioning team is the most important part in winning. Arsenal had RvP for several seasons, but a good goalscorer wasn't enough to win titles. Now they have a much better team overall, and while Giroud could score more goals, he is good enough to start for Arsenal, and it would be a huge shame if they replaced him or sent him to the bench. The main problem is depth though. If Giroud would get injured now, they are stuck with Bendtner, or having to play Walcott center, which isn't his usual position. Once Podolski comes back, that will give them a nice option.
I would say Giroud is better than any of the attackers in Chelsea and Tottenham, I would say he is on par with many of the strikers in the other big teams of the league. Right now this season, I would only hold Aguero, Suarez, Sturridge and maybe Lukaku as better strikers at the moment. I wanna say Rooney too, because even though he hasn't scored a lot, I do love him.
Also, Arsenal has City on Sunday I believe, then Chelsea the day before Christmas Eve. Two interesting games to say the least.
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How is viagogo for purchasing tickets? Anyone here used it before?
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(https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/t1/1621821_701780576508872_17519665_n.jpg)
Best moment so far this season. So happy with this transfer, but on the other hand I'm also skeptical, because even though we have strengthened our offensive side, the midfield and defense is highly questionable at the moment. We really need strengthening there too. I would say a 4th spot is doable, and I hope bringing Mata in will energize the team to complete that. We still aren't nearly as good as Arsenal, Chelsea or City, but Liverpool and Tottenham have both shown weaknesses, and so the battle for 4th is on.
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Enjoy Mata, I'm gonna miss'em.
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As a follower of Chelsea I was disappointed with that, but Willian had been getting all the starts recently so it didn't surprised me much. Hopefully this helps Man U enough to at least tie Arsenal and City in the games they have left and help Chelsea.
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Bumping this as I reckon after the last couple of weeks results (particularly this past weekend) some folks may be up for discussing the end of season run in.
Liverpool aren't nailed on to win yet. I'd love to see them win it but I think it'll go to the wire. Chelsea will have a huge say obviously but I wouldn't discount City at all.
Arsenal have just given up and may not even get a CL spot. Still, they've got the FA cup to look forward to.
What of Man U? They look like they're finding some league form (too little too late) but are struggling against bigger teams. Should Moyes be given another season? And for that matter, should Wenger?
If LFC don't win it this year, I think the chance may gone for some time. They'll find it much harder next season.
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I really hope with all my heart that Liverpool wins the league. It might sound odd coming from a Man United fan, and while there is rivalry between the clubs, I feel like Liverpool is the club that deserves the PL title the most this season. They've played the best football in the whole league, they have some incredible players, and a legend like Steven Gerrard. He is one of those few players who truly deserves a title, for everything he has done for his club. I really don't like Oil-City (for obvious reasons I guess), and while I like Mourinho as a manager, Chelsea has been pretty darn boring this season. I really hope Liverpool takes it, because they would benefit the most from winning the title. It would be a boost to the club, but clubs like City and Chelsea will invest good money no matter where they finish.
As for Arsenal, I guess we could all agree that history repeats itself. A lot of fans got incredibly excited after the first half of the season, but as soon as the big games started to arrive, results started to decline. I think the best action at this point would be to win the FA-Cup and get the 4th spot, Wenger SHOULD leave after this season, and maybe he will end his run with a title. Wenger has once again proven that he is not the right man for Arsenal anymore. He has a few good qualities, but he has a hard time motivating his team and getting them to play good football, and against the top teams, Arsenal usually have no chance at all. Several games this season (against Pool and Chelsea for example), the game has been over after 10-15 minutes. Good preparations there, Wenger. Right now I think Everton is favorites to take the 4th spot. Arsenal has a much easier schedule, but Everton has a really strong form. I think Arsenal will get it in the end though, and Everton shouldn't feel ashamed if they miss it. I think Martinez has done a brilliant job at Everton, and I would even love to see him at Man United.
As for Man United, I really don't even want to talk about it. The season has been bad, but the situation overall doesn't give any glimpses of hope. At this point I would gladly replace Moyes with just about anyone else from PL. For me it's not just about results, but Moyes just hasn't gotten anything to work. If you take Liverpool last year, at least they were playing really good football. You could tell they had something exciting going on, and that their "project" had a bright future. With Man United, the games have mostly been very boring to watch. I don't think someone like Klopp would leave Dortmund to come, but I'd even be thrilled over a manager like Martinez from Everton, or Pochettino from Southampton. Both those clubs play positive football, and they have done wonders with what they have.
Overall though, I would say that Tony Pulis deserves the "manager of the year" award this year IMO. When he took over Crystal Palace, they were dead last, with a pretty thin squad, and most people said "it's an impossible job". Now they are pretty much safe from going out, and they wouldn't have done it without Pulis as the manager. He may play a "simple" football, but what a good job he has done. :tup
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I really hope with all my heart that Liverpool wins the league.
I agree but for completely different reasons. I really hate Man City and Chelsea because the reason they are on top of the league is because they have wealthy owners that can buy any player they like. Liverpool doesn't have that option, they have to work with what they have and Brendan Rodgers has been able to make this team work perfectly and maybe if Liverpool win the league it will show this big teams that you don't necessarily need lots of stars but maybe you need players that are able to perform a specific function to boost other players.
Regarding Moyes, I will say that they should leave him where he is for at least 2 more seasons. Remember that it took Alex Fergusson 7 years to win his first Premier League with United and after that it was all success. United right now is going through a renovation in players and in coach, it's a bit unrealistic to expect Moyes to deliver a great season so early.
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That's a fair point regarding moyes but I think there's a huge difference between the situations between his appointment and fergie came in. When fergie came in United needed a change top to bottom in philosophy. They aren't at that point at the moment. I reckon moyes will be facing a lot of behind the scenes resistance because people are still rooted in the way fergie did things. This is probably why rogers is doing so well at LFC. They were ready for whole sale changes throughout the entire set up and he has a solid vision and strong philosophy.
Having said that moyes was a strange appointment as he's not a very attack minded, progressive manager.
My dads a scouser so I'm a merseyside red. I want LFC to win but there is something sad about doing it in a season when United have been so poor. Not sad for Liverpool as such but it'd have been more exciting had united been up there as well.
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Moyes ended in the 6th place last season with Everton which I think is pretty good considering they don't have great names in the team so it's fair to assume that he could do even better with a good roster. Give him a chance, next season things should be different.
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I think patience is something a manager has to earn. Right now I have very little patience with Moyes because not only has the season been bad, the performances have been bad as well. Things can start to turn around ofc, but not even when Moyes was in Everton, did they play the kind of football I would love to see the club play. To be honest, I've lost a lot of my interest in the club. And it feels awful to say, because I still root for the club, but whenever they play a game at the same time as another team like Liverpool or Arsenal, I always watch the other game, because I would rather see optimistic attacking football, than being lulled to sleep.
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What an exciting race for the title! Would love Liverpool to win it, just for the fact it's 24 years since their last title, and 25 years since Hillsborough. The big teams seem to drop points against teams they should steamroll over. Sunderland drawing with Man City last week, for example. Possibly fatally damaged their title bid. Even if City win their game in hand, they still can't catch up to Chelsea and Liverpool.
As I write, Sunderland are at it again, equalising 1-1 vs Chelsea. More dropped points on the cards?
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Lets hope Sunderland takes a point and Liverpool wins tomorrow.
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Supporting Liverpool for the title. It's just fitting this year for them to do it.
My team, Tottenham, thankfully won today. Always nerveracking watching a spurs game.
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Lol Chelsea
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Hello there, Fenerbahçe fan here. Many people here might remember us from some occasions like making ManU taste defeat after years and years of undefeated European campaigns until we won there ^^
Or Chelsea's loss in Turkey in 2008, we almost got through that quarter final at CL. Was a big blowing moment for me :(
Or last year's great Europa League semi finals, as we got knocked out by Benfica who lost to Chelsea at the final.
Now my team is shaken and hurt a lot by the so called "match-fixing" scandal. It is a scandal indeed, but only at the law mechanism. The specially authorized courts aren't suitable to any European court, yet UEFA banned us for 2 years. Very sad and unfair, but life goes on! One more year and we'll be back to where we belong!
And we're almost crowned the champions this season, hurray! ;D
Here's something little from that Chelsea match:
(https://static.panoramio.com/photos/large/9090189.jpg)
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GwjfUFyY6M
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So, Moyes is out, Giggs will take care of the team for the reminder of the season (weird) and I've read that United wants to hire Van Gaal. Is he really the guy for United? Where has he been the last couple of years?
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Van Gaal is an interesting name. I don't have the best knowledge of him, but he has managed big teams (Bayern and Barcelona), and the last few years (and right now) he has been managing the Dutch national team. In Bayern he is "known" for bringing players like Müller, Badstuber and Alaba into the first squad, and those are all great players. From what I've heard he stands for attacking football.
I'm intrigued.
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As a neutral when it comes to Utd, I'm disappointed to see them follow the same direction that most of football has been going in and sack Moyes after less than a year.
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I think most neutral fans would have happily seen Moyes drag them down to Championship in the next few years.
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Not for that reason, I like Moyes and would rather he'd done better with United. I just don't like the culture in football these days, and one of the things I liked about United was that they were doing a good job when it comes to sticking things out, long term loyalty, and so on.
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I agree that some clubs are way too fast when it comes to kicking their manager. I've seen some good managers gotten the axe from their team without much reason, but in the case of Moyes it was kinda needed. By the end, Moyes had just screwed up too many things for his own good. Not just missing a Champions League spot, but also failing to get the team to play a certain way. As I see it, there were several things that got him fired:
*The poor performances/Finishing far away from a CL-spot
*No consistency in starting lineups/performances
*Several records broken this season (bad records like not having lost against certain teams in over 30 years)
*Lost the respect of the players (Welbeck handing in transfer request, possibly nail in the coffin)
*Several idiotic quotes like "Sir Alex wouldn't have made a better job if he was still here" (really?!)
*Firing all the amazing staff at Man United to bring in unproven staff from Everton (maybe his biggest mistake)
*Signing Fellaini (Possibly one of the worst signings in the whole league this year)
*Telling the defenders they should play more like Phil Jagielka (lol, telling that to defenders who have won trophies)
*Saying that Liverpool were favorites in the game at Old Trafford (you never do this, it's unspeakable even if there's truth to it)
*Loser mentality of settling for 1 point rather than going for 3 points (which has cost them several points this season)
There's just too many bad things and blunders. Eventually you can't overlook them anymore.
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I hate to say but I agree. I'm torn because I thought Utd were above revolving manager policies but there are too many things that can't be overlooked.
As a Liverpool supporter I was floored when he said we were favourites. I mean really? Rogers said he would never have said United were favourites even if Liverpool were fighting relegation. You just don't do that.
We finished 7th last year with a new manager but (and it is a huge but!) we were/are playing attractive football. Last season that football was a bit ragged and didn't always come off. When it did work though it was brilliant - and this season shows we're getting it right way more than getting it wrong.
Moyes was always a bit too flat. Just look at how Everton are playing now. They should never have let Fergie appoint Moyes. It shouldn't have been up to him. Looks like Utd haven't learned:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/27123088
Anyway - Liverpool. 3 games to go and 5 points clear of Chelsea. We don't actually need to win all of our games. Two wins and a draw will do it.
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I really do hope Liverpool wins the league. They play possibly the best football in Europe this year, Rodgers is a manager you can really stand behind (he seems like a great dude), and Gerrard is possibly THE player in the world, most deserving a league title. It's sad (but understandable) when money wins trophies, so I hope Liverpool can hold off City and Chelsea. From what I heard, Silva left the last City game injured (and might miss the rest of the season), and if so, that's a harsh blow to City.
The three standout managers this season IMO has been Rodgers, Martinez and Pulis. They've all done an excellent job, for different reasons. With Rodgers it's quite interesting how really none of his summer transfers have bloomed out, and most of the "great" players are players from before that he has made better. I'm curious to see what Pool will buy this summer. A possible PL-win and a CL-spot gives them a good position not only to hold onto Suarez, but also bring in some great stars.
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I really do hope Liverpool wins the league. They play possibly the best football in Europe this year
Really? Better than Borussia Dortmund? Better than Bayer Munich? Better than Juventus? Better than Real Madrid? It's undeniable that they are having a great season but the truth is they are completely dependent on what Suarez can produce.
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Dortmund have had most of their good players injured for most of their season, and their gameplay has lacked because of it. When they have been able to play with their full team, it has looked great, but most of the season has been with benchwarmers. Bayern is a team I used to love, but since Guardiola took over, they've played less "straight forward" and more passing the ball sideways within the team. So not as exciting to watch anymore. I haven't seen that much of a Juventus so I can't say, but I would agree with Real Madrid being up there.
I don't agree with Suarez being as important for Liverpool this season compared to previous seasons though. Yeah, he has 30 goals, and he has been incredible, but alongside him you have Sturridge, Sterling and Coutinho, all who have been excellent this season IMO. The big difference for Liverpool IMO is that unlike previous seasons, Suarez isn't the only one carrying the team. You have those three players I mentioned, plus Gerrard, and you have more players "stepping up".
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Great win against Liverpool.
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(https://i.imgur.com/4JqqnG6.gif)
Let's just admire Jonjo Shelvey's goal from Saturday against Aston Villa.
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(https://i.imgur.com/UPpc9EY.gif)
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:lol
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Incredible goal from Shelvey yesterday, and it was for my team! That doesn't come round very often. :tup
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This is pretty sweet!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOe5XCZMCVg
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So, the national teams are starting to announce the players for the world cup and England already has their list. What do you guys think? From my point of view, the defense is pretty weak but it should be compensated by the midfield. No surprises with the forwards though I'm not a fan of Welbeck
Goalkeepres: Joe Hart (Manchester City), Ben Foster (West Bromwich Albion), Fraser Forster (Celtic).
Defenders: Leighton Baines (Everton), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Phil Jones (Manchester United), Luke Shaw (Southampton), Chris Smalling (Manchester United).
Midfielders: Ross Barkley (Everton), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Adam Lallana (Southampton), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), James Milner (Manchester City), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal), Raheem Sterling (Liverpool), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal).
Forwards: Rickie Lambert (Southampton), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool), Daniel Welbeck (Manchester United).
Reserves: John Ruddy (Norwich City), Jon Flanagan (Liverpool), John Stones (Everton), Michael Carrick (Manchester United), Tom Cleverley (Manchester United), Andy Carroll (West Ham United), Jermain Defoe (Toronto FC).
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La Liga comes to a decision about the league champion between Barcelona and Atletico this weekend! :caffeine:
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So, the national teams are starting to announce the players for the world cup and England already has their list. What do you guys think? From my point of view, the defense is pretty weak but it should be compensated by the midfield. No surprises with the forwards though I'm not a fan of Welbeck
Goalkeepres: Joe Hart (Manchester City), Ben Foster (West Bromwich Albion), Fraser Forster (Celtic).
Defenders: Leighton Baines (Everton), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Phil Jones (Manchester United), Luke Shaw (Southampton), Chris Smalling (Manchester United).
Midfielders: Ross Barkley (Everton), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Adam Lallana (Southampton), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), James Milner (Manchester City), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal), Raheem Sterling (Liverpool), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal).
Forwards: Rickie Lambert (Southampton), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool), Daniel Welbeck (Manchester United).
Reserves: John Ruddy (Norwich City), Jon Flanagan (Liverpool), John Stones (Everton), Michael Carrick (Manchester United), Tom Cleverley (Manchester United), Andy Carroll (West Ham United), Jermain Defoe (Toronto FC).
We won't be troubling anyone in the World Cup this year. Its not a great squad but we haven't got alot of great players to choose from. I like that he's generally gone with a youth policy as it will be good experience for them for future tournaments. Its not like the experienced players have done anything useful before. Rooney is a prime example.
Jones and Smalling are lucky to be there because they've been awful for Utd.
As you can see, I'm not confident. Oh and the manager is an idiot.
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The Dutch team are in a severe state of FLUX! No one knows who will be part of the team yet.
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The Dutch team are in a severe state of FLUX! No one knows who will be part of the team yet.
I hadn't looked at the list. I only recognize 11 players out of the 30, Wow. I didn't realize the dutch team was going over a generational change in the team.
As for my national team, Argentina, the list is more or less what I expected it to be. Our defense kinda sucks, our midfield is par and our offense is off the charts.
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Who's in the Argentinian offense?
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Messi, Agüero, Higuain, Palacio, Lavezzi
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Messi, Agüero, Higuain, Palacio, Lavezzi
Yeah, great defender!!! :biggrin:
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??? He asked me who's in our offense, all of those are strikers....
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Kinda surprised Tevez wasn't in the squad. I've seen Palacio score a few goals for Inter, but is he really better than Tevez?
On another note, I'm pretty happy with Van Gaal taking over Man United. Unlike Moyes, he is a top club manager. If he is a good fit or not, we will have to wait and see, but at least he's a better manager.
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Kinda surprised Tevez wasn't in the squad. I've seen Palacio score a few goals for Inter, but is he really better than Tevez?
The problem with Tevez is that he doesn't take it well when he's not a starter and in today's team he has no place in the starting 11 so having him there would generate an issue in the locker room. We had that problem in the last world cup and also in the last Copa America, we don't want to go there again.
Regarding Van Gaal, he's proven to be a good coach so Man U should have a better season though I think they need to change their squad a little bit, specially their defense.
I'm also interested in what Luis Enrique might bring to Barcelona. I never really paid attention to the Celta mathces so I'm not sure how his teams play and this is another team that needs to get renewed, specially on defense.
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Luis Enrique feels like a pretty lame choice. I can see why they would pick him, and he probably has more experience than Guardiola had when he took the job, but I think Real Madrid will take the trophy next year. They just feel stronger on every position. It's a big shame for Barcelona that they lost Thiago to Bayern. They could really need him now when Xavi is getting old.
Barcelona have kinda fell off the very top of the best football teams right now though. They went out in the semifinal this year and were completely slaughtered by Bayern Munich last year. If Atletico hadn't given Barcelona 3-4 new chances to win the league this year, I doubt they would have still had a chance in the last game. Atletico gave away some easy points during the last few rounds, and that's what gave Barcelona a chance to win it.
But anyhow, World Cup is not that far away. I don't know how much I will watch, because for some reason the international football never appeals to me, but I will probably watch quite a bit anyways, since it's football. England will probably go out in the group stage already and Sweden aren't even qualified, so nothing to root for there. I think most of the "usual" top teams will go far, Germany, Spain and Brazil (having the home field).
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??? He asked me who's in our offense, all of those are strikers....
Yeah my bad, should have opened my eyes...sorry. :blush
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Funniest thing I've read in quite a while
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/may/28/stephen-hawking-formulae-england-world-cup-success (https://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/may/28/stephen-hawking-formulae-england-world-cup-success)
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Alright, so the weekend I've been looking forward to since May has finally come; the start of Premier League! :) I've been trying previous years to keep this thread going with some big posts and I thought I would continue doing that! I know some people here are more casual than I am, and it can always be nice to get some information about the teams and the players. So I thought I would make this post the first major post for the 14/15 season, and I will post the situation for all the teams, who they have brought in and who they have lost, just how their situation looks going into the season. I'll also post my predicted table of how I think the season will end, as well as the games this first weekend. But let's dive right into it, and I'll alphabetically post something on all the teams.
Arsenal
Arsenal is one of the teams that have been the most active this summer, and they have brought in four major signings in Ospina, Debuchy, Calum Chambers and Sanchez. Much like last season, Wenger has chosen (so far at least) to ignore the two positions screaming the most for reinforcement (another Striker and a Defensive Midfielder) and strengthened other positions instead. The loss of Vermaelen in the defense shouldn't matter that much since he wasn't a regular last season, but they still need to replace him with another defender in my opinion. I think Arsenal will have a great season and be contenders for the title, which they might even win. It all comes down to how many goals Giroud can score, how well Sanchez will settle into Premier League, and if Arsenal can avoid the painful injury problems they've struggled with for the last few years. The team looks in harmony and completely destroyed Manchester City last weekend in the Community Shield with 3-0, so it looks like a team in balance. If they can snap up a defender/defensive midfielder and/or a striker like Cavani/Falcao before the window closes, they will be really dangerous this year.
Aston Villa
I'll be honest, Aston Villa worries me. They have an owner who is looking to sell off the team and doesn't want to invest any money into transfers, and the players they have brought in are questionable. Joe Cole is way past his prime, and players like Richardson and Senderos are not what I would call great transfers. Cissokho is a decent left back, and I don't know much about their most recent signing Sanchez, who is a defensive midfielder, but overall their transfer window is pretty bleak IMO. I think the team could go down this season, and I would not be surprised if Paul Lambert is the first manager to get sacked and the assistant manager Roy Keane takes over. I wanna root for them because I like Lambert's philosophy and his project of letting the young and talented players play, but so far it hasn't paid off during the last few seasons. Benteke will be out for the start, and I think it comes down to him this season. If he scores a lot of goals, they'll stay up, if not... it's not looking too bright.
Burnley
If I think Aston Villa has good chances of being relegated this year, I think Burnley might have it even harder. They've brought in a few players, the most Premier League merited ones are Kightly from Stoke and Reid from West Bromwich. Two okay players, but the rest of their transfers (Gilks, Sordell, Jutikiewicz and Taylor) are from Championship. They're aiming to stay up with the core of the team that went up to the league from last seasons performance. It's admirable, but in my experience, there's a big difference between Championship and Premier League. You need to strengthen and get good additions, and you won't stay up with a Championship-team. I think Burnley could have a rough season, but it all comes down to how they adjust to the higher tempo and higher quality. Maybe they'll adjust nicely, and maybe they have some late transfers in mind. It's important as a newcomer to get something going for you. Maybe build an impenetrable fortress at your home station, and make sure you always get points from your home games.
Chelsea
Chelsea is in my opinion the favorite this year. They have the best team, they have the best manager and it's their year to win it. They've brought in amazing talent in Diego Costa, who will lead the attack, Fabregas who will lead the midfield, and Luis who will strengthen the defense. Add young talent in Zouma, and Courtouis, possably the best goalkeeper in Europe at the moment, who is coming back to Chelsea after 3 years on loan at Atletico Madrid. I think Chelsea has the best starting lineup, but it all comes down to injuries. Diego Costa has a lot of pressure and needs to score +20 goals for them this year. I think he will, but what they really need is to keep him fit. If he gets injured, I think Chelsea could struggle with Torres or Drogba up front, and if Costa goes out for a few months, that could very well be the title disappearing for Chelsea. But still, the best manager and the best team IMO. This year could be a blue year.
Crystal Palace
Had you asked me a week ago, I would have said a solid mid-team table. Now, I'm not so sure. Crystal Palace might have suffered the worst loss out of any Premier League teams, when their manager Tony Pulis left a few days ago. He was the reason the team went from being dead last to being a strong middle team who could take points out of anyone last year. He's one of the best bottom club managers out there, because he knows how to get 100% out of his team. He knows discipline and he can take teams like Crystal Palace and Stoke and fight with the big teams during tough games. The team has strengthened okay otherwise. Campbell, Kelly and Hangeland are all proven Premier League players, but what will really hurt them is the loss of Tony Pulis. At this point I don't think it matters who they bring in, I think they will struggle to survive this year.
Everton
Everton was one of the wonderful surprises of last year, and what Martinez has done with the team is amazing. From the defensive minded team they were under Moyes, Martinez made Everton an attacking team that was a joy to watch. They've secured the services of Lukaku and Barry (who were only there on loan last year) and bought a young and interesting prospect in Besic. I think Everton will finish in the top7 spots, and I think they could go pretty far in Europa League. Martinez is a manager to watch, and I would not be surprised if we saw him as the manager for a club like Arsenal or Barcelona in 2-3 years. He's a humble guy you just love in interviews, and he has done wonders with this team. They could use another transfer or so, but they managed to buy Lukaku (who saw that coming?) so I think they'll do just fine.
Hull City
Hull was one of the surprises last year and Steve Bruce managed to take a newcomer and make them a solid Premier League team. They even reached the FA Cup final, which they lost to Arsenal. This summer they have brought in players like Ince, Snodgrass, Maguire, Robertson, Ter Horst and Livermore (who was just on loan to them last year). I think Hull will be a solid mid-table team this year. I don't see them pushing into the top8 or anything, but I see them finishing safely above relegation, maybe in the 10-15 area. Steve Bruce is a decent manager who works well with clubs on this level, and the atmosphere within the club seems positive and I think they'll do fine. Again, not a team that will fight for European Cup positions, but not a team bad enough to be relegated either.
Leicester City
My write-up for Leicester will be very similar to my write-up for Burnley, but they are in similar situations. Leicester are also newcomers, and they have only brought in two players this window. Rowley and Ulloa joins, not exactly names that strikes fear in the opposition. Leicester are also hoping that the team they jogged home Championship with is going to be enough to stay up, and I'm not convinced. Again, the difference between Championship and Premier League is huge. If you take too lightly on that, you're gonna have a rough time. I think they need to get in at least 2 or 3 more players before the transfer window closes, and that's player with Premier League experience or players of the higher class. I think Leicester will struggle this year, and could very well be relegated.
Liverpool
Alright so time for Southampton. Or wait... Lallana, Lambert and Lovren. This isn't Southampton? I don't know what's the most bizarre, the fact that Liverpool has bought half of Southampton's starting lineup before this season, or the fact that Liverpool has Southampton in the very first game. Man will that be awkward. The already mentioned Lallana, Lambert and Lovren are strengthening the midfield, attack and defense, and with other additions like Markovic, Can and Manquillo, Liverpool has done a really strong transfer window. The big elephant in the room is of course the question of "How will Liverpool do without Suarez?". I think Liverpool will finish top4, but with the addition of Champions League, contending for the title will be tougher. I think the one thing they really need is a huge star transfer, and someone who could fill Suarez´ shoes. Either Cavani or Falcao, someone who could score those goals. Because Sturridge will have his dips during the season for sure. Still, Rodgers is probably the most exciting manager in the league, he has a young and talented team, and Liverpool played some of the best football in Europe last year. It's just a joy to watch them. Players like Coutinho and Sterling will continue to improve as well.
Manchester City
The previous league winners of last year, and a team many people are holding as favorites. I actually think Manchester City will miss out on the top4 this year. I'm not that impressed, and the way they got hammered by Arsenal last week, even if it was just the Community Shield, that says something about a team. I think Pellegrini is overrated as a manager, and a lot of the times last year, his tactical failures were salvaged by him having such a good team. I think City will miss out on the top4, but they could go far in Champions League instead. They have strengthened with Mangala and Fernando, two rigid/solid and defense-minded players, as well as a second goalkeeper in Caballero. Add in some experience in Frank Lampard (most odd transfer this summer?) and a young talent in Zuculini. I think City will fail mostly because of Pellegrini's tactical errors, but I still see them finishing 5th, because even if Pellegrini makes errors, they still have players like Aguero, Silva, Toure, Jovetic, Dzeko and Negredo, who all can decide games with their goals.
Manchester United
Time for the team I'm rooting for myself. A new manager in Louis Van Gaal, and two strong transfers in Shaw and Herrera. Pre-season has been incredible and without the extra pressure of Champions League, I think Man United will be this season's Liverpool of last year. The team that flies under the radar and contends for the title under everyone's noses. We still need at least 2, but maybe 3 transfers in my opinion. A versatile defender (either Blind or Rojo), and a central midfielder (Vidal). If we can get those additions, I think the problems are solved for now. I actually think Man United could win the title this year. The team is still great and with a competent manager and good additions (unlike how it looked last season), this could be a very special year. Like I said, we need those 2 or 3 transfers to really make this special, but even with the team we have now, I think top4 is more than doable.
Newcastle
Similar to Liverpool, Newcastle has kept busy this summer. New players in Cabella, De Jong, Riviere, Ferreyra, Colback, Perez and Janmaat, I think Newcastle could have a nice season this year. If I had to guess, I would say top10 probably. Around the 8-10 positions. They have a nice team with some real talent, they have an amazing fanbase and it's always hard for teams to go to their home stadium and get a good result. After their weak season last year, I think they wanna get back on track with something special, and there's no high pressure they gotta live up to after last year's disappointment. I think they will show us what they're capable of, and they have signed some really good players this window. Not a team for the highest top of the table, but they should be upper half at least.
Queens Park Rangers
Together with Burnley and Leicester, QPR are the third and final newcomers for this season. I think they'll stay up, and I think they have the best chances out of the three. You got a solid Premier League manager in Harry Redknapp, one of the greatest profiles of the league, and it's nice to have him back. They have brought in solid additions in Ferdinand/Caulker to strengthen the defense, Mutch in the midfield, who had a great season with Cardiff last year, and some international flair in Isla from Juventus. I think QPR are too good on paper to go down, but I see them finishing maybe 15-16 place or something. I don't see them blowing us away this year, but they're also too good (at least on paper) to go down again, which happened last time they were up.
Southampton
If I could describe Southampton, I would compare them to a battered corpse. Last season they were amazing. But the way they have been dismantled this summer has been painful for me to watch, and I'm not one of their own supporters, so I could only imagine what hell the supporters have been through. First, they lost their amazing manager Pochettino, who joined Tottenham. Then they started losing players, and wow did they lose players. Lallana, Lovren and Lambert all joined Liverpool. Shaw joined Man United, and Chambers joined Arsenal. Schneiderlin posted on twitter in anger that he wanted to leave the club, and a lot of rumors have been circulating about Schneiderlin and Rodriguez being on their way out. So Southampton have already lost 5 starting players, all who had a huge impact last year, with 1 or 2 more looking to leave. Add a new manager in Koeman, who doesn't have PL experience, and you have a mess. They have brought in a few exciting names like Shane Long, Frazer Forster, Pelle, Bertrand, Taider and Tadic, but it's hard to say how some of them will adjust to the league. Still, I think Southampton will stay up. Despite being utterly dismantled and slaughtered, they have a competent manager, they have one of the best youth academies in England, and they have a few pretty good players. A few more additions before deadline day and next season doesn't have to be that bad.
Stoke
Stoke is pretty much the definition of a firm and rigid mid-team table in Premier League. They're pretty strong defensively and Mark Hughes who took over last year has been working on their offense to improve as well. With the additions of Bojan (the old Barcelona striker who never became the next Messi), Teixeira and two Premier League merited players in Sidwell and Bardsley, I think Stoke will have another solid season. They could very well finish in the upper half, like the 9-10 places. I'm not a huge fan of Mark Hughes or Stoke, but it's hard to overlook the fact that they are pretty darn solid. Some decent transfers and they will probably continue to look good.
Sunderland
Another team with a lot of new faces this summer. Rodwell, Pantilimon, Jones, Gomez, Vergini, van Aanholt and Buckley, with Borini rumored to join from Liverpool. My biggest doubt is not the quality of the team, but Poyet as the manager. They managed the great escape last spring when they were looking to go down, but managed to stay up after a few impressing games towards the end. Still, a lot of new names and I'm not too sure. I don't think they will go down, but there's a lot of work for Poyet to make this team solid again. Sunderland has been very up and down the last few years, and what they really need is some consistency.
Swansea
Similar to Southampton but a very light version of it, Swansea is a team I loved a few seasons ago, but they have slowly been dismantled and they're not the same anymore. Monk as the manager, there's problem nr1. He has the position because he's a club legend as a player, but he is unproven as a manager. They have brought in a few interesting names in Gomis, Montero, Fabianski and Sigurdsson, and at their core, they play offensive and beautiful attacking football. I think Swansea are too good to go down, but they need to start showing more this season than they did last year. It's time for Monk to step up as a manager and show the world what kind of manager he is, and what kind of football he wants to play.
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham have been laying fairly low so far this summer, but they got loads of transfers last season, so there's still a lot of untapped potential. Great addition in Pochettino as the manager, and I like the transfers of Dier from Sporting, and Davies and Vorm from Swansea. There are questionmarks regarding players like Lamela and Soldado, but if Pochettino can get those players to perform (and I think he can), Spurs could very well be a contender for Champions League places this year. The team is strong on paper, and this could be a nice year for them. A nice start away against West Ham today, let's see what they can do. I expect them to be in the top7 this year.
West Bromwich Albions
WBA has one of the least experienced managers in Irvine, and they could have a rough season this year. The team still looks better than some of the newcomers, and they have done some transfers in players like Brown, Lescott, Gamboa, Wisdom, Gardner and Pocognoli, but they're a bit of a joker team this season. I think they'll stay up, but finish somewhere in the 14-17 region. I can't say I'm excited to watch them or anything, but they have some experienced players, and staying up should be doable.
West Ham United
Some questionmarks regarding manager Sam Allardyce, but they have done some sweet transfers in Enner Valencia (who was amazing in the World Cup), Mauro Zarate (former wonderkid of Lazio/Inter) as well as Carl Jenkinson of Arsenal. I think West Ham are too solid to go out, but they still need to improve from last season when they weren't very good. It's a classic London club and I hope they stay up, but I also hope they play more offensively than they have in the past.
-----------------------My predictions for the table this season:----------------------------------------
1. Manchester United (yes I'm an optimist!)
2. Arsenal
3. Chelsea
4. Liverpool
5. Manchester City
6. Tottenham
7. Everton
8. Newcastle
9. Stoke
10. Hull
11. Swansea
12. Southampton
13. West Ham United
14. Sunderland
15. Queens Park Rangers
16. West Bromwich Albions
17. Crystal Palace
18. Aston Villa
19. Leicester
20. Burnley
------------------------------------This weekend's games:-------------------------------------------------
Today:
12:45 - Manchester United - Swansea (1)
15:00 - Leicester - Everton (2)
15:00 - Queens Park Rangers - Hull (1)
15:00 - Stoke - Aston Villa (1)
15:00 - West Bromwich - Sunderland (X)
15:00 - West Ham - Tottenham (2)
17:30 - Arsenal - Crystal Palace (1)
Tomorrow:
13:30 - Liverpool - Southampton (1)
16:00 - Newcastle - Manchester City (X)
Monday:
20:00 - Burnley - Chelsea (2)
LETS GET EXCIIIIIIIITED
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Oh yeah :metal
As a Man Utd fan I have bigger expectations than last season with a new coach in Van Gaal and some new players (it can't get much worse than with Moyes...). Nine players on the injury list right now though, and I looked forward to seeing Luke Shaw today against Swansea. But I have no doubts that he will be one of the most important players for United this season once he's back to full health. I don't know if they can compete for the league title though, with a few more transfers perhaps? Top 4 should be the goal first and foremost - and do well in the EURO League.
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Man United aren't in the EURO league. ;) I think Shaw will be great but I think Herrera will be the shining star. The central midfield has been screaming for additions for a few years now, and Herrera will be an amazing fit. I think he could finish high in the assist league this season.
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Oh, I somehow thought they qualified for the EURO League :P ;D
I don't know anything about Herrera but yes they have been aching for a creative midfielder for long now. Hopefully he will fill that role.
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Oh dear, not a very good start for United. Still, I'm expecting them to have a slow start and pick up as the season progresses and the team gets used to Van Gaal's style. Not sure of they'll be able to challenge for the title, depends on how quickly they stabilise!
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Heh, another German player retired from the national team (Mertesacker). They probably all figure to go out while on top.
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Good news for Arsenal, fitness wise.
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10 players out and some players like Fellaini/Fletcher who should not be in the starting lineup. It's a disappointment, and it might take some time before LvG washes out the Moyes out of the club. It's baffling how much Moyes fucked things up. If Ferguson's career in Man United is summed up as "How I built the best team in the world over 25 years", Moyes should be called "How I completely dismantled a dream team in 12 months".
Oh well, there's gonna be lost points for all top teams and Spurs are having a tough game against West Ham as we speak. Hopefully Man United sign 2-3 players during the week and we bounce back against Sunderland next weekend.
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Chelsea!!!
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Hell yeah. I'm bummed I missed the opener but I can't complain.
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What happened today at the beginning was the type of game that they would've lost last year. But holy sexyness that Cesc pass to Schurrle!
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Rojo is going to Man U for about 20M plus Nanni. I also read somewhere they're going to make a big offer for Di Maria. I think both are great additions but they're the team is still lacking some good inside midfielder.
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I don't know what to think about Rojo, he's decent I guess. But it's a lot of money, and I would rather see them get Blind. As for Di Maria, he's obviously a big talent, the main questions for me would be 1) how does he fit into this system? will he play as a wingback or central midfielder? 2) is he worth the HUGE pricetag?
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Before the World Cup I would have said Rojo was an awful signing but he proved he can play as a wing back and he has played central defender and stopper positions as well so he's quite versatile. I also think Blind would have been a great choice and a more affordable one. As far as Di Maria goes, he was one of Real Madrid's best players if not the best and it's a crime he wasn't nominated for the best player of the season. It doesn't matter how much Man U pay, he's worth it.
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Yeah, Di Maria was really good last year. My only thought was that if they were willing to spend that amount of money, they might as well get Vidal in, who's probably a slightly better fit as for what the team needs. But with that said, it's not like the fans will be disappointed if we get Di Maria. It's gonna be some intense days before the window closes.
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Balotelli to Liverpool, where did that come from? :lol
Oh well, I guess you gotta replace one dumbass with another.
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My thoughts exactly :lol. He has to be one of the most overrated players in the world.
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I really want to get into Premier League, but I don't know what team I want to cheer for. Helpz!
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I really want to get into Premier League, but I don't know what team I want to cheer for. Helpz!
It kinda depends on what you like about the game. First of all, does it have to be one of the top teams contending for titles or can it be like a smaller team? If you like defensive and tactical games, Chelsea are pretty strong, if you like teams that play a fun attacking football, Liverpool or Arsenal might be more up your alley. If you want a smaller team that plays attacking football you also have teams like Southampton or Swansea that are essentially Liverpool/Arsenal light. Everton is another exciting team if you're looking for a good team that is kind of the underdog, a team that can finish top7, same goes for Tottenham. Or maybe Manchester United if you're interested in a team that just a few years ago was the best and biggest team in the world, had a really tough last season and are now looking to get back on top.
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Come on, become a Man United supporter! Things can only get better from now ;D
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I really like both Man U and Arsenal, but I enjoy watching basically all of the teams play when I can.
However, my true soccer club is Barca. :D
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Alright so this weekend's games in the Premier League: (and my predictions)
Today:
12:45 - Aston Villa - Newcastle (X)
15:00 - Chelsea - Leicester (1)
15:00 - Crystal Palace - West Ham (X)
15:00 - Southampton - West Bromwich (1)
15:00 - Swansea - Burnley (1)
17:30 - Everton - Arsenal (X)
Tomorrow:
13:30 - Hull - Stoke (X)
13:30 - Tottenham - Queens Park Rangers (1)
16:00 - Sunderland - Manchester United (2)
Monday:
20:00 - Manchester City - Liverpool (X)
-----------------
The biggest highlight is for sure Man City - Liverpool, which I'll probably miss since it's on a Monday. (god damn you Monday-games) But Everton - Arsenal is another highlight. I think Man United are gonna have a tough game against Sunderland, and might very well continue dropping points. Herrera is injured and the rest of our midfield is pretty much awful, so this will be painful to watch. I'm hoping for a win, we need it badly. But what we need more is signings.
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Looks like it's official that Di Maria will go to United now. Ancelotti has confirmed the transfer.
Chelsea took another comfortable win yesterday, and Arsenal managed to get a draw against Everton. Hopefully Man United will take a win today against Sunderland.
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Spurs, 3-0 up. Dier scored.
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Spurs are looking strong. Yeah, Man United really needs 3 points against Sunderland today. I don't even care how we get them as long as we get them. A lot of rumors about Di Maria, Blind and maybe even a third person (Vidal or De Jong) being on their way to the club. I would be really happy with that, but it's important to not screw up the season before these players arrive. 3 Points today and we can move forward from there. I would be thrilled with Di Maria and Blind, I think both would be incredible additions. Vidal is still my dream transfer, but if he isn't possible, I still think De Jong is a fine choice. He's not as good, but he is a solid defensive midfielder, and he has done well both in Man City, Milan and the national team, and Van Gaal knows him.
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Man, I really want to follow the PL and watch some games, but the one channel that airs PL games here in Holland isn't available to me :(
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What a fiasco for Man U, how can you lose 4-0 against such a lousy team? Anyways, it seems they made an offer for Vidal, a very necessary signing for them. They just need to get another good defender now
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What a fiasco for Man U, how can you lose 4-0 against such a lousy team? Anyways, it seems they made an offer for Vidal, a very necessary signing for them. They just need to get another good defender now
The starting line-up was pretty bad, but that doesn't justify 4-0. It's a combination of the team having no momentum with the confidence being in the bottom, and having way too much trust in your youngsters who aren't good enough. It's nice that we got Di Maria, but in my opinion we would also need Vidal, Blind and someone like Hummels if this is going to be okay. People bash Smalling and Jones, but Evans was just awful last night. If he is our best defender, this is not good.
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Milan is apparently in talks to acquire Fernando Torres (THANK YOU OBAMA) and grabbed Van Ginkel on loan.
With MVG out, the Chelsea midfield has lost depth so I guess they loaned him out to sign someone/bring Pogba. :lol
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Smalling, Jones and Evans suck. Getting Hummels would be amazing since in my opinion he is currently the best defender in the planet but I get the feeling he doesn't want to leave BVB. Barcelona already tried for him and he said he didn't want to leave.
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And Van Ginkel rejected the loan. Welp
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What a fiasco for Man U, how can you lose 4-0 against such a lousy team?
They can't be that lousy if they beat Manchester United 4-0. Just because they're in a lower division doesn't make them less good, especially in MK Dons' case, as they've been working their way up through the League system since forming only 10 years ago.
Still, it was an extraordinary evening. With the 6-6 draw in the first round, it seems the League Cup is producing more shocks (and hence entertainment and headlines) than the FA Cup these days, especially after the incredible events of 2012/13.
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lolManU
Also, pretty funny that all week the news been that Costas made not play today against Everton because of a hamstring and he not only starts but scores a goal in less than a minute!
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I hope somebody else is watching this fucking Everton/Chelsea game! This is crazy!
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Okay, apparently Man United has signed a loan deal with Falcao!
That's nice and all but it's defenders and midfielders we need the most :P
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If the Falcao deal is real, that came out of the blue. It's hard for me to complain because Rooney have been pretty darn lazy so far, and RvP is far from fit. It does sadden me that Hernandez is going out on loan as well as Kagawa leaving, since both are personal favorites, but I can understand why they will go. I have a feeling we'll see a team like this:
If we're going with 3-5-2:
--------------De Gea---------------
-----Jones----Evans----Rojo-----
-Di Maria-Herrera-Blind-Shaw-
--------------Mata------------------
------RvP/Rooney-Falcao--------
Possibly Blind in the defense instead of either Jones/Evans with Carrick in the midfield.
If we're going with a 4-3-3
-------------De Gea---------------
Rafael-Jones/Evans-Rojo-Shaw
Herrera--Blind/Carrick--Di Maria
-Rooney----RvP/Falcao----Mata-
I'm pretty happy overall, I think the transfers are all really good. I would however be even happier if we could replace Evans or Smalling with a new CB (someone like Hummels) and replace some of the dead weight in the midfield (like Fletcher or Cleverley) with a good CM (possibly Strootman in January?). But we've already taken in so many this window that I don't see it as possible to get those positions until January at best.
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I like your first option the most but with Blind on defense, Di Maria where Blind is right now and Januzaj where Di Maria is. Not a lot of defense but with that much offensive power who cares?
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I hope somebody else is watching this fucking Everton/Chelsea game! This is crazy!
It was absolutely insane. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time wondering which way it would go.
Tim Howard was impressive in the WC, but here... eh.
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I know there's a lot of focus on Falcao but I just gotta take the time to post this:
(https://scontent-a-ams.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/v/t1.0-9/s720x720/10636021_10152411694267746_2781254649755486076_n.jpg?oh=30c499e39cb79343afd8dd16aaebeb88&oe=545BCB11)
I'm not gay, or even bi, but this guy is just really darn good looking. He might even beat Ramsey as the best looking guy in the league IMO. Man crush :heart
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I wonder how many "Blind" jokes there will be in the English press this season :P
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Yeah there's a lot of room for bad puns with his name. I'm not sure how you pronounce it though, my dad thought you pronounced it "Blint" or something like that, but you just know the commentators will say "Blind" either way. :P
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Well, it's gonna be that Oscar situation all over again when he played for Chelsea, I guess. I dunno if you guys had it on Sky Sports, but we Russians had a lot of commentators trying to be funny and making puns about him getting or not getting the Academy Award for his actions.
Of course, the worst case for Russians was about Samir Nasri, because if you pronounce Nasri with emphasis on the last syllable, it turns into a verb "to shit" in imperative mood, and there were a lot of those subtle and obviously not amusing at all jokes until all the commentators were apparently forced to put an emphasis on the first syllable instead.
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Yeah there's a lot of room for bad puns with his name. I'm not sure how you pronounce it though, my dad thought you pronounced it "Blint" or something like that, but you just know the commentators will say "Blind" either way. :P
Yeah it is basically pronounced "Blint", and UK commentators are surprisingly good at pronouncing names the way they are supposed to. So from a commentary perspective, I think it'll be fine.
Puns in the press are an absolute guarantee though.
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Watched Germany-Argentina friendly yesterday. Wtf, at some point it was 4:0 for Argentina. Granted, it was a friendly so they weren't giving it all, and the team had three retirements since the WC, but dang. Ended up being 4:2 in the end.
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What happened was a healthy Di Maria, a healthy Agüero and a new coach who likes playing offense. Also no pressure.
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I sure hope Di Maria will bring his awesome playing to Man Utd. He was brilliant last night.
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Portugal seems to be in deep trouble, they lost against Albania, wtf.
And Gibraltar, I mean, good for them that they want to play too, but their games will continue to be a shit show.
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This thread needs some reviving and what a better topic to do so than Thierry Henry announcing his retirement. He's one of the best players I've had the pleasure to watch and I'm pretty sure that no matter what team you're a fan of you have enjoyed his game.
Here's a video with some awesome goals (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wqkykj1tTpE)
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He played for the Red Bulls, right? I saw him play just a few weeks ago, against the Revolution.
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For a bit, yeah. He was most famous as an Arsenal player, then went to Barcelona for a short while before heading over to the States to play for the Red Bulls.
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I've only really been getting into football since this year's World Cup, so I haven't seen much of Thierry Henry (or in that regard, of any other player) so far. That video was great though, and I know he's a fantastic player. Sad to see him announce his retirement, but you've got to stop sometime!
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As a Spurs fan, Henry was the bane of my existence, but he was one of the best. Shame to see him retire.
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Long time since last post!
Watched the Bayern Munich vs BvB Dortmund game today, German cup semifinals.
Incredible game, my heart was racing during the penalties (I'm rooting for Dortmund). And then Bayern doesn't hit a single time!!
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I really want to get into Premier League, but I don't know what team I want to cheer for. Helpz!
It kinda depends on what you like about the game. First of all, does it have to be one of the top teams contending for titles or can it be like a smaller team? If you like defensive and tactical games, Chelsea are pretty strong, if you like teams that play a fun attacking football, Liverpool or Arsenal might be more up your alley. If you want a smaller team that plays attacking football you also have teams like Southampton or Swansea that are essentially Liverpool/Arsenal light. Everton is another exciting team if you're looking for a good team that is kind of the underdog, a team that can finish top7, same goes for Tottenham. Or maybe Manchester United if you're interested in a team that just a few years ago was the best and biggest team in the world, had a really tough last season and are now looking to get back on top.
Wow what a late response :lol
I've been keeping track of it this year. I don't get to watch the games much because I'm in the USA, and I think they show games on one station.
Teams that I would consider getting into:
Arsenal
Southampton
Everton
Manchester United
Aston Villa (Why, I don't know :lol)
Teams I don't really care for:
Well. Chelsea :lol
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I don't get to watch the games much because I'm in the USA, and I think they show games on one station.
I used to be the same, but then I discovered SopCast and AceStream, and the beautiful site https://www.livefootballol.com/ :D
I watched the Bayern-Dortmund game in pristine quality on my laptop.
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I don't get to watch the games much because I'm in the USA, and I think they show games on one station.
I used to be the same, but then I discovered SopCast and AceStream, and the beautiful site https://www.livefootballol.com/ :D
I watched the Bayern-Dortmund game in pristine quality on my laptop.
Oh wow, thanks! :)
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So it looks like it's going to be Wolfsburg vs. Dortmund in the German Cup Final? Sorry Rumborak, but I'm rooting for Wolfsburg ;) I love the way Dortmund fought their way back into the Bundesliga mid-table though. I remember when I was in Berlin in January and February; they weren't looking well back then, IIRC.
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Anyone else following the Women's World Cup?
I'm watching Norway - Thailand and it's really good stuff, Norway especially play really well (though Thailand in their first ever WWC aren't presenting much of a challenge).
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I have not watched any yet but I plan to follow the USA team :metal
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Yeah I'll be following England of course.
I've never really watched much Women's Football before, so I'm interested to know whether teams like Germany and Brazil play in a similar manner to their male counterparts.
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I only watched a bit of last World Cup, and it was pretty enjoyable.
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Germany is dismantling Ivory Coast. Not surprisingly of course, CIV qualified for the first time.
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Wow, that was a kinda ridiculous game. 10:0.
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Germany is dismantling Ivory Coast. Not surprisingly of course, CIV qualified for the first time.
Yeah even moreso than the men's World Cup I can see there being a vast gap between the experienced teams and the newer ones.
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Props to FC Barcelona for their treble, winning the Champions League, La Liga, and the Copa del Rey all in the span of a month. It's absolutely incredible.
Also-- did anyone else see the USA v Netherlands friendly on Friday? The USA were incredible with their comeback win!
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That's because the Netherlands were playing increddibly naive. 3-1 lead and you give it away like that? Shamefull. We did get a severe lesson in effective counter play, though. Kudos for the USA team on that score. But the defending was dreadful.
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That's because the Netherlands were playing increddibly naive. 3-1 lead and you give it away like that? Shamefull. We did get a severe lesson in effective counter play, though. Kudos for the USA team on that score. But the defending was dreadful.
Agreed.
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Anyone else following the Women's World Cup?
I would if the time difference was better. Tonight Sweden is playing their first game at 10 PM, and their two other games will be played at 2 AM.
I don't want to be up all night and then work during the day :-\
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Yeah the latest slot is a bit late for us in the UK, but the earlier ones work out fine. Glad to see that the BBC is broadcasting every match, at least online. Hopefully that also means being able to catch up on all the highlights/goals (of which it looks like there could be many!).
Was talking about it with a colleague today, and we agreed that, although men's football is understandably faster and more powerful, women's ends up being pretty much as enjoyable to watch. The only real difference between the men's and women's world cups is that one is played by whiny little bitches and the other is played by professional sportswomen.
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In general I am very pleasantly surprised at the level of soccer I've seen so far. I think the days where the Women's World Cup was mostly just as exercise in equality are coming to an end.
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Yeah it´s growing very fast. Too bad the Dutch women´s competition is managed so amateurishly. I remember when I worked at Feyenoord Football club a couple of years, there was a real 50´s mentality about the whole woman football thing. The whole idea of setting up a professional woman´s team was met with real hostility back then. While the talent was all around every year on the talent days. Such a shame.
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Tonight's game (USA-AUS) should definitely be more competitive.
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Megan Rapinoe is just phenomenal.
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Saw some highlights of the game this morning, looks like it was a really good match. Same with Netherlands - NZ. I haven't caught any highlights of Sweden - Nigeria yet, but that looks like a very closely fought game, ending at 3-3!
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Rapinoe stood out yesterday, for sure. In fact, in the first half I was thinking "this way the US isn't going anywhere in the World Cup". In the second half they picked up, looked a lot better.
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I stopped watching the Sweden - Nigeria match after the first half, but now I'm regretting I did! :blush
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I stopped watching the Sweden - Nigeria match after the first half, but now I'm regretting I did! :blush
I had to get to sleep after the first one, but I am disappoint that they lost a 2-0 lead and only got 3-3. Half of the team got cramp in their legs, blamed it on the fake grass on the pitch...
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Aren't Swedish players used to playing on artificial grass ;) Yeah well, it was an entertaining game for sure!
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Hopefully with that sexist pig Blatter out of the equation, that whole artificial turf idea will be nixed forever.
BTW, can someone explain to me how games like "1D vs 3BEF" work? What's team "3BEF"? I mean, you can't compare the 3rd places of the different groups, can you? They never played each other.
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Just another FIFA cluster F. Once they decided to add teams to the world cup field. They also changed the yellow card rule which is another cluster f. That said, I have basically watched every game, and despite my despise they are playing on artificial turf, it has been a great cup.
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So USA beat Germany in a friendly, 2-1. That's pretty impressive beating them and Netherlands back to back like that. Don't really care if it's a friendly, I still think it's impressive. Hoping maybe they'll reach higher in 2018!
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Once the USA decides it wants to take a particular sport seriously, it generally pumps resource in and it's not very long until it's one of the best teams in the world. :lol
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Once the USA decides it wants to take a particular sport seriously
I can't see that happening with soccer, they seem to want to ridicule it every chance they get.
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Not sure I agree, I think they take it more and more seriously all the time.
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Bout freakin' time. Took em long enough!
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Not sure I agree, I think they take it more and more seriously all the time.
I hope you're right, Rich.
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Props to FC Barcelona for their treble, winning the Champions League, La Liga, and the Copa del Rey all in the span of a month. It's absolutely incredible.
Not a words for us? We so close to winning the treble as well :(
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The US played well, and it's good to see they're getting better under Klinsi (who sang both anthems, lol).
That said though, Germany was definitely only really trying in the first half, to save their key players for the game on the weekend. Most of them are tired from the regular season and had to interrupt their vacation for the game.
So, kudos to the US, but Germany has a history of losing friendlies, because we use them to try out things.
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Germany in red and Norway in white - that's really confusing!
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Today is an al day soccer fest. Italy in qualify, U.S women at night. I am in soccer heaven
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Sweden vs US tonight, I don't have any high hopes after the opening game.
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Today is an al day soccer fest. Italy in qualify, U.S women at night. I am in soccer heaven
This whole week has been/will be insane. Two men internationals, and two women games.
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That was an awful game.
I'm definitely also rooting for the US, but they better step up their game if they want to win this thing.
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Saw it was 0-0, obviously you get good 0-0 games but from your reaction it sounds like it was pretty dreary.
England - Mexico tonight!
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It was dreary, yeah. In 90 minutes, there were only two actual chances in front of the goal for the US, and even those were total clusterfuck. The Swedish had no chance during the whole game.
Germany-Gibraltar!
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Germany-Gibraltar!
I'll be watching this one!
I wanted to see Ireland - Scotland instead, but I had to work today, so I won't be able to get to the pub in time. Germany - Gibraltar it is. :tup
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Jeeesus. Germany is not world champion material right now, that's for sure.
EDIT: Wow, way to turn the game around!
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Jeeesus. Germany is not world champion material right now, that's for sure.
EDIT: Wow, way to turn the game around!
It'll be interesting to see the generational change. There were some names on the team I'd never heard before
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Yeah, well, this result was pretty much expected. Gibraltar looked decent though, props to them.
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I think they blew everything that had on the first half. After that the floodgates opened.
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German girls are playing very well, 4:0 against Thailand today.
Go USA!
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USA should progress easily enough tonight.
I was thinking that it's harsh for Netherlands to have come third on goals scored, with the same points and goal difference as China. But I forgot the WWC has fewer groups than the men's WC, so some of the third place teams get through. They have a chance yet!
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Not all third places get through though, right? Like, Germany will play "3rd of group B/C/D " or something, which means they're somehow selecting from those groups. Based on points, goal difference? No matter the selection method, it will be inherently unfair, since it's comparing apples and oranges.
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Yeah, I assume it'll be the highest point/GD scoring 3rd places.
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Looked it up afterwards, yeah. It's first total points, then goal difference. So, unless the remaining games come out really badly, Netherlands are still in.
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Yeah I caught the BBC's highlights and the commentator there said 4 points should get them through.
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The US better win tonight. Because that will get them to the correct "arm" of the bracket, where, if both Germany and the US keep winning in the knockout stages, I will see them play against each other in Montreal. That would be beyond awesome.
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Nice. :lol Presumably you'd root for Germany?
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Yeah, that's been my stance so far. I'll root for the US as well of course, but not when they play Germany. ;D
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Hmm. While I'm very happy the US came out top of the group, they really only barely did so. They played #33 in the world today, and for 20 minutes that team was even a man down, and yet they still successfully attacked the US. I don't know, for the second best team in the world this won should have been a lot easier.
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Sure but Nigeria were always going to fight (and they may be 33rd in the world but they attack nicely), plus the USA didn't need to wipe the floor with them. They still topped the group comfortably.
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Christen Press :heart
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Good lord, the England women's team make things as hard for themselves as the men's do! Playing well, reasonably comfortable 2-0 lead, then in injury time concede a sloppy goal and the last minute or so is utterly nerve-wracking!
Still, through in 2nd place with 6 points, so not bad!
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And getting out of the group stage is already better than the men's team :biggrin:
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And getting out of the group stage is already better than the men's team :biggrin:
Quiet you.
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Man, those women defenders are mean....
(https://static2.ad.nl/static/photo/2015/13/7/5/20150619092207/media_l_3108185.jpg)
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Germany looking pretty comfortable here, 3-0 and Sweden just don't seem like they're really trying very hard.
EDIT: Literally a minute later and it's 3-1. :lol
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Looked very good though in the end. 4:1 is good.
Initially I was going to try to watch he France-Korea game, but 8 minutes in it was already 2:0. It was probably a totally uneven game.
USA-Colombia is probably going to be rather one-sided too.
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Well, Columbia beat France in their group game, so....
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Germany looking pretty comfortable here, 3-0 and Sweden just don't seem like they're really trying very hard.
EDIT: Literally a minute later and it's 3-1. :lol
Sweden was an embarrassment in this World Cup. I had way higher hopes for them.
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Heard this one the other day:
What's the difference between a tea bag and the English national soccer team?
.....
The tea bag stays in the cup longer.
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:rollin
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Tonite the States break out, There is bad blood between Columbia and the United States womens teams. U.S 4- Columbia 0. F with the bull u get the horns Columbia.
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Heard this one the other day:
What's the difference between a tea bag and the English national soccer team?
.....
The tea bag stays in the cup longer.
:lol Nice.
Not great against Norway so far - first 5 minutes we looked bright and energetic but subsequent 15 we've been very much on the back foot. Fairly tight game so far though.
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Having said all that, England came alive in the last half hour and looked much better. And Bronze's winning goal was fantastic, especially for a right back!
Feel a bit sorry for Norway as I really liked them and thought they've been a strong side in this world cup, but they seemed to lose all confidence once we equalised.
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US-Colombia was a very belabored game, damn.
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Good win for the US. Their defense is looking very good.
and again, Christen Press :heart
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Well the Dutch team are out by Japan. Besides some gruiling horrible defending mistakes and a midfield that just kept passing the ball to the opponent, I think there's potential in this team. They're young, obviously have some good skills up front and for a first world cup, making it out of the group stage is a good start. But they're a long ways from being top 5.
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Japan are a good side as well, being reigning champions and all.
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France - Germany tonight! Could be a tight game.
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I really hope I can see it. I'm going up to Montreal today, I might miss the first half.
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France-Germany was EPIC
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Missed the whole game, but arrived at the hotel in time to watch the penaly kicks.
Tuesday I get to see the mother of all games: USA-Germany!
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I attended the Canada - England match. As a Brit who has been a long time citizen of Canada, I support both teams, but I was cheering for Canada all the way in this one. Sadly they couldn't finish their chances.
Good luck to England in the semis!
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I thought Canada actually played better than England in that game. But, you snooze you lose. It only takes 10 minutes to decide the whole game.
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Germany-USA is going to be a monster match.
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I thought Canada actually played better than England in that game. But, you snooze you lose. It only takes 10 minutes to decide the whole game.
Yup. They made two blunders early on and found themselves down 2-0. I felt badly for France too. They deserved to go through.
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Didn't see any of the games as I was away on a weekend break, but man those quarter finals were awesome.
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Germany - USA tonight!
I assume you'll be watching it Rumby? It's a little late for me to stay up.
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Bring on Germany!!!!!!!!!!!!! USA 3 Germany 2 I hope
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So many opportunities for USA. I hope it doesn't come back to bite them.
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Gotta love a celebration like that by the crowd following a missed penalty kick. :coolio
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Fuck yea USA! 2-0
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Fuck yea USA! 2-0
YEEEEEEESSSSSS!!!
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YES!!!! :metal
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Please win Japan. We want revenge!
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Gotta love my ladies. AWESOME performance.
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US played their best game so far, Germany just wasn't up to snuff. The penalty kick was bogus though, that should have been a free kick.
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Man, if England come somehow beat Japan, and England-USA final will be epic.
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I suspect a Germany-England on Saturday tbh.
Best quote i saw today regarding yesterday's game: Two goals, one cup.
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I suspect a Germany-England on Saturday tbh.
You're probably right, Japan look really good. Saw some of their game against Netherlands I think, and they have a lot of skill and class. But we've been building some momentum, so you never know.
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Well, if it is USA-England, then it would truly be Opposite Land to men's soccer :lol
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What a terrible way to lose. That English gal who scored the own goal will never get over that. Brutal.
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I am 48 years old and been playing/watching soccer since I was 4. I thought I saw everything. But yes that was brutal. England outplayed Japan. I played center back and that is one of the toughest balls to defense against. I had my share of own goal playing that position on similar plays. Brutal is an understatement given the timing and importance of the match.
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Not that either team are playing great, but England is playing ugly. There should have been a lot more cards already.
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Oh man, extra time for 3rd place. :lol
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Can we skip the penalty kicks, and instead opt for mud wrestling?
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:lol
Really pleased for England to have managed 3rd place - the loss against Japan was so unlucky as they were the better side in the second half and really should have won.
Should be an interesting final - I'll be rooting for USA I think (not often I say that!).
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Third place at the World Cup, going one step ahead of the men of Italia '90. Wow. Well done England!
Also, congratulations to Chile for winning their first Copa América last night.
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(https://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss272/kingshmegland/FB_IMG_1436103994374_zpskpzlxhm1.jpg) (https://s583.photobucket.com/user/kingshmegland/media/FB_IMG_1436103994374_zpskpzlxhm1.jpg.html)
Well, I hope so.
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The ref sucked balls though in that game. IMHO, especially given how rough the game had been up to that (and a lot of coming from the English side), giving a penalty kick for that foul was not warranted. Especially also because the English gal held the German one by the arm before.
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Eh, I didn't think the ref was unusually bad.
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Really? It's always amazing how differently two people can watch the same event.
I was sitting with some other people in a bar watching the game, and when she gave the first yellow card in the second half, we were all "She found her cards!!" :lol
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It's so nice to see bias with refs from all over the country. It just means we're passionate about our teams or country.
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2-0 Team USA in the first five minutes! :metal
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Holy crap!
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Air Canada fucked up, more than half an hour of delay. Standing at baggage claim right now, missed both goals :tdwn
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X 2 Rumbo.
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4-0! This is a drubbing reminiscent of Germany/Brazil last year.
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Look at the position played. :lol
(https://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss272/kingshmegland/FB_IMG_1436138118540_zps7c7iol8f.jpg) (https://s583.photobucket.com/user/kingshmegland/media/FB_IMG_1436138118540_zps7c7iol8f.jpg.html)
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US is making Japan their own personal Teresa Obert and son.
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USA is letting Japan dictate the pace. They need to change that.
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Congrats USA Women's Soccer team!!
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Woot!!!
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Hell yeah! Anti-climatic finish, but we'll take it. :tup :tup
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Awesome, congrats 'Murica! Japan were good in this tournament, but too arrogant for my tastes.
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(https://i.imgur.com/IWEWu6m.gif)
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pqO6tK8_Wg
Manusia Ganteng 3 hours ago
"We have to clean this first" Dude can't concentrate properly when there's lots of money in proximity. :lol
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https://vine.co/v/egwwmi79l10
Thibaut Courtois can do anything!!
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So after watching last season of Premier League, I think I may like Manchester City the most. I find myself liking their players more than other teams for the most part. I'll probably support them and some other teams this season and see what happens.
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I don't know if anyone else watched the opening match today, but Tottenham made a decent run at it in Old Trafford today. Disappointing result for them- I really thought they deserved at least one point. A single, silly mistake cost them the game, despite being the greater threat throughout most of the game.
Go Bournemouth!
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After a few weeks of stress free weekends it starts again today. Come on Liverpool. Here's to a better season.
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After a few weeks of stress free weekends it starts again today. Come on Liverpool. Here's to a better season.
If yesterday's game is any indication you're up for a lot of stress :P
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Yeah I watched the Man United game against Tottenham on Saturday. Pretty lame match, and to win on an own goal... But it's three points anyway and it's nice to start the season off with a win.
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Interesting opening weekend in the EPL. Watched almost every game. Lets see what Man City has today. I do not think we will see run away like last year. But there is still 3 weeks in transfer season. moves will be made. I still think that Chelsea, Man U, Man City, are the teams to beat. Stoke is my so called dark with West Brom. Arsenal is overrated and a cluster f going on there. On paper Chelsea is the team to beat. MONSTER team.
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So the goalkeeper of ADO Den Haag (Dutch Eredivisie) scored this goal (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrsTKLzxSug) today. Wow. That's a world class goal, although a bit of luck was involved of course. Not really a fan of any Dutch team in particular but that was great.
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So the goalkeeper of ADO Den Haag (Dutch Eredivisie) scored this goal (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrsTKLzxSug) today. Wow. That's a world class goal, although a bit of luck was involved of course. Not really a fan of any Dutch team in particular but that was great.
That is magnificent and should be nominated for Best goal of the year :clap:
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Come on, we're one game into the season. Goal of the year? already?
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Come on, we're one game into the season. Goal of the year? already?
Well, we're in August so there's that :P. But really, I know Zlatan can score one of those in any game, but still it will not be nearly as good as this one because of the context, it's a goal keeper scoring in one of the last plays of the game, managing to make the game a draw against the defending champion. Tough to beat
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And we have the Champions Groups
Group A: Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk, Malmo
Group B: PSV, Manchester United, CSKA Moscow, Wolfsburg
Group C: Benfica, Atletico Madrid, Galatasaray, Astana
Group D: Juventus, Manchester City, Sevilla, Borussia Monchengladbach
Group E: Barcelona, Bayer Leverkusen, Roma, BATE
Group F: Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Olympiacos, Dinamo Zagreb
Group G: Chelsea, Porto, Dynamo Kiev, Maccabi Tel-Aviv
Group H: Zenit, Valencia, Lyon, Gent
Group D will be a massacre. It seems City can't catch a break in the Champions
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Poor, Sevilla. They win the Europa League only to be drawn to the group of death!
Chelsea has an easy route to the round of 16, albeit with a lot of travel time!
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Group D is insane.
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I'm looking forward to seeing PSG coming to Malmö, since it's the home town of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the club he played for when he was a youngster (he left them in 2001 for Ajax).
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I don't think group D looks that tough. Juventus and City will 95% go through, Sevilla has a decent chance if City continues underperforming in Europe, but otherwise it looks pretty clear IMO.
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I don't think group D looks that tough. Juventus and City will 95% go through, Sevilla has a decent chance if City continues underperforming in Europe, but otherwise it looks pretty clear IMO.
Borussia M might not be a big name but it will no doubt give the other teams trouble
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Yeah, I don't really see group D standing out either. Not easy for sure, but there are other groups of equal difficulty.
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Soccer (football) is my favorite sport! My first season starts in about 1 week! My favorite team is without a doubt Man United.
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Germany seems to have gotten out of the post-WC rut, they looked good yesterday. If they also win against Scotland on Monday, they're virtually through.
Netherlands, oh boy. They better get their shit together soon.
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I am watching Russia vs Sweden right now. So far in the game it has been all Russia.
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Netherlands - Iceland was a disaster. The whole game was ruined by that idiotic foul from Martens Indi. What a fucking idiot.
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Well, if our game against Iceland was a disaster, I've run out of words to describe this one.
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We f....´ed up again. Oh well, see you in four years.
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What the hell happened? You made it to the semi-finals of the world cup just last year
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Yeah, starting to think luck had a lot to do with that.
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Even so, the Netherlands have one of the better teams in Europe, it's hard to believe that they can't qualify in a group that isn't that hard, regardless of Iceland playing 300% of what they are normally capable of.
It's actually sad when EURO 2016 runs without the Netherlands, and I really mean this, although I'm from Germany.
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This article (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3224993/Holland-brink-missing-Euro-2016-just-14-months-finished-World-Cup-gone-wrong-Dutch.html) here has some good points
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Agreed, though that's a bid unusual for the Daily Mail I think :lol
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It's bad karma from knocking Mexico out of the WC on a shitty flop. Of course it's not that simple, but I'm still a touch disappointed.
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Really? You guys are really still mad about that?
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Really? You guys are really still mad about that?
I'm not Mexican, so I don't even belong to that group of 'you guys' :biggrin:
But as a relatively impartial fan of the game itself, it does disappoint me to see teams reap the benefits of cheating on the largest stage in the game.
At the same time, I've always enjoyed watching the Netherlands play and cheered for them several times (against Spain in 2010, for example) before so I'm also disappointed to see them struggling so much against teams like Iceland.
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Alright, I get that. But do me a favor. Go back and watch all the world cups, back as the earliest '60's and '70's.
Diving for penalty's has always been part of the game and it is, over time, more or less accepted as being part of the game.
We could start an entire thread about unncaceptable fouls in world cups and european cups and whatnot through the years. It's sour at the time when it happens, but we have to move on.
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Yeah no, that's the main problem, people being ok with it. It's not Ok, it shouldn't happen and FIFA sooner rather than later needs to implement a replay system for these kind of plays. Not for all plays cause that wouldn't be feasible, but penalties and goals where there might have been an offside should be reviewed.
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Good point. FIFA has always blocked the implementation of video-reffereeing, or video-playback. The technology is there, why not use it? It works in (field/ice) hockey, it works in tennis. It may take up a few extra seconds, a minute tops. In a sport where the stakes are so high, especially in tournements like that or the Champion's League, why not introduce video and goal-line aid.
FIFA won't change it. Why? Beats me.
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FIFA doesn't change anything because as of now there's no-one that has offered the right amount of bribes to change it. :biggrin:
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:lol
I think they are reluctant to change it because on one hand, FIFA is run by dinosaurs who don't like any change and on the other hand, when those kinds of things happen the media goes batshit crazy and generates a lot of attention which means more money for them to some extent.
And you also have lots of cases where the referees are clearly told that certain team has to win like Korea vs Italy in 2002 or the most recent fiasco in the Concacaf Gold Cup where the referee awarded Mexico 2 penalties out of the blue because they needed them to get to the finals.
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If you look at any rules change or the like over history, one single guiding theme of them was "the original nature of the game must not be changed". And that means, the flow is continuous, and the referee on the ground is who decides penalties. Video-reffing would violate both of those aspects. That's why they don't allow it.
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Same discussion that´s going round for aeons is getting rid of the offside rule. It may change the game in a positive way, but they´re never gonna get rid of it.
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Getting rid of offside? WTF? That would immediately and utterly destroy the game. It is one of the oldest rules in the book for good reason.
Without the offside rule, each team would plant a player (or more) in front of the opposing goal, and then the game would devolve into kicking the ball up and high across the field all the time.
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If you look at any rules change or the like over history, one single guiding theme of them was "the original nature of the game must not be changed". And that means, the flow is continuous, and the referee on the ground is who decides penalties. Video-reffing would violate both of those aspects. That's why they don't allow it.
I know that's what they say officially but I think they're just using that as an excuse.
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And that means, the flow is continuous, and the referee on the ground is who decides penalties.
I know that this is the reason FIFA states when it comes to video-replays. But the flow in the game isn't continouos, with all the fouls, offsides, freekicks, throw-ins, goal-kicks, exchange of players etc. Even worse when one team is playing for time, so that argument, at least for me, isn't really valid.
Getting rid of offside? WTF? That would immediately and utterly destroy the game. It is one of the oldest rules in the book for good reason.
Without the offside rule, each team would plant a player (or more) in front of the opposing goal, and then the game would devolve into kicking the ball up and high across the field all the time.
I'm mostly with you, it would probably destroy the game. The obvious thing, like you mentioned, is to plant some players before the opponent's goal, but that means, the more players you sent to the opponent's goal the less you have to defend your own goal. It would be interesting to see what tactics the teams adopt and if maybe an interesting game could develop. They should try it just for the fun of it in test-matches.
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I like the Offside-rule. It's hard to explain, but there's a really satisfying feeling when a team scores a goal after what looks to be an offside situation, but the pass is actually played out perfectly on time, it's just really great timing. On the other side of that, sometimes you pass the ball half a second too late and it's ruled out instead. It's a part of the charm. The rule really makes you appreciate the passing players more, and their sense of timing, which is sometimes freakishly perfect.
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The offside-rule makes some sense and I think I know what you mean with the perfect timing. But often the game is so fast you can really only see if it was offsides in the slow motion and sometimes even not there. And sometimes it's just a few centimeters. So there's bound to be a lot of errors by the refs. But to control every assumed offsides in a video replay would severely hinder the flow of play.
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I will always live and die with Chelsea, but wtf is going on????????????????? It is getting scary.
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lol Mourinho.
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Going back to using video, apparently the Brazilian league will ask FIFA to let them use it for 6 specific plays: Offisde, Penalties, determining whether a foul was commited inside/outside the area, determining whether the ball left the court or not, determining if a goal should be scratched off in case there was something irregular during the play and determining whether a player should get a red card for a hard foul.
I like ther initiative but I think this should only be used for Offsides and Penalties.
Regarding Chelsea
lol Mourinho.
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I would personally be fine with any use of technology that is instantaneous. So yeah, E.g. if you could make offside calls more accurate with some kind of Hawkeye technology, I'd be down for that.
I *don't* think it should be used to revise scores in hindsight. Errors are errors and are to some degree part of the game, and score changes massively influence the dynamic if the game, so it's not as if you could just say "if we delete this one goal, the rest of the game would have stayed the same".
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Hilarious that even with how horrible Chelsea has played so far, they're the only English team with a win on the Champions League. :lol
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I can't believe Arsenal lost today. And yeah, Chelsea managed to win but they played aganist an easier team than the other English teams.
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I don't know who I dislike more, Diego Costa or Luis Suarez.
I think Suarez has lower lows, while Diego Costa is much more consistently a dick. Watching him play, I get the feeling he could start a brawl with Gandhi and Mother Teresa
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I can't believe Arsenal lost today. And yeah, Chelsea managed to win but they played aganist an easier team than the other English teams.
Sure they did, still funny. :lol
Also, Arsenal losing to Chelsea is one of the surest things in football.
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Chelsea continues being the filthiest team in football. It would be easier to sympathize with a team full of murderers and child rapists than a team with Costa in it.
As for Arsenal, they have Leicester away next game and will definitely lose that one as well. (In fact Leicester is the only unbeaten team after 6 games, a slight wtf) But it's OK, Arsene Wenger didn't buy any players this summer because there's nobody out there who could improve their squad.
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Lewandowski scored 5 goals against Wolfsburg in 9 minutes. Holy shit.
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As much as I don't like Bayern München, that surely is amazing.
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While I currently live in Germany I don't have a particular club here I'm fan of yet. From that neutral standpoint I think that is absolutely amazing. Wow.
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I was watching this game live and texting my friends about it who were constantly asking "are you sure you're not playing FIFA 16?" which was released yesterday as well. :lol
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I am an old fart (48 years old). I have played/followed soccer since I was 5. I have seen the greats over the years. What Lewandowski did yesterday is..............well ...........just holy shit.
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Chelsea is killing me. A shell of a team that won last year. They look like a high school team >:(
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lol Mourinho.
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Hoping Orlando City beats Montreal so we can make the playoffs!!! What a crazy inaugural season. Half our red cards called recalled. LOL MLS refs
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Chelsea is killing me. A shell of a team that won last year. They look like a high school team >:(
You´d think Eva Carneira put a spell on Maurinho.... ::)
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Chelsea is killing me. A shell of a team that won last year. They look like a high school team >:(
You´d think Eva Carneira put a spell on Maurinho.... ::)
Well, there are rumors that she did some extra work with the players.... Maybe they are lacking that extra motivation
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Bayern are just too strong at this point. It's of course good for international competitions (as the German team is essentially 85% Bayern), but for the Bundesliga it sucks. Eight game days in and people are already calling the season over.
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Bayern are just too strong at this point. It's of course good for international competitions (as the German team is essentially 85% Bayern), but for the Bundesliga it sucks. Eight game days in and people are already calling the season over.
Well, this is becoming the norm in European football and it kinda sucks. PSG in France, Real and Barcelona in Spain, Juventus in Italy (though they had a rough start this season)
Something needs to change and soon given how the premier is getting a sh*tload of money in the upcoming years. If the rest of the leagues don't make things more interesting and get better TV deals they'll soon start losing all their best players and the leagues will become even more uneven than they are right now.
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I was looking into things yesterday, and my best idea on how to fix it is to raise the minimum number of players in a roster who have been with the club for more than 5 years, from the current 8 (and that requirement is even only in international games) to maybe 15, across the board. It would force clubs to raise players, not just amass money and buy away the good ones. If you look at current Bayern, I think only Lahm, Müller and Schweinsteiger actually came through the Bayern youth program. The rest (Neuer, Götze, Lewandowski, Ribery, Robben etc etc) were simply bought from clubs who had raised them.
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I agree with that, they need to promote the use of players that have been in the clubs since they were young.
But also they need to redesign how they distribute the money they get from TV deals. Look at the graph below for reference on the Spanish league, both Barcelona and Real Madrid get a lot more than the rest of the league.
(https://estaticos.expansion.com/assets/multimedia/imagenes/2015/07/31/14383311127823.jpg)
And here (https://www.totalsportek.com/football/premier-league-prize-money-table-2015/)is how the premier league does it, and if you ask me it's the right way to do it.
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Yup. Bayern's team worth is 3 times that of Dortmund's according to Forbes. No matter what you do, as long as the highest bidder gets the best players, it's a self-reinforcing circle that is bound to create a monopoly.
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I agree with all of that. The leagues I'm most interested in are the Premier League and the Bundesliga, but the Bundesliga is pretty boring right now because Bayern have such a huge amount of money compared to the other clubs.
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I'm still pretty much interested in the Bundesliga, because I'm german and my favorite team (1. FC Köln) is in it. But for the last few years I pretty much don't care who wins this thing.
Even Dortmund, who beat Bayern for two consecutive years, can't really compete in the long run. Bayern Munich at this point can only beat themselves and if some team comes up and is successful they buy their key players or lure them away (like Götze or Lewandowski).
Maybe all those teams that are unreachable in their own league should just play a kind of champions league against each other and not run in the national league?
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Wow, I'm amazed that The Netherlands didn't qualify to the Euro. I know they're team is not as good as it was in previous years but still, they've always managed to play good youngsters that make a good complement with the more experienced players.
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A combination of bad management and a lot of injured players.
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I'd say more of the former than the latter. Despite all the injuries, we have lots of good players left. It's disgraceful we played so badly throughout the qualifiers.
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I remember such a streak at the start of the '90's. A string of bad matches against the likes of Cyprus, Belgium, and such. Everything that could go wrong in those matches went wrong. Bad defensive mistakes, bad matches and overall just bad luck. We've had a string of good luck at the last tournement, and now it seems the luck has turned again. Oh well. I just hope wisdom will prevail.
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I think it's more than bad luck and injuries. The Netherlands just couldn't compete with the teams above them, they only got one point out of the six matches against Iceland, Czech Republic and Turkey. And neither of them are football-giants.
There seems to be a lot wrong in the structual, management and coaching areas, at least looking from the outside. You have to seriously work on that and not just hope that luck turns around again.
Germany had a similar phase at the end of the 90s and the beginning of the 00s. Thank god some stones were turned and some right decisions were made.
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Agreed. But things will change eventually. For now, I'll just be supporting Belgium and Germany during Euro 2016.
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According to german news magazine Der Spiegel, Germany 'bought' 2006 World Cup bid.
While this is not that surprising, because there were rumors almost from the beginning, it makes you wonder if there is any decision Fifa has made that wasn't bought.
https://www.thelocal.de/20151016/germany-bought-2006-world-cup-bid (https://www.thelocal.de/20151016/germany-bought-2006-world-cup-bid)
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It makes you wonder if there is any decision Fifa has made that wasn't bought.
I'm gonna go ahead and say no.
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Agreed. But things will change eventually. For now, I'll just be supporting Belgium and Germany during Euro 2016.
Usually I should be happy Holland didn't make it (being German and all), but Holland was always my backup team to root for when Germany got kicked out in a competition. Real bummer you guys didn't make it.
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Ah, being half Spanish and half Dutch I'm actually not too disappointed with this, I always thought the extreme hype over here (I've always lived in The Netherlands) was a bit annoying.
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I'm still enjoying Chelsea's downfall. They're not actually far off the relegation zone.
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#lolmourinho
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José "there's nothing to say" Mourinho
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Is it bad that I kind of feel sorry for him?
I know he's a bit of a nut, but I've always seen him as having his players' best interest at heart. All his bitching about refereeing and other coaches etc., etc., as a way to divert attention from the fact that his squad is underperforming. In other words, making himself the villain in order to protect his players from ridicule. Folks might be less likely to berate Eden Hazard in the media when they can instead say, lol mourinho...
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I'd say Chelsea are the least sympathetic team in the whole league so it's hard for me to feel sorry for them. I love every second of them under performing, especially with scum like Costa on the pitch.
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I'd say Chelsea are the least sympathetic team in the whole league so it's hard for me to feel sorry for them. I love every second of them under performing, especially with scum like Costa on the pitch.
Agreed
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I agree as well. Definitely don't feel sorry for Chelsea and their players. Just maybe a little bit for Jose, as weird as that might sound.
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He's a great manager, despite his downs (he really seems to run a team into the ground after 3 seasons), and I would put him up there among the best. The main issue is he's not very consistent. He pretty much always gets a few trophies in the first and second year, but then in the third everything just goes bad and he gets fired.
Despite all his triumphs, he just comes off as such a douchebag. Comparing him to Klopp (which seems fair after today's game), it's day and night. With Klopp you have a guy who is smiling and laughing during the interview, he's very passionate about football, his team and the people around him, and he's also very humble. Mourinho on the other hand is the same dead, cold self that he has always been. He's sarcastically applauding decisions by the referee that go against Chelsea, he confront referees in the player tunnel and gets sent up, he never takes any responsibility or gives the other team any props for their victory. Some words you will never hear from Mourinho's mouth are "The other team played better than us today and they deserved the win". Sure, a lot of managers are bad losers, but that combined with everything else he's doing.. blaming FIFA, UEFA, the medical team, the guy responsible for the water bottles, the weather, and he also takes the time to applaud players like Costa and encourage shitty behavior on the football pitch. When he as a manager pokes the eye of the assistant manager of the other team (Real vs Barcelona a few years back), he sends some really weird messages to his players about what is okay or not.
I still think he is an excellent manager, but he goes out of his way to be as big of a douchebag as possible. He might be the nicest guy ever, and spend time with his kids, wife, be kind to his friends, but he has built his whole image on people hating him and that it's always him against the world. Everything I've already said, plus the fact that he always plays very defensive football with the main object of scoring a goal, then tackling, defending, using every dirty trick to injure other players, make the time pass faster and get the result.. it doesn't make him very sympathetic.
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And once again, #lolmourinho. Chelsea seems to be headed to it's worst season in decades. Mourinho can probably turn this around but it will require lots of changes in the winter market and still I don't think they'll be able to get into a Champions spot, even a Euro League spot.
Talking about other leagues, I've been following Borussia Dortmund since the start of the season and I must say I don't think there's any other team right now that I enjoy more, their way of playing is just beautiful.
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So apparently Belgium is at #1 in the FIFA world ranking:
https://de.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/ranking-table/men/ (https://de.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/ranking-table/men/) (in german, but still)
While I think Belgium has a very good team at the moment, this can't be serious. There must be something wrong in the calculation methods, or, because this is FIFA, money was involved. ;D
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So apparently Belgium is at #1 in the FIFA world ranking:
https://de.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/ranking-table/men/ (https://de.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/ranking-table/men/) (in german, but still)
While I think Belgium has a very good team at the moment, this can't be serious. There must be something wrong in the calculation methods, or, because this is FIFA, money was involved. ;D
Lol. The calculation method is a bit complicated. Here (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA_World_Rankings)you have a wikipedia article that explains it
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I know the calculation method although I'm not sure I understand it completely. But all I'm saying is, this method has some curious results in regards to how I (and probably many others) view the strength of teams and where they rank.
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I know the calculation method although I'm not sure I understand it completely. But all I'm saying is, this method has some curious results in regards to how I (and probably many others) view the strength of teams and where they rank.
Well, Belgium had a pretty decent world cup reaching quarter finals and being eliminated against Argentina by only 1 goal. After that they were really strong during all of the qualifiers.
Argentina had a great world cup and a great Copa America but the start of the world cup qualifiers has been disastrous. We had good friendly games in between but none against any really strong team.
Germany won the world cup but after that had a couple of bumps during the Qualifiers and friendly matches.
So, while I agree that there are teams that on paper are stronger that Belgium, they've been doing it really good lately and deserve the first place because that's what the ranking really measures, how a team does over a specific period of time.
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Another interesting thing is, that Germany overtook Argentina once again. Germany has won the World-Cup but since then not really played well and have even lost against Argentina, so why are they suddenly better again? And France beat us easily and they are like number 24 on that list.
And Belgium is playing really well, but their qualification round for the European Championship was against B or C grade teams.
And even the linked wikipedia article mentions some criticism:
Similarly, Belgium's rank of world number 1 in November 2015 was met with skepticism in the press, given that Belgium had only played in one tournament in the past 13 years.
But all in all it doesn't matter, I just found it curious.
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Yeah I never really take the qualification results too seriously, it's 95% of the time 1-2 A-grade teams that will easily qualify, and they score atleast half of their points against countries like Kazachstan. Ofcourse this year something different happened as Group A ended up being a complete disaster.
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Barring a relatively big comeback, looks like Leicester will top the standings. I haven't been following them closely but they continue to impress. What a great season, so far. It'll be interesting to see how much longer they keep it up.
Tottenham-West Ham tomorrow should be a really good match tomorrow, as well. Hopefully three points to the Spurs.
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Watching Bayern play is such a pointless exercise. There is no thrill, they will win anyway.
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I just finished watching the group draw for the European Championship next summer. Some interesting matches to look forward to.
Group A:
France
Romania
Albania
Switzerland
Group B:
England
Russia
Wales
Slovakia
Group C:
Germany
Ukraine
Poland
Northern Ireland
Group D:
Spain
Czech Republic
Turkey
Croatia
Group E:
Belgium
Italy
Republic of Ireland
Sweden
Group F:
Portugal
Iceland
Austria
Hungary
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Group D and E will be fun
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I couldn't believe it when Wales (my team) were drawn in the same group as England. I know we talked about it happening, but sort of jokingly. Now it's happening for real.
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Damn, yeah I laughed when I saw that.
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I couldn't believe it when Wales (my team) were drawn in the same group as England. I know we talked about it happening, but sort of jokingly. Now it's happening for real.
I'm really glad Russia (my team) is drawn in the same group as England. I'm hoping to get some good laughs out of this game. Russia will probably suck. :lol
They'll probably suck against Wales too, so I call this group draw a definite win. Looking forward to this.
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Another big scalp for Bournemouth this evening, beating Manchester United 2-1, exactly a week after taking all 3 points at Stamford Bridge. Another twist in an utterly bizarre Premier League season.
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It's really painful to be a Man Utd supporter now :facepalm:
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ManU needs to sack LVG, they are playing really bad football this season. They didn˙t pass the group in champions league. Cmon, with that team and money spent.
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Dang, Spain (my team) ended up having one of the toughest groups, oh well, Czech haven't really been performing too well and I'm still hoping Turkey group phase was a fluke, but if Spain don't suck like last world cup they should be fine..
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Initially when I looked at Germany's group I thought "come aaawwwnn, we play Poland and Ireland again?!" Then I realized it's Northern Ireland, not Republic of Ireland.
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Watching Man United these days is like watching paint dry. If LvG isn't sacked before New Years then it's very clear that nobody gives a shit about our season. We need to get on Ancelotti before someone else does, let's not get another Klopp-story. Liverpool were smart enough to make their change early on, when they saw that it wouldn't work, and I think they will finish above us unless we make a change.
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That whole LvG hype after worlds was pretty stupid aswell tbh, I don't see how switching in a goalkeeper who only practiced stopping penalties coming into the world cup for a goalkeeper who is known for bad performance regarding penalties is a "legendary move".
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Im pretty sure they would be better off with Giggs on bench right now
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Man, Klopp really made Lpool way better team in really short term, too bad for todays game
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I think with Liverpool and Klopp you have to keep in mind that he's still coaching the team that Brendan put together. When he gets a few transfers under his belt to shape the team, he will probably get even better results.
Still, wtf is up with the top teams. Spurs/Liverpool dropping today, did not see that coming. Chelsea will definitely drop points tomorrow, not that they're really even a top team at this point.
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(https://cdn.images.express.co.uk/img/dynamic/67/590x/Rosicky-Arsenal-Instagram-post-546991.jpg)
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:getoffmylawn:
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:lol
Yeah, Van Gaal needs to go sooner rather than later. I still can't understand why he didn't get any good defender since that is clearly where United lacks the most but whatever.
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:lol
Yeah, Van Gaal needs to go sooner rather than later. I still can't understand why he didn't get any good defender since that is clearly where United lacks the most but whatever.
I wouldn't say it's what they lack the most, but each part of the team could need strengthening. If our best defenders (like Smalling) are playing, we will get the clean sheet 4 out of 5 games. The big issue is scoring... I'd say Bournemouth and Aston Villa has more firepower in their offense than we have, and that's really disturbing. Martial is a big talent who won't perform consistently yet, playing with Rooney is like playing 10v11, and behind them we have the always-loaned-out Wilson, defensive midfielder Fellaini used as a target man, but hey, we had to sell Chicharito because he's way too good of a scorer to keep if you want to win with 1-0 every game.
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I get that the offensive is a big problem right now since United seems to be unable to score regularly, but what I'm saying is Smalling can't be the best defender United has. If you are a top European team you need to have top quality defenders and none of the guys United currently has qualifies as one. And I know that they are the team that has received the less amount of goals this year but that has 2 explanations:
1. De Gea
2. The whole team is focused on defending which is also why they have so many problems scoring goals.
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Why are Leicester City still so invincible? Based on previous teams doing this surprisingly well early on, they should have started slipping up by now.
On the plus side, it means Chelsea are now only a point above the relegation zone. :lol
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That question is hard to answer but to be honest I like that there is a complete underdog giving a fight up there. What I don't like is that Ranieri is the manager that's being able to pull it off because his style of playing is not one I like and in some way that may hurt the premier league. I consider the premier to be one of the most fun to watch but if teams start seeing that a defensive football like the one Ranieri likes to play gives chances to "little" teams of contending for the title then the league might go into a direction that will not be pleasing.
Also, #lolmourinho
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I'm not following EPL all that much, but man, Mourinho's ego writes checks his body can't cash.
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I think the smug bastard deserves everything that's coming to him. If the club had any sense at all they'd sack his ass.
Stoke City is playing pretty well, I think.
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So Mourinho got sacked!
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So Mourinho got sacked!
Not surprising at all. Chelsea made the right choice there but to be honest I hate them so much that I'd love to have seen them fall down even deeper with Mou. Wonder who will take command of this sinking ship now.
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Guus Hiddink will replace him for now
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lolMorinho
Sad we won't be able to use that anymore.
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That question is hard to answer but to be honest I like that there is a complete underdog giving a fight up there. What I don't like is that Ranieri is the manager that's being able to pull it off because his style of playing is not one I like and in some way that may hurt the premier league. I consider the premier to be one of the most fun to watch but if teams start seeing that a defensive football like the one Ranieri likes to play gives chances to "little" teams of contending for the title then the league might go into a direction that will not be pleasing.
Not to say that you're incorrect- in that Ranieri likes to play a defensive style- but it's worth noting that a) you have to go all the way down to 14th placed Bournemouth to find a team that has conceded more goals then Leicester and b) they've outscored everyone in the league. Pretty astounding that they're still on one loss having let in 22 goals in 16 games. I for one hope they keep it up, considering the price tags associated with Leicester and the other top teams, respectively.
Also hoping that Tottenham can break into the top 4, these next couple weeks. They blew their chance against Newcastle last weekend but the opportunity is still ripe for the taking.
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I know, I'm not questioning the efficiency of the system, that wouldn't make any sense. Mine is more of an aesthetics critic. As I said, I don't like how they play and I wouldn't like the rest of the premier league to star copying it since it seems to be so effective.
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Good games so far today. Tottenham-Watford and Stoke-Everton were both highly entertaining. Spurs look like solid top 4 contenders and, if things continue to fall their way, possibly even more.
Now for the comedy of errors: Man U and Chelsea. I'm cheering for United, on the deluded grounds that I'd like to see Chelsea in the relegation zone and would like to see LVG stick around and continue to muck things up.
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Since we can't #lolmourinho anymore, how about some #lolvangaal? At least until he leaves united in the near future...
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#lolvangaal
He needs to go
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Never liked the guy. He always looks as if someone got him a ManU ticket as an unwanted birthday present. "Fuck, I could be watching hockey, but I guess I had to show up".
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Yeah he doesn't typically look very happy to be on the sideline.
With that being said, I wish they would give him more of a chance to right the ship. Something that bothers me about professional soccer, generally, is how high the manager turnover tends to be. It's not that uncommon in other sports, of course, but I'd like to see a bit more consistency among the BPL managers in particular. Of course there are exceptions, with guys like Wenger and Sir AF, but then at the same time you see LVG and Mourinho getting sacked relatively quickly, despite their long and successful careers. To draw an American sports comparison, you would never see this kind of thing in college basketball. Imagine if Coach K was sacked for having one down year and failing to make the NCAA tournament or NIT tournament. It would be embarrassing for him sure, but his cumulative resume is hard to beat (much like LVG and Mourinho), so why not give him more time to work it out? Particularly if he won the championship the year before.
And so the clubs react to the fans, who're typically a bit impatient and seemingly feel entitled to perpetual dominance. It's a shame though, for me, because I'd be really curious to see how a dick bag like Mourinho could perform over a ten yer stretch at Chelsea.
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I normally agree that managers should be given time but there are some particular cases I think sacking is for the best.
In Mourinho's case, he has a fantastic resume but the truth is this year Chelsea were just awful, they are very close to the relegation zone and there seem to be lots of problems within the locker room, not to mention that incident with doctor Carneiro at the beginning of the season. I don't think giving him more time would have been good for Chelsea.
In LVG's case, what I would argue against him is how badly he reinforced the team. They were clearly in need of some defenders and a good striker yet he only got Darmian and Martial. If you are given a ridiculous amount of money and you're team still lacks in critical positions then you did something wrong. And that is not only his fault because someone at Man U has to be on top of those things, I know back in the day Ferguson was given freedom to do whatever he pleased and that's fine cause he had proven he was good at it but it doesn't seem to be the case with LVG.
Add to that the fact that last season they did a better job than they are doing right now which means the team somehow devolved.
And as far as the comparison with college basketball I don't think it's a fair one. The performance of a team in the EPL determines a lot more than that of a college basketball team because of the amount of money involved. Getting to the Champions League and doing a good job there will bring a lot of money in that you need to pay the players who's salaries are in the millions a year. And let's not forget that getting a good spot in the EPL will also get the club a lot of money. Having a bad season means you might need to sell some players because most of them want to play the Champions, while having a bad season in College basketball just means next year you can try again and that's it.
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You're right- the college basketball comparison is not a good one. Better would be Belichick and the NFL. My hope is that if the Patriots lost their division in a big way the next couple years, and had chemistry problems abound, that he would be given at least a couple seasons to fix things up. Whereas I wonder how long a guy like Wenger would be allowed to lose before being sacked. Maybe I'm off base on this and soccer/football really aren't that different after all.
And to be clear, you're absolutely right about the very fair criticism against both Mourinho and LVG. Mourinho, in particular, ought've done so much better with the talent on this years team. I suppose it's my relative disinterest in the success of both clubs that makes me all the more interested in seeing them stick with a long-term manager and all the baggage they carry :-\
Another example would be a guy like your countryman, Mauricio Pochettino. Dude is doing a great job with Tottenham and really working on rebuilding things from the ground up. My concern is that if he keeps it up, he'll eventually bounce as soon as a bigger club comes calling. Of course that's just the nature of the business and I wouldn't begrudge him for doing so. But after a couple years, say he has a bad season. Out the door, reputation blemished, so on and so forth. Meanwhile, Tottenham is cycling through its 10 coach in 20 years or something like that. It's hopeless, I know, but I'd enjoy a bit more consistency in management on all levels of the league.
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Well, that's Football nowadays. It'd be nice that every manager was given the chances Wenger and Fergusson had but money, money, money comes inbetween. And also the fact that nowadays teams change players more regularly than before so a Manager has to deal with new players and new schemes all the time, not to mention players nowadays are like movie stars and don't like to be reprimanded. Managers don't have as much authority as they used to and that also makes their job a lot harder. Look at Rafa Benitez in Real Madrid.
Going back to Pochettino, he did a good job with Southampton and is doing a great job with the Spurs (something my brother is not happy about since he supports Arsenal). He's already being mentioned as the future Argentina National Team manager by some of our media. I just hope he can keep learning and doing a good job whether it's with the Spurs or with some other team.
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I can't believe the amount of lousy penalties Real Madrid gets! They have a good enough team, there's no need for the refs to help them...
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Regarding the coaches, reality is, they are just the easiest to fire. It's one convenient, central person you can pin it on, and you can please the fans by "having done something".
Case in point, look at Dortmund's performance last year. Just like Chelsea, by mid-season they were down to relegation spots. However, Dortmund adored Klopp, so they stuck with him, and lo and behold, by the end of the season they managed a Europa League spot. Same coach as first half, same team. Totally different outcome.
Overall, IMHO in soccer there's an unspoken truth that the sport depends on far more luck than anyone wants to admit to. People conjure up " reasons " for what in reality is just a statistical fluke. That's not to say that there aren't outstanding coaches and players that make it difference. But people perceive soccer as far too deterministic.
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Managers who look "good" managing teams from other countries, always seem to fail when they come and manage in England? I suspect the same will happen if Pep Guardiola goes to an EPL team.
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Well, no World Cup has ever been won by a team whose coach wasn't a native of said country. Maybe it's a similar effect.
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I don't necessarily disagree, and I think the WC fact is a good one to remember, but at the same time there are plenty of examples from this season alone worth considering. Claudio Ranieri and Quique Sánchez Flores have both been very impressive in their EPL managerial return (after 11 years) and debut, respectively. And perhaps to a lesser extent, Slaven Bilic has also been solid (albeit inconsistent) in his own EPL debut.
At the end of the day, I think it all comes down to how committed the coach is to buying into the premier league and developing a mixture of talent. The best example of this is probably Pochettino, who Nevok and I were talking about above. In his first BPL seasons, coming from Espanyol, he immediately showed a strong interest in strengthening the youth program, which is something he's done excellently with Tottenham as well. Mixing in some high quality foreign talent as well (guys like Lloris, Alderweireld and Eriksen), he is nonetheless building the foundation of his team on the backs of young, committed, British players like Kane, Dier, Alli, Mason, Pritchard, etc. In effect, I think he's done a heck of a lot more for developing British soccer these past couple years than guys like Alan Pardrew and Harry Redknapp and so on and so forth. He's struck a good balance there, it's paying off in a big way for him at the moment (though, difficult to see how much longer that will last), and as far as I can tell he is no less capable of doing so as a foreigner.
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Overall, IMHO in soccer there's an unspoken truth that the sport depends on far more luck than anyone wants to admit to. People conjure up " reasons " for what in reality is just a statistical fluke. That's not to say that there aren't outstanding coaches and players that make it difference. But people perceive soccer as far too deterministic.
I don't think it is unspoken at all, every coach will tell you that there's a certain degree of luck involved in every game, even Pep says it and admits his style of play looks to reduce the chances of luck being involved to a minimum. That's one of the things that I dislike most about the sport, in any other competitive sport you can say that the team that has been better wins (except maybe in really close games) but not in football.
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I think it's all due to soccer being such a low-scoring game. When only a handful goals are scored, those goals can easily have been by mere chance.
At the same time, that low-scoring is partially what makes it so attractive, since a single goal changes the overall dynamic of the game. Basketball, in comparison, outlines the winner halfway through the game (except in rare cases), same with baseball, where people start leaving by the seventh inning because they know the game is decided.
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Yeah, that probably has to do with it.
On another note, the EPL is killing football. Good teams are paying ridiculous amounts of money for players and even the "worst" teams have a budget that can't be match by good teams in other leagues. I very much don't like FIFA interceding in the leagues, specially with the latest scandal so fresh but if either them or UEFA don't do something in the very near future we'll see the rest of the leagues become even more one sided and boring than they are right now while the EPL gathers all the talent.
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What a match yesterday between Liverpool and Arsenal, lots of goals, lots of excitement, and really fun to see Wenger and Klopp on the sidelines, just a great spectacle overall.
I love to watch these kind of matches, where 2 opposite styles clash against each other, usually the games are super exciting.
PD: Can someone in London break Ramseys legs? His death goals are getting a little bit annoying lately...
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Despite certain managers moaning about these midweek fixtures, this last round of matches was one of the most entertaining of the entire season. 34 goals in total, including two 3-3 thrillers! (Try saying that quickly... ;))
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I should've bet all my money on Leicester, back in November.
Also, I know it's a couple weeks old and maybe you've all seen it already, but it's worth sharing again. Best goal of the season, that I've seen, and it's not even close.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciFK6smUTAg (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciFK6smUTAg)
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Jamie Vardy's first goal for Leicester v Liverpool last Tuesday is at least as good as that. A real bullet from well outside the box.
I'm so willing Leicester to pull this off now. They play with a freshness not seen here in many a year. They've taken 6 points against teams that, in seasons past, should easily beat them. Also, when was the last time that English players dominated the scoring headlines in the Premier League? Kane, Vardy, Alli. A truly remarkable season!
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Leicester seem unstoppable.
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Jamie Vardy's first goal for Leicester v Liverpool last Tuesday is at least as good as that. A real bullet from well outside the box.
I disagree, but I'm curious to hear what other people think.
Vardy's volley is great, no doubt, but off a bounce I don't think the degree of difficulty is nearly as high as the juggle/spin to beat the defender/volley.
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Vardy's goal was fantastic but I have to agree with Seneca that Alli's skill show was top notch.
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I f'n love Champions League. This Chelsea vs. Paris game is awesome! I love my Chelsea but I love Zlatan.
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Don't look now, but Chelsea has just crept into the top 10 in the EPL. :lol
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:eek
I was so concentrated on what is happening at the top that I stopped paying attention to Chelsea. Sacking Mou was definitely the right move, it removed them from the spotlight and thus took the pressure from the players.
Speaking of what's happening at the top, if the Spurs win today they'll reach first place along with Leicester. As much as I like the underdogs in Leicester, I'd much rather see the Spurs win the championship, they play some really good football.
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It's a weird couple of days when three of the top four teams lose and the other one draws. Wtf.
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Woot, Bayern stumbled yesterday, losing against Mainz. That brings down the point difference to Dortmund to 5. And guess who Bayern is playing on Saturday? Exactly, Dortmund!! :omg:
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Would be nice if Dortmund beats Bayern, just to keep things a little bit exciting, but I'm not counting on it.
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Usually I wouldn't either, but they're playing at Dortmund, and Bayern has had a good number of injuries lately.
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I'd also love to see that but the truth is even with tons of injuries Bayern has been able to win games and keep the level of play. I don't think Dortmund will be able to win the league, but they'll give Bayern a good run for their money.
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Even if Dortmund wins this game they are still two points behind and will then probably lose some game against Hannover or the like. Bayern will win some games with last minute goals and we're back to where we always are. So boring.
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Jeez. What a fun attitude.
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Isn't that how it always turns out? Not to constantly bash Bayern, but for the last few years the Bundesliga is just boring. There just isn't anyone who can compete with Bayern in the long run it seems.
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Would be great if Dortmund managed to win. Bundesliga is definitely one of the least exciting leagues when you know that one team is gonna win it 9 times out of 10. So it's great when a team like Dortmund can get involved and possibly snatch the win.
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It's obvious that Mourinho's downfall at Chelsea was a display of player power. The players forced him out by not playing for him after the whole team doctor situation. How else can you explain their sudden ability to play and win games again under Hiddink?
And it's interesting how both Bayern Munich and Manchester City have suffered slumps in form since Pep announced he was going to City next season. Might be the best thing he's done for the Bundesliga, perhaps making it more interesting by allowing the other teams to catch up.
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I know, I'm not questioning the efficiency of the system, that wouldn't make any sense. Mine is more of an aesthetics critic. As I said, I don't like how they play and I wouldn't like the rest of the premier league to star copying it since it seems to be so effective.
I take back what I said. Fuck Leicester--I want them to choke.
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Maybe it was because of the environment I watched it in, but the Bayern-Dortmund game wasn't all that exciting. A few good chances, but overall they shut down each other very well. Especially in the second half people started to zone out.
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Today two fans independently suffered a heart attack 20m away from each other during the Dortmund-Mainz game. One of them died right there, the other is stable. This is the fans singing "You Never Walk Alone" in his honor:
https://mobile.twitter.com/RNBVB/status/709081345323114496
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Well, I just sat through one of the most tense penalty shootouts.
Forza Atleti :metal
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Well, I just sat through one of the most tense penalty shootouts.
Forza Atleti :metal
I understand that game was boring as fuck :lol
Anyways, 2 great matches today. I'm gonna watch Barsa till they score a goal and I know that series is definitely closed, then I'll go to Juve-Bayern. Both teams are missing important players so we'll see how well they can play.
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Juve - Bayern
Phew...that was
(https://www.leeaaron.se/leepoperinge85.jpg).
What a comeback from Bayern, after 0:2 up to the 72nd minute against Juve.
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Well, I just sat through one of the most tense penalty shootouts.
Forza Atleti :metal
I understand that game was boring as fuck :lol
Yes, yes it was. As an Atletico supporter I'm still pretty disappointed, hope they can step it up for the quarters.
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This friend of mine constantly tries to convince me the EPL is the better and stronger than the Bundesliga. No offense to the EPL, but the #2 of the Bundesliga totally outclassed the #2 of the EPL yesterday and last week.
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And the Bundesliga will do it probably again in the next round when Klopp meets his former team of Dortmund.
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This friend of mine constantly tries to convince me the EPL is the better and stronger than the Bundesliga. No offense to the EPL, but the #2 of the Bundesliga totally outclassed the #2 of the EPL yesterday and last week.
Well, the fact that one team runs over another doesn't mean the whole league is more interesting. PSG can run over lots of teams from the EPL but that doesn't mean the French league as a whole is more interesting, just that the top teams are stronger.
In the Bundesliga there's a 5 point difference between the 1st and second team, and then a 16 point difference between 2nd and 3rd.
In the EPL, there's a 16 point difference between the 1st and 6th spot and you have to consider both Tottenham and Licester have played 1 more game than the guys behind them.
So yeah, I'd say overall the EPL is the most fun to watch.
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I agree that the Bundesliga is boring with the dominance of Bayern München and that there is more suspense and excitement in the EPL right now but that doesn't mean the league as a whole is stronger.
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I would agree that the EPL has less spread and that each game is probably more interesting because any team could go to the top, but in terms of strength, I don't see it. Europa League has only one English team remaining that is likely to drop out soon, and the UCL also only has one. Bundesliga currently has 3 teams in those competitions.
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What Nekov said.
And also, you can't ignore the fact that Tottenham put out a much weaker side than they were capable of playing, while Borussia Dortmund played pretty much full strength. In the first game especially, when Tottenham was without three of their best midfielders, without their one and only star striker (and leading scorer in the league), and with both fullbacks rotated.
Simply because those guys needed the rest, because they're caught in a much more competitive league title race. Dortmund doesn't have to worry about that as much, because their league is generally not as competitive. Barring a really wild end of the season, they'll end second place with much room to spare behind them.
None of that's to say that Dortmund isn't better than Tottenham--I think they almost certainly are. But if you've been following Tottenham at all this season, you know that the team they put out both games was most definitely not the same eleven that's currently in 2nd place. They started the game at Dortmund with only 3 of their preferred starting 11.
If anything, the weakness of the team they put out just goes to show a difference in priorities between the clubs and highlights how competitive the EPL is.
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I would agree that the EPL has less spread and that each game is probably more interesting because any team could go to the top, but in terms of strength, I don't see it. Europa League has only one English team remaining that is likely to drop out soon, and the UCL also only has one. Bundesliga currently has 3 teams in those competitions.
This season has been particularly insane in the EPL. Last season's champions are average and mid-table, while a team that nearly got relegated last year is sitting comfortably at the top.
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Bundesliga has some good teams but it's almost like the Scottish Premier League where you know that one team is gonna win it 8 out of 10 times. Compare that to Premier League where Leicester and Spurs will finish #1 and #2, who saw that coming?
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Football/Soccer legend Johan Cruijff just passed away at 68 :'( sad day.
Can't say I was a fan, but to say he was an influential person in the football scene would be an understatement.
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Anyone watching the Champions league game today? I do not have any horses left in this race but love to watch the games.
I would love to see a City vs, Bayern final.
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I hope Atletico takes CL, they're by far the most charming team left in the tournament. I hope we get a reprise of the Madrid-final with Atletico edging Real out this time.
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Yeah Atletico should win this, not a big fan but I can't stand the other teams.
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I can't stand any of the 4 teams so whoever wins is the same right now. I think maybe Bayern would be the one that bothers me the least because even though I hate them as a club because of how they're ruining the bundesliga I have to admit their game is simply outstanding.
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That is where I am. The Bayern v City would be interesting given Pep's move next year tho.
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Well that was a shitty game. n general.............ugh
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So, Matts Hummels has requested a move to Bayern Munich. I don't think there is a team I hate more than them right now. In order to be the best in the Bundesliga they consistently undermine Dortmund by getting their best players. Talk about shitty competition...
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It's shit but I can understand Mats Hummels. He's playing in a good team in Dortmund but for the last years they've won nothing. So if you want to win titles you have to go to Bayern or a foreign team.
But that's how it's always been. Bayern not only buys the best players to have them for themselves, but also to weaken the competitors. They've taken away a lot of promising talents from other teams only to have them sit on the bench for several seasons. :tdwn
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It's shit but I can understand Mats Hummels. He's playing in a good team in Dortmund but for the last years they've won nothing. So if you want to win titles you have to go to Bayern or a foreign team.
But that's how it's always been. Bayern not only buys the best players to have them for themselves, but also to weaken the competitors. They've taken away a lot of promising talents from other teams only to have them sit on the bench for several seasons. :tdwn
I do get Hummels might want to win something but if that's the case go somewhere else, all of the big teams in Europe are after him. Specially after he criticized Gotze so much when he did the same thing.
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I don't get it either. So many European teams to choose from, and he switches to the arch rival? I mean, yes, Bayern brought him up so there's that connection, but still.
But that's how it's always been. Bayern not only buys the best players to have them for themselves, but also to weaken the competitors. They've taken away a lot of promising talents from other teams only to have them sit on the bench for several seasons. :tdwn
That's the really lame part. It's really not helping the competitiveness of the Bundesliga at all. That Dortmund was breathing down their neck the whole season is actually kind of a miracle, because otherwise the BL is kinda a one-team show these days.
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Bayern looks like an early winner of CL next year. New and better manager coming in, they'll stop playing the ball sideways for 90 minutes and do more, they're getting one of the best defenders in Bundesliga of the last years, who has a proven partnership with Boateng. Plus whoever else they get in the summer. Unfortunately the league is gonna be utterly pointless but in CL they will have a good chance.
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You don't think Leicester is gonna win the CL? :P
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You don't think Leicester is gonna win the CL? :P
They definitely will! Jamie Vardy will continue his legacy by shooting England through the final of the Euros, becoming the top goalscorer and winning the gold medal, only to follow it up with Champions League next year!
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Leicester are Premier League champions!
What an awesome achievement, genuinely really pleasing!
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Hopefully a sign of things to come. Not for Leicester specifically, but for the likes of Tottenham, West Ham and other underdogs
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If they keep their star players (Kane, Alli etc.), I can easily see Spurs challenging for the title in seasons to come. But well played Leicester City! What a truly extraordinary achievement! On BBC's Match of the Day last night, one of the pundits said that Manchester United spent more on players in the last 2 seasons than Leicester have in their ENTIRE 132-year history. Which is just absolutely mindboggling!
The fact that Leicester have maintained their form over the course of a nine-month, 38-game season (they haven't just won something in a single moment of brilliance), makes this one of the greatest stories, not just in football, but in sport, full stop.
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If they keep their star players (Kane, Alli etc.), I can easily see Spurs challenging for the title in seasons to come. But well played Leicester City! What a truly extraordinary achievement! On BBC's Match of the Day last night, one of the pundits said that Manchester United spent more on players in the last 2 seasons than Leicester have in their ENTIRE 132-year history. Which is just absolutely mindboggling!
The fact that Leicester have maintained their form over the course of a nine-month, 38-game season (they haven't just won something in a single moment of brilliance), makes this one of the greatest stories, not just in football, but in sport, full stop.
^ This. I'm only a casual football fan really, but in these days of obscene player salaries, it's nice to see a victory for good old fashioned teamwork.
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Bayern looks like an early winner of CL next year. New and better manager coming in, they'll stop playing the ball sideways for 90 minutes and do more, they're getting one of the best defenders in Bundesliga of the last years, who has a proven partnership with Boateng. Plus whoever else they get in the summer. Unfortunately the league is gonna be utterly pointless but in CL they will have a good chance.
Well, playing the ball sideways 90 minutes has gotten them 3 consecutive bundesliga titles scoring 94, 80 and 75 (so far) goals, so yeah, it seems whenever they play the other team puts their goal on the side....
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YEEEEEEEES Atletico goes on! Well deserved and yet again Guardiola is beaten by a superior manager.
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I thought in the second half Bayern would destroy Atletico. But man, two missed penalties, that's not something you see every day.
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I was rooting for Atletico though. Bayern were kinda making the Bundesliga lame with their dominance, for Guardiola winning the league seems to almost be a routine he has to go through as part of getting the triple. So, screw them.
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Well, playing the ball sideways 90 minutes has gotten them 3 consecutive bundesliga titles scoring 94, 80 and 75 (so far) goals, so yeah, it seems whenever they play the other team puts their goal on the side....
Sure, but Bayern were jogging home Bundesliga-titles before Pep took over and will continue to do so after he's gone. He's had arguably the best squad in Europe these last 3 years (Barcelona has a better offense, but overall Bayern has a stronger squad) yet he has failed to win CL, or even reaching the final. As harsh as it sounds, I don't think the board over there are too happy about that. The league titles are obviously a great thing, but the CL-trophy only goes to the best team in Europe (and arguably the whole world) and Bayern wants to win that trophy.
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Bye bye Bayern, as I never liked you I'm not sad.
Maybe they should have kept Heynckes (he won the treble) but then I never could got the hype for Pep Guardiola either, so I'm biased.
And for Bayern the Bundesliga Championship is almost a given. A season where they finish 2nd is a major disappointment in their own eyes, finishing 1st is ok but not that special. CL is where it's at and obviously they lack that certain bit to win it regularly.
And now Rummenigge is blaming the referee. He claims that Atletico's goal was offsides and the penalty against them was a foul out of the penalty box. The last is probably true but Atletico didn't score so wtf?
This is one guy that I adored as a kid when he was an active player, but he has turned arrogant s-hole as soon as he became management board member.
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Well, playing the ball sideways 90 minutes has gotten them 3 consecutive bundesliga titles scoring 94, 80 and 75 (so far) goals, so yeah, it seems whenever they play the other team puts their goal on the side....
Sure, but Bayern were jogging home Bundesliga-titles before Pep took over and will continue to do so after he's gone. He's had arguably the best squad in Europe these last 3 years (Barcelona has a better offense, but overall Bayern has a stronger squad) yet he has failed to win CL, or even reaching the final. As harsh as it sounds, I don't think the board over there are too happy about that. The league titles are obviously a great thing, but the CL-trophy only goes to the best team in Europe (and arguably the whole world) and Bayern wants to win that trophy.
I think this time he did a good job. Bayern shot 33 times yesterday and didn't win only because Oblak had his best game ever. In truth it's extremely hard to win the Champions League, there's a reason why no team has won it twice in a row since this new format exists.
Regarding them having the best team overall, I don't know if I can agree with that. I like Barcelona better in all lines, except for goalie, and let's not forget Bayern had to deal with tons of injuries this season, specially on their defense.
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And now Rummenigge is blaming the referee. He claims that Atletico's goal was offsides and the penalty against them was a foul out of the penalty box. The last is probably true but Atletico didn't score so wtf?
This is one guy that I adored as a kid when he was an active player, but he has turned arrogant s-hole as soon as he became management board member.
Word on that. The referee did a pretty good job yesterday, and yeah, the penalty was totally irrelevant. Rummenigge is, as you say, just an asshole who rather accuses the referee than blaming the ones to blame, the team.
Regarding the actual goal having been offsides, maybe, but at best a very close call. The real issue was the major defense fuckup.
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Yep, and if you don't score on your own penalties then you have only yourself to blame.
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I gotta say that it's inspiring to see teams like Atletico and Leicester have such success. Don't get me wrong, a nice attacking side has much to admire, but I'm equally impressed with an underdog who manages to tactically defeat an opponent much bigger than themselves. There's something really admirable about a very limited team who doesn't have the same resources who manages to play to their strengths perfectly, get the results and then win titles as a result. Sure, Atletico today should be considered a top team, but they're still considered an underdog by most.
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one word MESSI! I have been around soccer for 40 years, What we witnessing from this man is amazing. Greatest player ever.
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one word MESSI! I have been around soccer for 40 years, What we witnessing from this man is amazing. Greatest player ever.
He's alright but he's no Nicklas Bendtner! They call him the lord for a reason. ;)
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Well that turned out shitty.
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Well that turned out shitty.
Worst ucl final i've seen.
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A Mexican footballer was kidnapped? Rescued by the government, but what the heck Mexico?
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Anybody interested in watching Copa America?
If so, which team will you be supporting?
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Colombia :metal
UEFA Europa Cup is starting soon aswell! I hope it won't be a onesided bashing from Germany, part of me still hopes Spain can take it home but I seriously doubt it this year. No Diego Costa and all that since he seems to do terrible in international matches. No Torres either, their frontline is really lacking
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UEFA Europa Cup is starting soon aswell! I hope it won't be a onesided bashing from Germany
Although I definitely root for them, I'm not convinced that Germany takes the cup home easily, if at all. And it almost certainly will not be a onesided bashing, though I wouldn't mind it. ;D
They haven't played that well since the world cup.
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Anybody interested in watching Copa America?
If so, which team will you be supporting?
I will, rooting for Argentina of course
And regarding the Euro I like Belgium and think they have chances though the biggest candidates are Germany, Spain and France.
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I'll be cheering for Belgium and England, but I'd be even more excited if an underdog like Iceland (which won its qualification group easily if I remember correctly) made some noise.
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I'll be cheering for Belgium and England, but I'd be even more excited if an underdog like Iceland (which won its qualification group easily if I remember correctly) made some noise.
Seeing how England is performing against Portugal today I wouldn't put my money on them...
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Iceland is one of my personal favorites :tup one of my best mates is from Iceland and for them, making the tournament is already a huge achievement, so I hope they'll play their hearts out.
Besides, fucking Holland didn't even make the tournament this year. :sadpanda: Guess I don't have to deal with annoying hooligans on the street on a daily basis this year though which is great
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I'll be cheering for Belgium and England, but I'd be even more excited if an underdog like Iceland (which won its qualification group easily if I remember correctly) made some noise.
Seeing how England is performing against Portugal today I wouldn't put my money on them...
Yeah they've been absolutely terrible
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Just waiting for the club football to start again
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Iceland winning the european championship would be a really cool thing but it's very unlikely. But then we had Greece in 2004 who very unexpectedly won the tournament. So anything can happen.
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I'm supporting my country Croatia, for sure, but I don't think we have any chance. Going past group stage would be ok, anything else is too much, probably :D (there is too much politics and personal business in our football team)
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I'm supporting my country Croatia, for sure, but I don't think we have any chance. Going past group stage would be ok, anything else is too much, probably :D (there is too much politics and personal business in our football team)
I like the Croatian team, specially the midfield. I wouldn't write you off so quickly
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I'm supporting my country Croatia, for sure, but I don't think we have any chance. Going past group stage would be ok, anything else is too much, probably :D (there is too much politics and personal business in our football team)
I like the Croatian team, specially the midfield. I wouldn't write you off so quickly
Oh, yeah, great individuals but sometimes they play really badly together :/ however, we do have players that can finish the opponent with few moves :D. we shall see
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Well Copa America will kick off in a few hours. USA will be facing Colombia (great game to watch).
I'll be supporting Chile, what a team they have :omg:
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So psyched that Wales qualified for the tournament and that they won their first match. :metal
Too bad that England couldn't get the job done today.
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Anyone interested in fantasy Euro '16? We could create DTF league. https://eurofantasy.uefa.com/en/fantasy16
Also, hyped for Croatia vs Turkey match tomorrow, it's very important for Croatia to win, otherwise it will be almost impossible to advance in next stage.
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I could play in this I guess. Never done anything like that before but I'm interested.
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I could play in this I guess. Never done anything like that before but I'm interested.
It seems pretty cool. All of us will be three days late but that's ok. I will open a league and anyone can join.
Just pick 15 player in budget, max 3 per team. It's important to pick players who play regularly and those from teams that could advance in later stages (so you can play longer). Points are awarded for goal, assist, clean sheet etc. You can make substitutions every day until 13h CET so make sure to have players who play that day in your starting XI.
Name: DTF
League Code: 45727F0P
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Actually I already had a fantasy team set up but apparently it wasn't on the official UEFA site. I'll join the league and start making a team before the matches.
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Look, what´s up with all the fighting and rioting going on inside and outside the stadiums. I know it happens sometimes, but I don´t remember it being so bad during a tournement only three days in. The behaviour of Russian and Brittish fans was just outrageous.
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Yeah, I'll try to do my team in the next hour.
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Our league will start tomorrow (matchday 4) because it's past 13h, teams are locked for today now.
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Our league will start tomorrow (matchday 4) because it's past 13h, teams are locked for today now.
Oh, that's good, I have some more time to think about it then.
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I just realized matchday 2 is after every team plays one match, so we're in on June 15th :\
About today's match Croatia vs Turkey, that goal Modrić scored was magnificent :hefdaddy I didn't like how rough Turkey played and how nervous Croats were, especially late in the game. But only thing that's important is victory in sfirst match.
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I just realized matchday 2 is after every team plays one match, so we're in on June 15th :\
This is actually cool because I wanted to pick Bale and some folks from England team too.
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I just realized matchday 2 is after every team plays one match, so we're in on June 15th :\
About today's match Croatia vs Turkey, that goal Modrić scored was magnificent :hefdaddy I didn't like how rough Turkey played and how nervous Croats were, especially late in the game. But only thing that's important is victory in sfirst match.
I watched the game and thought it was highly entertaining. Croatia played pretty well and I was rooting for them from the start, so I'm happy!
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I just realized matchday 2 is after every team plays one match, so we're in on June 15th :\
About today's match Croatia vs Turkey, that goal Modrić scored was magnificent :hefdaddy I didn't like how rough Turkey played and how nervous Croats were, especially late in the game. But only thing that's important is victory in sfirst match.
I watched the game and thought it was highly entertaining. Croatia played pretty well and I was rooting for them from the start, so I'm happy!
Yeah, too bad they didn't score goal or two more.
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I caught the last ten minutes and I thought Turkey had a decent chance to make it 1-1.
Missed Poland vs North Ireland too, but I'm going to watch Germany against Ukraine. I predict something like 3:0 for Germany.
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I predicted 3-0 for Germany aswell, but then again, I also predicted 2-0 for Poland but the finishing abilities in this tournament seem to fall short for whatever reason.
You didn't miss much with Poland - N. Ireland to be honest, a few missed opportunities for Poland but overall probably the most boring match so far.
I'm actually pretty glad how Croatia - Turkey turned out, Croatia were pretty damn good overall and are a good candidate for #1 of the group in my eyes, could've and maybe should've atleast scored one more considering they had some really good chances. Turkey were not as good as I remember them from qualifications, seems like an easy win for Spain if they play like this again on matchday 2 but they could improve. And Spain could suddenly play like shit again like 2 years ago but I doubt it, really great squad this time around and fortunately no Diego Costa, he really can't perform with the national squad.
Turkey did pretty good in the final minutes of the game yeah, they were also surprisingly attacking in the beginning, but that's just Turkey. They always manage to get really dangerous near the closing phase of a game because they feel rushed or something, but over the course of the game I was kinda disappointed in them. Maybe putting in Emre Mor a bit earlier or in the starting XI would've been better, really liked him. Today showed they can also get pretty agressive, Corluka is quite the juggernaut. :lol
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Really liked Emre Mor too from what I saw. Dude has chops to become a great player.
I know what you mean regarding finishing abilities in this tournament, but I think if there's one team that can pull it off, it's Germany. Looking forward to this match.
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The amount of damage that Corluka was taking in the Croatia game was insane. He was down, like, what, five times, bleeding from various wounds? Huge props for him for soldiering through that.
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Alright, let's go. Looking forward to some Martin Atkinson goodness. :D
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Dang, that was a pretty good match! Ukraine put up a really good fight and it remained exciting until the last minute. Really cool to see Schweinsteiger score in his few minutes of playing too :laugh:
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Yeah, pretty good game and Ukraine played much better than I expected.
Neuer was really good though. He's definitely making my team in the league.
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We're 7 matches in and last one was the first with two goals difference. And Ukraine maybe even deserved one goal. So, no big victories so far.
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Glad Germany won yesterday but they have to get better than that and I know they can. Ukraine put up more of a fight than I expected, thanks to Neuer they didn't score.
And that Schweinsteiger goal was a cool one. When he was coming on for the last minutes my wife asked (probably rethorically) why Löw brings him for a couple of minutes, he probably can't do much in such a short amount of time. After the goal I said: You see, that's why Löw brought him. ;D
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Entered the DTF League, let's see how it goes.
Ready for Spain - Czech Republic match.
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Great Italy win yesterday night vs Belgium! Totally unexpected... Italy played well though, we deserved it!
However that doesn't mean that we are not going to lose to Ireland and/or Sweden in the next matches, as in the last World Cup (first win with England, then two losses vs Costa Rica and Uruguay)...
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I was really glad to see Italy win, I like some of their players (Mertens, Vermaelen, Courois and Vertonghen) but mostly I think they're a bunch of world class players that can't seem to perform too well as a team.
People say they put up a great fight at the world cup. Well, they gave Argentina a tough match but overall they probably had the easiest possible group and still struggled against teams like Algeria, South Korea, and USA in the round of 16. I think individually the players might be at their prime right now though, so I'm hoping for some improvement from Kevin de Bruyne mostly, and the team as a whole.
Spain - Czech Republic was a really frustrating match to watch. :lol I thought Spain played really well for the most part, and I feel like a broken record player, but they were really bad at finishing those opportunities, mostly the huge chance Jordi Alba had. But I'm glad they got the win and I think we'll be in for an amazing match with Croatia - Spain to possibly decide the most likely to be #1 of the group.
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Doesn't matter how Italy fares in qualification rounds and friendly matches, they are a team that is always up for a good tournament (2014 being the exception to the rule). And sorry Belgium, but I never understood why everyone suddenly had you as one of the favorites. Surely a good team but not world class (imo). We'll see how it fares in the next matches.
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Doesn't matter how Italy fares in qualification rounds and friendly matches, they are a team that is always up for a good tournament (2014 being the exception to the rule). And sorry Belgium, but I never understood why everyone suddenly had you as one of the favorites. Surely a good team but not world class (imo). We'll see how it fares in the next matches.
I agree. How on earth Belgium is ranked #2 in the world is beyond me. Did they win a couple of world cups and euros when I was asleep?
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There seems to be a lot of math involved in the fifa ranking, but when I see that they have France at #17 and Austria at #10 (and Belgium at #2), maybe the math is wrong. And Germany is still #4 despite not acomplishing much since the world cup.
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Their record was really solid last world cup even though they only made quarter finals and didn't score much goals. They went out of the group with 9 points. And they got out of Euro 16 qualifications pretty easily with quite an easy group again.
The Fifa/Cocacola rankings are one of the most unreliable ranking systems I've ever seen though, never trust any of that. I mean, to put it in perspective: France is ranked below Switzerland and Romania most likely because they simply played less games because they didn't have to play qualifiers for EURO 16.
Spain was also unexpectedly at the top before they even won any major tournament because they went out of the euro qualifiers with only wins, though I don't understand completely because that would mean England should probably be higher than #11 right now.
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I don't know exactly how are those points calculated but I know even the win against very bad teams (San Marino, Andora etc.) give negative points :lol
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I find it pretty amazing that the most decisive score so far has been 2:0, and that there has been no match with more than 3 goals in the tournament so far. I don't have the statistics of past tournaments on hand, but it seems pretty low to me.
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Epic italian rape with a wonderful old school, but effective strategy.
And Germany is still #4 despite not acomplishing much since the world cup.
Well, they won their qualification group. There wasn't much more to acomplish.
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There seems to be a lot of math involved in the fifa ranking, but when I see that they have France at #17 and Austria at #10 (and Belgium at #2), maybe the math is wrong. And Germany is still #4 despite not acomplishing much since the world cup.
Yeah but the world cup was the last tournament after all, how much could you accomplish outside of that? That's my main problem with the rankings is that it seems completely random. The teams that actually end up winning world cups and euros don't seem to benefit much from that when they rank the teams, so what are they giving out points for, friendlies?
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I find it pretty amazing that the most decisive score so far has been 2:0, and that there has been no match with more than 3 goals in the tournament so far. I don't have the statistics of past tournaments on hand, but it seems pretty low to me.
You should be watching Copa América, tons of goals and fun matches
I don't know exactly how are those points calculated but I know even the win against very bad teams (San Marino, Andora etc.) give negative points :lol
https://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/procedure/men.html (https://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/procedure/men.html) Reading that won't guarantee that you'l understand how they're calculated but at least you'll have a reference :P
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Portugal tie to Iceland 1-1! :o
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I expected more from Portugal to be honest.
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That shows that you shouldn't undererstimate Iceland. Just ask the Netherlands :biggrin:
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Anything can happen on Euro Cup, every team went through qualifications and ddeserved to be here. Iceland is very good team, I hope they'll advance to the next stage.
Few more hours left to join fantasy league for matchday 2, there are only three of us for now.
https://eurofantasy.uefa.com/en/fantasy16
League Code: 45727F0P
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I thought the biggest surprise was 0-2 Hungary Austria to be honest, didn't expect Portugal to do well at all. But I had my hopes for Austria. I think I even placed Austria first of the group. :lol
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Russia is playing their match early this time, can't watch it at work. Bummer.
Looking forward to see how much will I fail in the league.
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The teams that actually end up winning world cups and euros don't seem to benefit much from that when they rank the teams, so what are they giving out points for, friendlies?
Yes! this is one of the reasons why Italy is so low in ranking and was not seeded among the first teams. Always quite poor performances in friendlies...
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Joined the DTF cup as well!
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Just got back from work and found out Eden Hazard is marked "doubtful" in the Fantasy League. Did anything happen to him during Belgium - Italy or what? I didn't watch it.
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Jesus Christ that was the most undeserving win I've ever seen. The French shouldn't have won that in the slightest.
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??? I only saw the second half but it seemed like they created far more chances than Albania and earned at leas one goal. The header was practically unguarded.
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Just got back from work and found out Eden Hazard is marked "doubtful" in the Fantasy League. Did anything happen to him during Belgium - Italy or what? I didn't watch it.
Not during the match... possibly in the following days?
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??? I only saw the second half but it seemed like they created far more chances than Albania and earned at leas one goal. The header was practically unguarded.
The first half was atrocious.
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Just got back from work and found out Eden Hazard is marked "doubtful" in the Fantasy League. Did anything happen to him during Belgium - Italy or what? I didn't watch it.
Not during the match... possibly in the following days?
I read that there's some speculation that Wilmots might decide not to play him for the next match
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According to a short notice in a german newspaper Hazard has knee problems and it's unsure if he's fit to play the next game. So the situation is hazardous. :biggrin:
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??? I only saw the second half but it seemed like they created far more chances than Albania and earned at leas one goal. The header was practically unguarded.
The first half was atrocious.
The first half was terrible indeed. Also they seemed to get away with many more fouls. The match really should have ended in a tie, no team was clearly better, even though it was a matter of time before the French scored, but the way they screwed up most of their chances was terrible as well. As soon as they hit a team that's clearly stronger, it's game over.
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USA v Ecuador....................what a game ;D
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Boring game yesterday between Poland and Germany. Germany controlled the game but couldn't create quality scoring chances. They have to do better than that if they want to go far.
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Yeah holy shit that game was boring.
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Really? Second half was entertaining.
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I didn't catch all of it but Poland definitely seemed like the more dangerous team in the final parts of that game. Didn't look like Germany were in control to me. One thing's for sure, Milik can not perform under pressure, holy shit he dun goof'd
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The second half was a little better because Poland tried to play a bit more offensive and it created some half-chances for both teams, but for me it was far from an entertaining match. Only me rooting for Germany kept me watching otherwise I would have gone to sleep.
And I don't saw Poland as the more dangerous team, but then I'm biased. They could have two dangerousa chances if Milik could hit a ball, but apart from that there weren't really any dangerous situations for the german team. Not that Germany was that much better but at least they had some half-decent shots at the goal.
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Croatia vs Czech Republic today. Can't wait :D
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Sweden vs Italy today. I'm at work so I'll have to follow it on the web.
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Spain vs. Turkey today :laugh: I hope I won't miss anything but I'll probably be at work until 9 PM and have to make my way home afterwards still, so I will very likely miss the first half hour. By the looks of it so far in this tournament though, there won't be any goals by then anyways :lol
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Can't make it for Sweden - Italy but I'll probably catch the other two.
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Italy looked the most solid of all the teams I saw play in the first round of games (though I missed Germany). I'm looking forward to seeing if they can keep that up.
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Wow, that ended awfully. Let me give you some "inside info", here's the thing with flares: there is group of "supporters" (hooligans) who hate federation of Croatian football, chairman, politics inside it etc. And they literally want Croatia to be kicked out and whole administration to resign or whatever. I'm pretty sure that was planned. Awful day for our team, country and football.
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Wow, that ended awfully. Let me give you some "inside info", here's the thing with flares: there is group of "supporters" (hooligans) who hate federation of Croatian football, chairman, politics inside it etc. And they literally want Croatia to be kicked out and whole administration to resign or whatever. I'm pretty sure that was planned. Awful day for our team, country and football.
Didn't get home in time to watch the game. Can you elaborate a bit if it's not too much? Some "fans" lit up the flares in the end?
Also, for all the results I've got wrong it's damn nice to finally get something right. :lol
(https://i.imgur.com/IDI02jK.png)
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My question is how did they even get flares into the stadium? That seems like a security issue. I have family traveling to France for the Portugal game next week and I was pretty confident that it would be safe there but after today I can't help but wonder.
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They started throwing flares (commentators counted 12, I think) and crackers or something very explosive, almost injured fireman. Referee had to stop the game for 10 minutes or so. It was at the time Croatia had 2:1, after that they couldn't play anymore, started to defend and it's good they haven't conceded more than 2 goals. Also, Luka Modrić picked an injury before that incident. Doctor said he probably won't play against Spain :(
Really, really sad, this ruined my day, and week. We won't forget this soon. I bet if this never happened Croatia would have 6 points already.
My question is how did they even get flares into the stadium? That seems like a security issue. I have family traveling to France for the Portugal game next week and I was pretty confident that it would be safe there but after today I can't help but wonder.
My question exactly. And in interview after the match one player said police couldn't go up and arrest hooligans because they didn't have authority on stadium. WTF?
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They started throwing flares (commentators counted 12, I think) and crackers or something very explosive, almost injured fireman. Referee had to stop the game for 10 minutes or so. It was at the time Croatia had 2:1, after that they couldn't play anymore, started to defend and it's good they haven't conceded more than 2 goals. Also, Luka Modrić picked an injury before that incident. Doctor said he probably won't play against Spain :(
Really, really sad, this ruined my day, and week. We won't forget this soon. I bet if this never happened Croatia would have 6 points already.
My question is how did they even get flares into the stadium? That seems like a security issue. I have family traveling to France for the Portugal game next week and I was pretty confident that it would be safe there but after today I can't help but wonder.
My question exactly. And in interview after the match one player said police couldn't go up and arrest hooligans because they didn't have authority on stadium. WTF?
Sounds awful indeed. I hate when that happens. Why would anyone actually do that? Just watch the damn game and enjoy it.
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I loosely followed the Croatia game at work, saw the penalty but didnt hear about the flares until just now, thats really sad. I felt bad for the team too, from what ive seen that was an awful way to get tied in the last minute based on how they performed.
Meanwhile, can Spain get the 4-0 Ive been looking for? 2 goals within 3 minutes :lol
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Belgium is playing pretty good so far.
Edit: and I mean really good. I'm impressed.
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Absolutely gutted for Iceland. Own-goal equalizer for Hungary in the 88th minute, after Iceland led for a substantial chunk of the game.
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Absolutely gutted for Iceland. Own-goal equalizer for Hungary in the 88th minute, after Iceland led for a substantial chunk of the game.
To be fair though, I thought Hungary was severely outplaying them in the second half. Well-deserved goal for Hungary IMO.
And the way Iceland botched the last free kick... :facepalm: I predicted 2-1 for Iceland in this game and I was really counting on them to get a goal from that free kick.
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I really want Iceland to go big this tournament but the way both teams played today it goes to show you the quality drop going from 16 team tournaments to 24. This is honestly the first game where I saw major mistakes from both teams time after time, without much compensation at all. If in some dimension it would be possible to award both teams no points that would be my way to go. But I guess they'll face the facts once they get to the knock-out stage, unless of course they step up their game because both teams were quite good in the first round.
Absolutely gutted for Iceland. Own-goal equalizer for Hungary in the 88th minute, after Iceland led for a substantial chunk of the game.
To be fair though, I thought Hungary was severely outplaying them in the second half. Well-deserved goal for Hungary IMO.
And the way Iceland botched the last free kick... :facepalm: I predicted 2-1 for Iceland in this game and I was really counting on them to get a goal from that free kick.
Yeah Hungary really did better overall though it was mostly due to Iceland's poor ball control, being behind 30 against 70% ball possession against a team like Hungary that doesn't even play that conservatively at all is oddly impressive.
Still, I like that everything is still kinda evened out in this group, so every team still has a chance to 'prove' themselves
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I was actually rooting for Iceland from the beginning of the tournament, don't know why, but I like them :P
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I was actually rooting for Iceland from the beginning of the tournament, don't know why, but I like them :P
I agree. I'm still rooting for Iceland, I like them for some reason.
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Perhaps because they're the "little guy". The country only has a population of 300,000. Apparently (heard on commentary the other day) if you're a 20-40-year-old Icelandic man, you have a roughly one-in-2000 chance of being picked for the national squad.
Also, their fans' unison grunting has become my new favourite football chant.
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And I like Iceland, beautiful country. I'd like to go there someday.
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Pretty dull performance from Portugal so far, they need to up their game for the second half as far as I'm concerned. They had some moments, true, but I expected more from them.
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Last night Chile thrashed Mexico 7-0 at the Copa America :omg:
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Last night Chile thrashed Mexico 7-0 at the Copa America :omg:
I didn't watch the game but I was shocked with this result. Mexico had been playing an amazing tournament and I don't think anyone expected something like this. Tomorrow Argentina plays USA, I like our chances but I don't want to underestimate their potential.
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Despite that today is Monday, I'm staying up late and watching both games at once. They're better be good.
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Despite that today is Monday, I'm staying up late and watching both games at once. They're better be good.
Everything can happen in group B.
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Sometimes it's frustrating to root for Russia.
That's why I was rooting for England and Wales on this Euro from Day 1. :lol
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And so it ends for our national team, and well, that was a disaster to put it mildly. I didn't have a lot of hope in Russia but I thought with the new rules they could qualify from the third place, but yeah, they didn't manage to do even that.
I'm hoping that Wales will get as far as they can. Bale is a beast and Ramsey and Allen both were at the top of their game. It was a pure pleasure and joy to watch them in this game, whereas Russian team looked like they didn't even want to be there.
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Last night Chile thrashed Mexico 7-0 at the Copa America :omg:
I didn't watch the game but I was shocked with this result. Mexico had been playing an amazing tournament and I don't think anyone expected something like this. Tomorrow Argentina plays USA, I like our chances but I don't want to underestimate their potential.
No need to underestimate the US; they play a fine game but they're ages from the way Argentina plays.
Looks like there's going to be another Argentina - Chile blockbuster final :tup
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Spectacular performance from Wales last night. Made better by the fact that England had a typically dismal night.
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Croatia coach made 5 changes since last match. Modrić and Mandukić are out due to injuries but there are 3 more changes. This could be interesting :corn
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Awesome game. Kinda hoped for the 1-1 but Croatia was clearly better in the second half. Neither team should've gotten a penalty so I'm actually glad Spain didnt score it, wouldve been unfair. No shame in losing to one of my favorite teams of the tournament to begin with :tup
I think this means Spain will play Wales in the round of 16? I can live with that, they havent impressed me much despite coming in #1 but Spain definitely need to improve if they want to have a shot at their third consecutive championship title.
EDIT: Apparently it's most likely to be Spain Italy, nice!
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lolwrongthread
What a fantastic game! Croatia are my new favourite team to win Euro 2016. I actually thought that after the game against Czech Republic as well, but they lost their lead there. This was fantastic.
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lolwrongthread
What a fantastic game! Croatia are my new favourite team to win Euro 2016. I actually thought that after the game against Czech Republic as well, but they lost their lead there. This was fantastic.
Yes, magnificent :hefdaddy and without Luka Modrić. We all hoped for Czech Republic to win so we can play against Wales in 1/8 finals. No one could predict win against Spain.
Spain plays against Italy and Croatia against 3rd in group B, E or F (still don't get this new format).
Awesome game. Kinda hoped for the 1-1 but Croatia was clearly better in the second half. Neither team should've gotten a penalty so I'm actually glad Spain didnt score it, wouldve been unfair. No shame in losing to one of my favorite teams of the tournament to begin with :tup
I think this means Spain will play Wales in the round of 16? I can live with that, they havent impressed me much despite coming in #1 but Spain definitely need to improve if they want to have a shot at their third consecutive championship title.
EDIT: Apparently it's most likely to be Spain Italy, nice!
I was pretty happy for Croatian players to play so good in 2nd half Iniesta had no idea what to do with the ball.
I accept my 0/10 :tup
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Well, thanks to Croatia to ship Spain our way (I'm italian so I root for Italy), we really needed that :facepalm:
So if Italy somehow defeats Spain will likely face Germany in the quarter finals and France in the semi-finals. Only good thing out of this is that if by any chance they reach the final, they're gonna win hands down ;D
Italy always sucked at the first stage, and now that they dominate they get Spain. Damn!!!!!
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Of course not :tup it was a good game and I knew it could be close.
I feel like the whole penalty drama is going to become a big pointless issue. A bit odd that Subasic was allowed out of his goal that far but I feel like it shouldn't have been a penalty in the first place.
Well, thanks to Croatia to ship Spain our way (I'm italian so I root for Italy), we really needed that :facepalm:
So if Italy somehow defeats Spain will likely face Germany in the quarter finals and France in the semi-finals. Only good thing out of this is that if by any chance they reach the final, they're gonna win hands down ;D
Italy always sucked at the first stage, and now that they dominate they get Spain. Damn!!!!!
That's always tough, a lot of the time you want to face the lowest rated team, but how the teams are currently ranked in the groups after all games are played is how they are ranked in this instance, so I don't know, maybe Croatia is a more dangerous side to face than Spain. I wasn't impressed by them in their first game but they seem to get better with each next one.
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Croatia has impressed me, I like watching them. That Spain v Italy should be awesome. I hope Italy keeps some guys out tomorrow cause the game means nothing. Anyhow............getting ready for U.S. v Argentina. Stoked. I hope our guys keep it a match. But I think Argentina 2-1.
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Aaaaand Argentina makes it to the final of the Copa América :tup
Colombia plays Chile tomorrow night. The winner will play Argentina on Sunday.
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The US is simply not ready for that level of competition. Need more work on the fundamentals.
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need a better support system from youth on up. it is not the team. they will be a 10-20 ranked team until we build a program. been 20+ years in this current system and we will not be elite until we establish what other countries do.
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Germany got their well deserved win and could/should have made more than one goal. Müller alone had chances for three or four goals.
Congrats to Croatia for beating Spain, didn't see that one coming. Now Spain vs. Italy in the next round sounds more like semi-final or final. Could be a classic.
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Aaaaand Argentina makes it to the final of the Copa América :tup
Great game indeed
(https://s32.postimg.org/cc6kpdl0l/Whats_App_Image_20160621.jpg)
Murica's face when Messi scores an impossible goal
need a better support system from youth on up. it is not the team. they will be a 10-20 ranked team until we build a program. been 20+ years in this current system and we will not be elite until we establish what other countries do.
Agreed. I believe Kilnsman has addresed this but it's complicated. They way all American sports are set is you base your youth on high school and college and that's not how it works in the rest of the world. I'm not sure how that can be changed.
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Aaaaand Argentina makes it to the final of the Copa América :tup
Great game indeed
(https://s32.postimg.org/cc6kpdl0l/Whats_App_Image_20160621.jpg)
Murica's face when Messi scores an impossible goal
need a better support system from youth on up. it is not the team. they will be a 10-20 ranked team until we build a program. been 20+ years in this current system and we will not be elite until we establish what other countries do.
Agreed. I believe Kilnsman has addresed this but it's complicated. They way all American sports are set is you base your youth on high school and college and that's not how it works in the rest of the world. I'm not sure how that can be changed.
agree 100%. we in the united states do not build youth programs as Europe, S. America etc. trust me there is talent. it is just not used properly. I come from a town and played soccer with 3 guys that were mainstays of the national team in the 90's. again talent is there..........it is just not used properly
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Hungary - Portugal is insane.
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Yeah, pretty awesome and intense so far.
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Hungary - Portugal is insane.
15 minutes until the end of match and everyone in group F still can advance to the next stage :lol
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Hahahaha and Iceland scored a last minute goal. Portugal is third in their group.
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Awesome.
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That last minute goal was awesome :lol
My prediction for this group is COMPLETELY upside down with the actual standings :rollin Austria, Portugal, Iceland, Hungary, wtf man!
Jist saw Ronaldos first goal tho, that was simply legendary.
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Yeah, for all the criticism he gets, he's still a world-class player. That goal... :omg:
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Croatia vs Portugal in 1/8 finals :corn
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Iceland is one of my new favorite teams.
https://twitter.com/rvkgrapevine
"You gotta smite for your right to play in the next round"
"THE TIME OF SMITING AUSTRIA INTO THE JAWS OF OBLIVION ON OUR MARCH TO CERTAIN VICTORY IS NIGH"
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Too bad for me that England and Iceland have to play one another, I was hoping for both of them to advance as far as possible.
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I root in order for:
Italy (I'm italian)
Germany (Love Germany as a country, been there several times)
Iceland (I always pick an underdog in these tournaments).
So far, so good.
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For me it went
Spain
Croatia
Austria (that dream is dead now)
Italy
Iceland
And now after seeing the group matches pan out and how every team performed:
Spain (gotta go with the home country, and I still adore their playing style)
Croatia (honestly a great team, getting #1 secured them the on paper easier route towards the finals so if theres a year for this country to make finals, its right now)
Italy (despite playing against Spain, I will root for them in case they beat Spain because Ive always loved Italian football, and Imglad theres no Balotelli this time around to destroy my love for their team.)
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I'm still rooting for Germany but if they don't make it, Iceland should win the cup (but not when they have to face Germany in the semi-final :biggrin:).
Spain vs. Italy: anything can happen but I think Spain will get through and then it's tough for anyone to beat them. France maybe, but their performance so far didn't really convince me. England will have a hard time beating Iceland and I don't think they can go much further.
On the other half of the tourney I think Belgium and Croatia are the two most likely candidates for a semi-final. Sure anything can happen, but I don't see any of the other teams as strong as these two.
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Spain (gotta go with the home country, and I still adore their playing style)
France is the home country ;)
I don't trust our team (Spain) at all, our manager is too soft and doesn't react in time during matches. The performance vs Croacia was pathetic, the players seemed not to care at all and Vicente del Bosque did nothing about it. Hopefully I'm wrong and the players wake up now that the tough matches are coming.
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Yeah I guess we'll see. I agree that the second half was terrible, and in the game against Czech Republic they simply couldn't finish any chances, but their ball control and passing skills are still top notch so I think there's only some small issues to be fixed. I'm no expert though.
And what's up with leaving Koke on the bench all the time?
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Iniesta is the key player. If Italians don't close him down you'll have enough chances.
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As the last 16 draw turns out, we're probably going to have a surprise finalist that very few would have predicted to get there. All the traditional heavyweights (Germany, Italy, Spain, France etc.) are in the bottom half of the draw. It's really fascinating.
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I'm rooting for Croatia, of course but it seems Belgium plays better and better, it wouldn't surprise me if they went to the final. I think top semi-final will be Belgium vs Croatia/Portugal.
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As the last 16 draw turns out, we're probably going to have a surprise finalist that very few would have predicted to get there. All the traditional heavyweights (Germany, Italy, Spain, France etc.) are in the bottom half of the draw. It's really fascinating.
Well, it's only their fault if Spain and England kinda sucked but it's weird to have the top half of the round of 16 made up of 8 nations that together didn't win I believe a single thing at all. While all the world and european champions, including the current ones, are in the other half.
Fascinating on one hand, anticlimatic on the other, all the excellent matches will happen before the final and then you'll have a David vs. Goliath kind of final, I predict it will be Croatia, Belgium or even Wales on the other side.
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Just saying it would be really cool to see Wales in the final.
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European Championship Final 2016: WALES vs. ICELAND :metal
I'm calling it first.
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European Championship Final 2016: WALES vs. ICELAND :metal
I'm calling it first.
That would've been super awesome. My dream final or something like that.
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I would sign up for Italy's defeat if that actually happens.
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Anyone who missed Shaqiri's goal against Poland must check it out :omg:
https://screengrabber.deadspin.com/shaqiri-golazo-draws-switzerland-level-1782604845?utm_campaign=socialflow_deadspin_facebook&utm_source=deadspin_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow (https://screengrabber.deadspin.com/shaqiri-golazo-draws-switzerland-level-1782604845?utm_campaign=socialflow_deadspin_facebook&utm_source=deadspin_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow)
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Shaqiri's goal was spectacular; easily the best in the tournament so far (and there have been a few nominees for that).
Also, unfortunate way for Northern Ireland to be eliminated, but I'm so happy that Wales progress.
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My favorite is definitely Ronaldo's backheel but Shaqiri's goal is up there with the best of the tournament definitely. Too bad the Swiss got eliminated, like their team way more than Poland. I missed the game though, so I don't know who played better.
Felt really bad for that McCauley dude, Bale put him in a spot where he didn't really have any option so he had to try and block the ball because there was a plyer right behind him to chip the ball in if he wouldn't be in the way. No shame in his OG. I know I "should" be supporting Aaron Ramsey because he's in Arsenal but I don't like Wales that much actually. This game was no exception.
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Croatia vs Portugal is very closed game so far, probably very boring for neutrals :D Portugal really did great with those few changes, especially with William.
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Holy shit, all those games today have been pretty tedious to watch, the second half of Poland - Switzerland being an exception maybe. And yes, Shaqiri's goal was spectacular.
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Croatia - Portugal goes into history as the most abonimable game of football ever to be played at a major tournament. Jesus Christ, what a fucking drag that was.
And I have this complete detest for the Portuguese football team as well, which makes it even worse.
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It really sucks Croatia is out this early. It's also sad they conceded a goal in a way they avoided in whole match by retaining possession. They should've play more attacking football today, this was simply not good enoug. :(
I hope Portugal won't become Greece 2004.
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Croatia - Portugal goes into history as the most abonimable game of football ever to be played at a major tournament. Jesus Christ, what a fucking drag that was.
And I have this complete detest for the Portuguese football team as well, which makes it even worse.
Completely agree, I was really hoping they would lose. Pepe and Ronaldo are two of the biggest cunts in the game, and I've got no love for anyone else on that team either.
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While I normally agree, I have to say in their defence that Ronaldo definitely managed to make his ego take a step back behind the interests of his team; I believe he only had one shot on goal and spent a lot of time defending as well. Granted, the interests of his team were apparently to suck the fun out of the game at any cost, but still.
Still wish that Croatia had gone through though.
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I agree with that, but my critique is less about Ronaldo as a player (especially today) and more about his general whininess and egotism off the field :P
Tomorrow I'll be cheering for all the underdogs (sorry Tommy boy). That is, unless Dembele has recovered from his ankle injury and starts, in which case I'll grudgingly support Belgium.
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Am I Tommy boy? :lol
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No but you can be :lol
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But who's Tommy?
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I have all the respect in the world for Ronaldo, he's probably my favorite player in the world even though I'm an Atletico Madrid fanatic, but that really was the most boring game in the tournament so far. I believe he was called Vadi (the CB of Croatia), that literally stretched out every buildup phase of every single attack in the game and the same goes for Portugal. Ronaldo was as exciting as a sack of potatoes but I hope he can step up in quarters.
I literally left the house to go do something else and missed the only goal of the game because I just couldn't care less. I really wanted to see Croatia go through but at this point I simply didn't care for either team anymore. It was such a passive game.
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Thee matches today!
France vs Ireland... I root for Ireland. France and Italy are neighbours so there's always been a strong rivality, furthermore the irish are fun people who enjoy beer and discussions with leprechaun while singing along to countless memorable irish folk songs, why anyone who isn't directly involved should root against them? :D
Germany vs Slovakia... I root for Germany, if Italy ever gets out of the round of 16 alive, they can always count on being able to always defeat the germans :biggrin:
And I'm really neutral about Belgium vs Hungary, without Croatia I think that now Belgium along Portugal itself and Wales is the biggest candidate to reach the final in the "We never ever won a single tournament all paired up together the 8 of us" part of the panel.
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Thee matches today!
France vs Ireland... I root for Ireland. France and Italy are neighbours so there's always been a strong rivality, furthermore the irish are fun people who enjoy beer and discussions with leprechaun while singing along to countless memorable irish folk songs, why anyone who isn't directly involved should root against them? :D
Germany vs Slovakia... I root for Germany, if Italy ever gets out of the round of 16 alive, they can always count on being able to always defeat the germans :biggrin:
And I'm really neutral about Belgium vs Hungary, without Croatia I think that now Belgium along Portugal itself and Wales is the biggest candidate to reach the final in the "We never ever won a single tournament all paired up together the 8 of us" part of the panel.
Worked my ass off today (working on Sunday sucks) and missed the first half of France - Ireland. But I root for Ireland too and it seems they're in the lead so I'm hopeful they can pull it off.
Obviously rooting for Germany in the second game... they're my favourite "big" team besides England, so obviously they have to win.
Belgium against Hungary, I'm rooting for Belgium because I've got four of their players in my Fantasy League team. :lol
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This is just sad to watch :rollin
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I'm not watching, actually. Any short description on what the hell is happening?
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Just 2 easy goals from Griezman, they were set up pretty well but the RoI defence is completely falling apart. Also at an attempt of making it a hattrick Griezman got tackled from behind with no intentions to hit the ball at all and now Ireland's playing with 10 guys :lol
Also it's good to note that even though France will likely go on to quarters they are missing Kante and Rami due to second yellow cards and as far as I know they dont have very good replacements for those positions (CB and CDM)
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Thank you man, yeah, that sounds sad for Ireland indeed.
Gonna be watching Germany vs Slovakia, hopefully it'll be good.
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I really wanted Ireland to win this one, but yeah, the defense on both Griezmann's goals was terrible. That red card foul was ridiculously funny though.
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I don't want to jinx it, but so far it looks like Neuer will have another match without a single goal conceded. This guy is a beast.
Oh, and Slovakia is doomed.
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Yeah, Germany's set out to completely destroy whatever opponent they're up against. Impressive playing so far.
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Yeah, Germany's set out to completely destroy whatever opponent they're up against. Impressive playing so far.
Well, never say never, statistics are meant to be overruled, players in the team change etc, but Germany will face whoever wins between Italy and Spain, AKA "the only two teams that were able to defeat Germany in major tournaments in the last ten years"
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I believe that whatever team coming out of the Germany/Italy/Spain trio will have all the confidence in the world and breeze through the rest of the matches, momentum is the name of the game.
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Well, for sure if Italy gets rid of Spain, to whom they always lost recently, surely they will be pumped in facing Germany, against whom they always won, and I literally mean "always" at least in recorded history :biggrin:
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Oh my god Belgium stop it :lol
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Whether it's poor chemistry or what, I'm not sure, but I think this Belgian team is way overrated. I know they have a lot of individual talent, but I'm tired of hearing about the "golden generation" which hasn't, in reality, won anything of note. It smacks of arrogance and is exemplified no better than by Hazard, who whined and sulked his way through this past club season.
The contrast between them and Italy in that first game was the most telling, I thought. Completely outworked and clearly less disciplined than a much more humble team of Italian (mostly) fogies, with far less individual talent.
Sure, when they're clicking they look impressive enough, but they piss me off all the same.
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I don't follow the Premier League, so I can't comment on Hazard's past season, but he was brilliant in this match.
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However you put it, two goals within a single minute is impressive though.
I also don't really know enough about football to comment on this sort of stuff, though I just enjoy watching the Euros. Belgium doing pretty well so far is just a nice band-aid for the fact that The Netherlands aren't playing.
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Y'all are both right--they've looked really good today.
I just hate them, maybe irrationally, and hope that Wales curb stomps them :D
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Hungary didn't deserve to suffer the worst defeat of the tournament imo, I really liked them during the tournament. :\ However, they were clearly outclassed against a Belgian team that showed for the first time today why they are held in such high esteem.
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I want Portugal to suffer an even worse defeat.
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I'll be cheering for Belgium
Lost hope, seneca? :laugh:
From the 'easy' side of the bracket my favorites are Portugal and Poland. Dunno, I have an unexplanatory vendetta against Belgium and Wales or something.
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Hungary didn't deserve to suffer the worst defeat of the tournament imo, I really liked them during the tournament. :\ However, they were clearly outclassed against a Belgian team that showed for the first time today why they are held in such high esteem.
I liked Hungary because at least they went for the win, rather than parking the bus and maybe only losing by a goal or two. Though it probably wasn't the smartest tactical decision, playing against arguably the best counter attacking team in the world :lol
I'll be cheering for Belgium
Lost hope, seneca? :laugh:
No, haha. There are a couple Belgian players that I like a lot: Alderweireld, Vertonghen, and Dembele. Dembele most of all. Unfortunately he's only played about one half this whole tournament.
And on the other side of things, I despise Hazard, Courtois, Fellani, Origi, and Nainggolan.
So despite liking a couple defenders, I hope the selfish bastards sink.
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Yeah I'm with you there. It's very easy to feel that way about Belgium because they're literally just some talented individuals so there's going to be that feeling of liking some players but not really rooting for them as a team. With their substitutions it's never really a tactical decision either, it's just "let's see if this guy can pull off something great and if he doesn't I'll just bench him again".
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Other than USA, Belgium is my favorite international team. I happen to be a big fan of De Bruyne, Alderweireld, Kompany, Mertens, Lukaku, Benteke, Etc.
I can agree though Nelson, regarding the individual talent. Sometimes they look like a group of really good individuals, rather than a really good team. However today, they looked quite great. Granted, Hungary isn't the toughest of opponents.
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This Copa America final has been wild so far. Terrible ref, great drama.
Go Argentina!
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Messi missed a PK, wow.
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What a great team, Chile :omg:
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Well deserved win yesterday for Germany and finally they're not only creating scoring chances, they are beginning to use them. OK, with the exception of Özil's weak penalty shot. But I didn't think it was a clear penalty so it doesn't really matter.
When Germany is keeping up their game they can beat anyone. But playing against Spain or Italy will still be extremely hard and the german team not only has to play their best, I think even more important is, that they don't think about the past matches against both and thus getting the psychological disadvantage.
I have only seen some scenes from Belgium vs. Hungary and the score is surely impressive, but I'm still not convinced that Belgium is as good as some claim them to be. We'll see.
And today England will follow the vote and make their brexit from this tourney against Iceland. ;)
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And today England will follow the vote and make their brexit from this tourney against Iceland. ;)
Haha, I wish! nothing against England, it's just that Iceland is the perfect underdog to root for.
Today there's also Italy vs Spain, and sorry to any spanish supporters here, but I have a bone to pick with them. Last Euro Cup Spain won 4-0 the final, but it's not the result that bothers me, but the way it was achieved. Italy was already losing 2-0, they already had the three changes and they were one man down for injury, and what Spain did? scored again. Not once, but twice, in a final already won.
If it's 11 vs 11 I have no problem with huge defeats (I don't really get the talks "they should have stopped, it's humiliating", well, it's also humiliating that a team decides 'Hey you guys suck so much, we'll just pass the ball around each other for the last 30 minutes'), but when bad luck puts another team one man down, to kick an already defeated enemy while they're down it's just mean to me.
So of course I hope that Italy wins... but also I hope that Spain loses bad, in a karmic way that leaves them only rage and regret, be it for a referee mistake or dumb luck with an impossible kick that finds its way to the net somehow.
If Italy wins by being the overall best team, good. If Italy wins after Spain dominated the match and at the last minute on an easy kick their goalkeeper stumbles on the laces of his own shoes, even better.
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Messi missed a PK, wow.
What's up with Messi and the National team? I always get the feeling that he is severly underperforming when playing with Argentina. Is it because they play that different from Barcelona and if it is, why can't a player of his caliber adjust to it?
Has he won anything of significance with Argentina? And now I read the he is retiring from the national team. Why? He's only 29, he can play at least the next World cup.
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Come on MM, it's been 4 years ago, sometimes this kinda thing happens but as time tells everyone in this sorta position goes on to score a lot of goals.. I thought it was pathetic aswell but Italy would've done the same.
You can tell Germany stopped trying after 7 goals against Brazil, but it was not out of respect, they simply wanted to save some energy for the finals as theres only like 3 days inbetween those matches. I know Brazil technically weren't down any men but they obvioisly had some terrible mentality issues.
I am a massive Spain supporter and I know everyone despises them, but I have nothing but respect for the Italians and no matter how the game turns out I will still be. It just gets to me because when Holland defeated Spain all I did was congratulate people and I got a lot of fuck you's in return simply because they got beaten by Spain in the 2010 finals.
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You can tell Germany stopped trying after 7 goals against Brazil, but it was not out of respect, they simply wanted to save some energy for the finals as theres only like 3 days inbetween those matches. I know Brazil technically weren't down any men but they obvioisly had some terrible mentality issues.
Yeah, I interpreted that as well as a breakdown. They went down early of one goal, and when the second goal happened, the idea that they might as well not reach the finals crushed them and in that moment anyone could have scored three other goals, even Costa Rica.
And yet, it was the first half of a semi-final. Germany had to annihilate them, to take advantage of the moment to make sure there would not have been a dramatic come back after having rested in the interval and with an entire nation cheering for them. I may be biased but I find that a bit different than scoring not one but two late goals in a final already won, while the other team is in 10.
Uh well, it's not that I spent 4 years bloodthirsty for revenge, but since it's again Italy vs Spain at a Euro Cup, I thought I might as well remember that incident to be even happier in case somehow Italy gets out of this match as winner.
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Yeah I understand the situation. Best of luck to you, I'll still be rooting for Spain but if Italy wins this game they're my favorites to win the tournament, I love their team.
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I frankly don't understand this grudge. Sure it's disappointing when your team loses and even more so when you have to play with one player less. But what would one expect from Spain. To stop playing? To stop trying to score? And then Italy gets a lucky break, scores a goal and maybe gets a penalty in the last minute and suddenly the sure victory goes into overtime and the momentum swings away from Spain? Unlikely but not unheard of. (Bayern losing the championsleague final against Manchester due to two last minute goals, Germany leading 4-0 against Sweden in half-time and the game ending 4-4 and if the game would have been longer Sweden would have won, just as some examples).
If I can win, I play the game to win till the end and if I can win big I play to win big.
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I'm totally neutral about first game but I think Italy will win.
In second I'm rooting for Iceland, they are my favorite team in competition right now.
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All I want from the first game is quality to meet expectations. In other words, the opposite of Portugal-Croatia
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All I want from the first game is quality to meet expectations. In other words, the opposite of Portugal-Croatia
It's pretty quality so far, I'm enjoying it, even if I'm not a fan of both teams.
Really looking forward to England - Iceland though, I like both teams and I except some entertaining football.
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This Copa America final has been wild so far. Terrible ref, great drama.
Go Argentina!
I don't even mind that we lost the final, but losing Messi is something I can't overcome... :'( :'( :'(
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Messi hasn't been amazing in Argentina though. Plus there's great coverage on the attacking side. With players like Aguero and Higuain, goals will be scored.
Great that Italy won!
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Yes Italy deserved it and I'm very happy for them. Great team win and very entertaining.
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Italy played tactics at its best. Loved it! ;D
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Yeeeeeaaaaahhh Italy won!!! the dream goes on!!!
The European Champions are gone. The World Champions are next!!! :metal
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Between Belgium and Spain, no one has been as impressive as Italy has against top competition. Germany should be the toughest of the lot, of course, but it's still mighty impressive, and all before The semis
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Yeah, the final will be anticlimatic. Either a massive victory from Italy / Germany / France / England, or these matches will wear the giants down and Belgium, Wales or Portugal will win.
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I agree, Italy is definitely my favorite right now. Great game and it was exciting until the very end :metal still, can't help but feel a bit disappointed, especially in the first half where Spain were an absolute mess.
Germany vs. Italy is going to be fucking great.
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Messi hasn't been amazing in Argentina though. Plus there's great coverage on the attacking side. With players like Aguero and Higuain, goals will be scored.
Great that Italy won!
First of all Messi has been outstanding with Argentina, he hasn't been able to reach his Barcelona level but then again, he's team mates are not at the same level so it's not surprising.
And regarding Higuain, he's missed clear goals in the last 3 finals we've played, he's one of the main reasons Argentina din't win any of those. And Agüero is another guy that's brilliant in his team but doesn't achieve as much in the national team.
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Fuck, I miss the first five minutes of the game and it's 1-1 already. :facepalm:
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Fuck, I miss the first five minutes of the game and it's 1-1 already. :facepalm:
Impressive Iceland comeback! 4 minutes in they go down because of a penalty, they should all be "Damn, it's already over, it was fun while it lasted" and instead they equalize two minutes later :hefdaddy
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This game just makes my day what the fuck. I always enjoy seeing Joe Hart fuck up but it's even better when Iceland get a goal because of it.
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Messi hasn't been amazing in Argentina though. Plus there's great coverage on the attacking side. With players like Aguero and Higuain, goals will be scored.
Great that Italy won!
First of all Messi has been outstanding with Argentina, he hasn't been able to reach his Barcelona level but then again, he's team mates are not at the same level so it's not surprising.
And regarding Higuain, he's missed clear goals in the last 3 finals we've played, he's one of the main reasons Argentina din't win any of those. And Agüero is another guy that's brilliant in his team but doesn't achieve as much in the national team.
Yeah I agree. While he might have missed the crucial penalty last night, Messi has consistently been very good for Argentina. I hope he reconsiders
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Nice game by Iceland and more or less dreadful game by Englang. Glad to see Iceland going through, hopefully they can win some more games. I'll be rooting for them.
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Massively epic episode of Game of Thrones!!!!
Italy defeats Spain!!!
Iceland defeats England!!!
This day will go down in history :metal :metal :metal
I'm so happy for Iceland!!!! England has a double brexit, from the EU and from the Euro Cup ;D
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Fuck yes Iceland! I only caught the last ten minutes or so, but I'm super happy for Iceland.
Now if they manage to take out the hosts, that would be fucking amazing.
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I'm so happy for Iceland!!!!
Second time in a week that England is out of the Euro....
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England are absolutely abysmal as a football team. And no manager on the planet could possibly make them gel as a TEAM and play well. It's a relief that they're eliminated, as it is with every tournament they play in.
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I'll be very sad if that really is the last we see of Messi on the international level. With that being said, I understand that a large portion of the Argentinian support has been very harsh on him for a while now, undeservingly, and I don't blame him for wanting to let go.
England are absolutely abysmal as a football team. And no manager on the planet could possibly make them gel as a TEAM and play well. It's a relief that they're eliminated, as it is with every tournament they play in.
Agree with all but the bold. Surely there's a large number of managers out there that would've prepared that group of guys better than Roy Hodgson. After the abysmal first half, he made almost no attempt at all to change things up. Jack Whilshire? Who only played one game the entire season?? Same old Wayne Rooney? Raheem Sterling?!? Seriously?
He looked bewildered and without any confidence on the sideline, and has for a long time. The team sucked, yes, but the manager could've been so much better.
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I must say that the enlarged format was calling for very poor teams to show up, but all the debutants fared well. Let's see them:
Albania - almost managed to make it through as one of the best 3rd ones, didn't succeed.
Iceland - They're among the best 8 and they defeated England.
Northern Ireland - Reached the round of 16.
Slovakia - Reached the round of 16.
Wales - Among the best 8.
Not bad for a first time, overall!
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I'll be very sad if that really is the last we see of Messi on the international level. With that being said, I understand that a large portion of the Argentinian support has been very harsh on him for a while now, undeservingly, and I don't blame him for wanting to let go.
Well, there's a portion of the support that still criticizes him but now most people support him. This thing about him leaving the national team has almost become a matter of state.
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Well holy cow Iceland, very well done!
Here's a fun fact: 99,8% of the population on Iceland followed the game yesterday which means ruffly 650 people did not see it. :lol
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Yeah, I joked to myself when they announced on TV that there were 7000 Iceland supporters at the stadium so I was like "Do they actually have 7000 people in Iceland?" :biggrin:
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Last night Poland against Portugal wasn't very exciting to be honest. I regret watching it actually, I'd rather got some sleep instead.
But now it's a weekend and my most anticipated game is happening today, Belgium - Wales. This is going to be good, hopefully. What are your predictions?
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I hate saying this, but last night Pepe was on fire, man of the match easily.
For some reason I sympathize with the Portuguese but they've been pretty terrible this tournament to be honest, should've gone out in the groups.
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I hate saying this, but last night Pepe was on fire, man of the match easily.
For some reason I sympathize with the Portuguese but they've been pretty terrible this tournament to be honest, should've gone out in the groups.
Portugal is probably my least favourite team remaining in the tournament right now. And I was pretty sympathetic to them when the tournament started. Their football just seems so dull these days.
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GO WALES!
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God save the Welsh
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Now I want a Wales - Iceland in the final, I would give up on the dream of Italy winning for that :metal
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What the fuck?
Don't know what to be more hyped about, Wales going through or Belgium being eliminated.
So I missed this game, how did both teams perform?
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Belgium started strong but slacked off when they got 0-1 ahead. This allowed Wales to start playing and get into the game.
Once they had the upper hand and their defence settled, the Welsh just grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck and never let go.
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So, it's Italy vs Germany again, a most memorable match for any italian!
I grew up learning about these historical matches: World Cup 1970, the "match of the century", Italy defeating Germany 4-3 in overtime... and in 1982 Italy winning again in the final, becoming world champions. And I witnessed myself two other glorious nights, the World Cup 2006 seminifinals where Italy scored 2 goals at the last minutes of overtime, and last Euro Cup when they defeated again Germany in a semifinal. Each time it's like "We can't always be lucky" and each time, Italy defeats Germany! :metal
Furthermore for me it's almost a derby... as I said before in the thread, I love Germany. Like, REALLY love Germany, their landscapes, their cities, a lot of bands, their architecture, I have friends there and I've been there several times etc... I'm just in love with that nation, I would love to live there. I even have a medium sized Germany flag, I don't have an italian one that big. But still, it's not that I'm torn over which team to root for... on the contrary, in this occasion I'm 100% behind Italy and against Germany! You know when your older brother defends you from other dudes, and yet picks on you because he's your big brother and since he loves you and he's family he feels like he "deserves" to have fun with you? same messy logic for me when it comes to football, I love Germany so much that in this one occasion I feel entitled to "hate" them and to gladly bathe in their sorrow and drink their tears in case of their defeat :metal and then for the next match I'll just come back to support them :biggrin:
Of course I wish that this is gonna be Germany's last match in this Euro Cup, and if that won't be the case, I will seriously start rooting for a Wales vs Iceland final. Wales actually may get there, Portugal is in the semifinals basically having always equalized ffs!
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I'm so. Fucking. Ready. For this.
Sorry MM, I'm all for Germany in this game.
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That handsball must be one of the - no - the most stupid mistake of the entire tournament, glad Italy are back in the game but goddamn Boateng what the hell was he thinking?
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I'm pretty sure it's not allowed to stop while taking a PK as Bonucci did :-\
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Eh... I really hoped it won't come down to this. Now it's the lottery again.
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Damn, that Schweinsteiger penalty kick was pathetic. :facepalm:
Glad that Germany won, but I wasn't too impressed with the team.
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GODDAMN HOW I HATE PENALTIES.
It's a wonder we even won a World Cup this way.
Uh well, Italy had Spain, Germany and France on their path and out of the three, if defeats has to be, it's far better than to lose once again to Spain or to our neighbours France.... and statistically speaking, the match will be registered as a draw so *technically* Germany still never defeated us in official matches, but FFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU >:( :censored
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Damn, that Schweinsteiger penalty kick was pathetic. :facepalm:
And like.. 5 others? I laughed fucking hard at that Zaza dude's PK, he got subbed in like the 120th minute just so he could try his luck with a penalty. Then he continues to do the most idiotic little run before shooting wide. :lol I believe that's also his only appearance apart from the Ireland game.
Buffon somehow managed to guess the right direction on every single penalty IIRC, that's pretty impressive, too bad the ball slipped right underneath on the last one but it was a pretty tense penalty shootout (mostly because both teams fucked up hard).
Not terribly excited about Germany but they were fun to watch at times.
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Damn, that Schweinsteiger penalty kick was pathetic. :facepalm:
And like.. 5 others? I laughed fucking hard at that Zaza dude's PK, he got subbed in like the 120th minute just so he could try his luck with a penalty. Then he continues to do the most idiotic little run before shooting wide. :lol I believe that's also his only appearance apart from the Ireland game.
Hahaha, yeah. :lol I singled out Schweinsteiger because his kick could've been the deciding one, but yes, plenty of failure in this shootout.
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It was a competition about who was sucking more, embarassing really :lol
Now I seriously hope there will be a Wales vs Iceland final. But if France goes through, I'll still root for Germany. And in case of Germany vs Wales in the final well, anything goes really, I won't hold a grudge against the germans for this defeat but a debutant winning the Euro Cup in face of the world champions would be glorious.
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I just rewatched Zaza penalty kick and :lolpalm: .
Yeah, I'd take either Wales - Iceland or Wales - Germany. Seriously hope Portugal won't make it. Also seriously hope Iceland will win today, I don't think it'll happen but I can hope.
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I think too that realistically Iceland's run has come to an end, but remember Greece in 2004? Each match everyone would assume "Ok, this is it", and yet they won. I agree, one can hope!
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Holy shit that was nerve-wrecking. Some really shitty PK's from either side - Zaza, Müller, Pellé and Schweinsteiger come to mind - but some great saves by Neuer too.
But honestly, without Boateng doing the most stupid that he's done this tournament, the whole thing would have been unnecessary, because Italy were never really a danger in front of the German goal. And Bonucci's PK was pretty damn close to the line of what I would consider acceptable with regards to run-ups under the new rules.
Anyway, glad that Germany went through even though both teams were pretty evenly matched. Still rooting for Iceland today.
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I'm really not sure what was more hilarious, Zaza's PK with his "most idiotic little run before shooting wide" or Pellé with his cocky hand-gestures to Neuer before missing badly. We should have a poll. :lol
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I hate doing this because I love Iceland but I'm actually starting to root for France to go to finals now since I'm going to France for a weekend and it just so happens to be the weekend of the finals. How awesome would it be to be in the home country the night that they win the euro's? Not going to happen anyway but one can dream.. :corn
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I think I aged at least ten years watching last night's game. Not a great game but very exciting because of the suspense. I think Germany deserved the win and overall they were the better team, but then again I'm biased.
And dear Boateng, what were you thinking?
And wtf was up with the first penalties of each team? Three out of the first five missed on both teams?
But I'm glad that Hector made the decisive goal. He's the only national player that came out of Cologne for a long time, my hometown and favorite football team.
And now I think Germany comes out of this match stronger than before, I don't see anyone defeating them in this tournament, although a Wales vs. Iceland final would also be cool.
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What a ridiculous run-up from Zaza last night! Guy comes on as a sub specifically to take a penalty in the shootout, and his ends up being the worst miss of all. Goalkeeper probably could have gone for a quick pint in the time it took Zaza to run up to the ball!
And as one of the few Welshmen round here (if there even are any others)...GO WALES!!! Friday night was absolutely EPIC! Three magnificent goals to knock out the No. 2 ranked side in the world.
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How awesome would it be to be in the home country the night that they win the euro's? Not going to happen anyway but one can dream.. :corn
I actually was in France 1998 when they won the world cup. I remember it so vividly because I was in Riom-ès-Montagnes and the town just exploded 2 mins after the game. Pretty epic experience.
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What I found most ridiculous yesterday was the way that all the strikers/midfielders basically missed and all the defenders actually made their PK's. Like... what's up with that?
And France is up two goals! Still hoping that Iceland bounces back, but I think this is the end of the road for them. :\
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To me the most ridiculous thing was all the stupid run-ups, it was not just Zaza, but literally like half the time you could tell from the run-up that it would be a bad kick, and I think only one of those bad PK's made it into the goal.
How awesome would it be to be in the home country the night that they win the euro's? Not going to happen anyway but one can dream.. :corn
I actually was in France 1998 when they won the world cup. I remember it so vividly because I was in Riom-ès-Montagnes and the town just exploded 2 mins after the game. Pretty epic experience.
That's awesome dude. One of my friends was in Germany for the weekend, 2 years ago, with the sole reason of being amongst German people during the world cup final and it was supposedly very awesome.
Looks like the chances of a Wales - France final are increasing! Germany will be a bitch to beat though and I might still prefer their team over the French even though I want France in the final. I'm glad my Icelandic friend is currently.. well, in Iceland, because he's a bit of a sore loser and a bitch to be around after this kind of thing. :lol
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France leading 4-0 overtime? well, that escalated quickly.
Screw the fact that they kicked Italy out, I'll still be rooting for Germany next match, Iceland doesn't deserve to be humiliated!
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Yeah, well, I think Iceland is done.
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The only comfort we can get from this is that France won't get past Germany anyways
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Damn, but I love how Iceland is playing. Got nothing to lose and just keeps trying to score, and it works.
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And as one of the few Welshmen round here (if there even are any others)...GO WALES!!! Friday night was absolutely EPIC! Three magnificent goals to knock out the No. 2 ranked side in the world.
I'm Welsh but living in Canada. The Wales victory over Belgium was an absolute thrill. Have to take the day off work on Wednesday to watch the semi-final. I can't wait!
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Ah this sucks. I knew Iceland's streak had to end sometime and that they probably wouldn't make it to the finals, but to go down with five goals is hard. Still props to them for coming this far :tup
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Ready for Portugal - Wales today! Rooting for Wales, obviously. Luckily I'm on vacation so I don't have to worry about staying late and getting up early.
Will you guys be watching?
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Nah I'll just st in my room, turn off the lights and listen to some doom metal
'f course I'll be watching :metal I'm kinda neutral on this one, I like the portuguese lineup but theyve just been so boring this whole tournament, and I'll always have a softspot for underdogs like Wales but at the same time I want France's potential enemies to be the weakest possible one and it seems like that team is Portugal right now.
And if it's going to be Germany in the finals (most likely) I'm definitely hoping for Wales to win the whole tournament.
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I hope I find the time. I'm not really interested in both teams but it's the semi-final, so hopefully it will be fun. Rooting for Wales because Ronaldo sucks :biggrin:
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Iceland will be forever the fairytale of this tournament, but let's see if Wales becomes an actual reality!
Rooting for Wales because they're underdogs and because Portugal equalized 4 matches out of 5, at this point I want Wales to win, also in England's face.
I would be still rooting for Germany, but they kicked Italy out so I won't cry over their eventual defeat in the final, which I still hope they'll reach 'cause France can't just win every time they host a tournament :biggrin:
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Really boring game so far to be honest.
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And now we know who's gonna lose the final.
I really can't see anyone else than Germany or France winning.
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I hope wholeheartedly that you're right. The Portuguese don't deserve to win this in the slightest. What a fucking disaster this tournament is.
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Could've and most likely should've been at least 3 (talking about that DREADFUL Joao Mario rebound) and maybe even 4 goals from Portugal, some poor finishing in the second half. That said, I think Portugal were easily the better team here but I'm favouring whatever team is facing them in the finals.
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I hope wholeheartedly that you're right. The Portuguese don't deserve to win this in the slightest. What a fucking disaster this tournament is.
Thousand times this.
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Reminds me of the world championship in 2002 where Germany played like shit but somehow reached the final, where they put up at least a decent performance against Brazil but still lost 2-0.
Alright Portugal, your time is up now ;). Hoping they play against Germany because Germany always played good against them in the last tournaments.
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So how about that fantasy team thing? I've lost interest ages ago and I think I'm not the only one because none of the contenders ever mentions it anymore :lol
I'm mostly neutral on today's game but since I'll be in France during the final I think it would be awesome if they would make it. Special regards to Griezmann who has been my favorite player of the past season, goddamn, what a service he's been to Atleti. Seems like he's picking it up again in this final stage of the tournament too, with a great game against Iceland.
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So how about that fantasy team thing? I've lost interest ages ago and I think I'm not the only one because none of the contenders ever mentions it anymore :lol
I'm mostly neutral on today's game but since I'll be in France during the final I think it would be awesome if they would make it. Special regards to Griezmann who has been my favorite player of the past season, goddamn, what a service he's been to Atleti. Seems like he's picking it up again in this final stage of the tournament too, with a great game against Iceland.
I'm making transfers and substitutions every round, so I'm up to date with that Fantasy thing, but I looked at Onno's team and he still has some players from Belgium and whatnot. But overall, it's not that fun when there are only four players participating, I guess.
I planned to go into a pub to watch the final game, but I might cancel these plans if France wins today. I have no interest in France vs Portugal finals.
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Yeah, I'm having exams in a little under two weeks so I totally forgot about it :mehlin
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And you're still in the lead! :lol
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And I wasn't paying attention so I substituted few players more than I was allowed and got negative points :lol and I made some bad decisions, too. Still believing in Muller tho.
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Well, with the least enthusiasm possible, go Germany. When it comes to football, like it happens basically with every neighbour, be it national, regional or a derby between two teams of the same city, Italy and France hate each other so my dislike for the french football team still comes before the resentement against Germany for having kicked Italy out :biggrin:
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You know, that's probably my emotions talking, but that was the most bullshit penalty kick on this Euro I've witnessed.
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Can German players please stop jumping into balls with their hands in the air, thanks.
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Are you seriously proud of this, France!? After that abominable first half you played, the best you can do is a goddamn penalty kick? What the ffuck this tournament sucks
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Jesus Christ this referee is terrible
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You know, that's probably my emotions talking, but that was the most bullshit penalty kick on this Euro I've witnessed.
Why? It kinda sucks for germany but it was just an oddly unnecessary move by Schweinsteiger.
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Alright game over
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Jesus Christ this referee is terrible
Yup.
I didn't see any hand-play or whatever it's called, but even if it happened, I think you should've let it slip so you won't break the game with that penalty kick in the end of the first half. It wasn't something too outrageous. I'm all for "let the teams play and decide the winner themselves" and all that; and this penalty kick was the opposite of that.
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I agree with all that.
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As much as this game annoyed me, I'm probably still rooting for France in the final, just because I detest Portugal.
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I detest Portugal as well, but this French team isn't worthy of the finals either.
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I'm super stoked!! My favorite player of last season is curremtly leadong the topscorer boards, my ideal two finalists out of the last 4 are playing against eachother and I'm going to see the game in France holy shit!
No hard feelings to the Germans of course, not the most convincing win I'll admit.
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Okay then, it was fun following this Euro and this thread. I highly doubt I'll be watching the Finals to be honest.
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Looks like this time around the french stopped the germans from reaching Paris. :biggrin:
At this point to hell with it, let Portugal have their moment in history, only downside of their eventual (and very unikely) victory is Ronaldo being showered with money, women and Best Player awards.
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Unless Ronaldo pulls off something spectacular I doubt he'll get the best player award, even if they win. Most likely will go to Griezmann who has been great at worst in every game (bar the first one), really fun guy to watch.
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Fuck Griezmann and fuck his stupid celebratory dance.
Lloris, on the other hand, can have my babies.
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Ronaldo has already won the Champions League, if he nails also the final the "Golden ball" is his. Especially since in latest years it always seems a two people race only between him and Messi.
Anyway, I've noticed that this Euro has broken quite some "curses":
- Italy defeated Spain, last time was in 1994
- Germany defeated Italy, to quote Frozen, for the first time in forever
- France defeated Germany, last time it was half a century ago or even more
But geez, the french to win something they have to organize it, otherwise they can't :lol
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I rest my case, club football has nothing to do with the euros so that comparison makes no sense. I think most people are aware that Ronaldo is one of the best players ever but he is always surrounded by world class players in Real Madrid, something he can't quite live up to in this tournament.
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Life is meaningless and full of pain :'(
Sucks if you lose when you are the better team. But congrats to France for being effective. Germany made two mistakes and France scored on both. And fpr the future Germany has a lot of work to do in the goal scoring department, doesn't help you if you control the game but can't create enough scoring chances. Till the end I got the feeling that even if the game would go on for another hour, Germany would not score a goal.
And not to blame it all on the referee, but I'm still not convinced that the decision to let a referee from Italy lead the game is such a great idea, after Italy got defeated by Germany in the previous round. Dear UEFA, maybe a german referee for the final then? :biggrin:
But regardless, it was a stupid thing by Schweinsteiger and totally unnecessary.
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I found it weird too to give the match to an italian referee, but I thought to myself "Well, Germany kicked us out, with France there's a strong football rivality, he probably just hates them both and thus will be impartial that way" ;D
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Jesus Christ this referee is terrible
Yup.
I didn't see any hand-play or whatever it's called, but even if it happened, I think you should've let it slip so you won't break the game with that penalty kick in the end of the first half. It wasn't something too outrageous. I'm all for "let the teams play and decide the winner themselves" and all that; and this penalty kick was the opposite of that.
He'd been letting fouls slide all over the place to keep the flow of the game. All ruined by this decision. Maybe France would've won the game regardless, because the Germans couldn't score for shit, but this was gross.
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Germany failed to take advantage of their first-half dominance, and paid the ultimate price. I'm so glad France are in the final. The nation deserves something after the year they've had. I hope they destroy Portugal in the final, although if Portugal win, it would be a fair reflection on what has been a dismal tournament overall. If the UEFA teams play like this in the World Cup, it's definitely going to a team from another continent in 2018.
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A bit of an early call but Chile are still becoming better every year with a great youth, putting my money on them taking home the 2018 WC
Germany failed to take advantage of their first-half dominance, and paid the ultimate price. I'm so glad France are in the final.
This. Dominant game from germany but no finishing ability, so i cant really say that either side really proved themselves. Then again, how much should one need to prove to take on Portugal?
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A lot can happen in the two years until the next world championship, but if Chile can keep it up they are one of the favorites, along with the usual suspects I think.
And as I said before, Germany has to be more efficient with their chances. With Gomez out and Müller and Götze underperforming, it was the great problem right from the beginning of the tournament. For instance they should have crushed Ireland but only scored one lucky goal. What good is control of the game if you don't score? They need more goalgetters.
But if Löw carries on (and I'm sure he will) I'm sure he will try to solve this problem.
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France's tactic during the final: beat Ronaldo into injury so that he has to leave the field.
Ok, now I really want Portugal to win.
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France's tactic during the final: beat Ronaldo into injury so that he has to leave the field.
My thoughts exactly, but I'm still rooting for France because I really disliked Portugal during the whole tournament.
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Meh, if it was a repeated thing I could see it, but that didn't look like a deliberate thing at all to me. Sure, I guess they're not exactly crying their eyes out about Ronaldo being out, but I don't see much evidence for it being a tactic.
I still feel bad for Ronaldo, though.
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All of that ^
Pretty disappointing match so far, really. Is this really what National football has become? What a shame.
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This match is as meh as I expected so far.
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Well... at least the game got better in the second half, and was actually interesting for large stretches.
Still, another extra time? No thanks. :tdwn
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Hahaha worst tournament ever
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Seriously, I don't even know why I'm still watching. This game is exemplaric for the whole tournament and it's freaking terrible.
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I admit I laughed at Koscielny getting booked for Eder playing the ball with his hand. :lol
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Eder is a fucking scumbag son of a bitch, like the rest of that Portuguese team.
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Portugal was like the least deserving team to win this Euro, at least out of the teams that made the playoffs, in my opinion. But hey, whatever.
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Hahahaha Portugal winning the Euro Cup in face of the french by equalizing at the 90' mark 6 matches out of seven! :rollin
My football rivality against France makes me LOL so hard, but really, football sometimes is just like life, there is no sense or reason :lol
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I was the only person at the bar where I watched the game who were rooting for Portugal, it suddenly dawned on me that I've never met anyone who likes Portugal heh, just never, not sure why. I don't really like Portugal either but I usually root for the team that's playing against the team that defeated the one I was originally rooting for all along, Germany, so whoever played France for the final would have been my preferred winner. The other reason I rooted for Portugal is that I always root against the host country of any tournament.
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Hahaha worst tournament ever
There were times some years ago where Portugal had a really good team but didn't win anything. Now they play like shit most of the time and win the European Championship?
I think this tournament was more about the favoured teams not getting their shit together at the right time than Portugal actually deserving to win this. But anyway, that's life.
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Portugal winning the tournament is a fair reflection on what has been a dismal tournament, Wales' brilliant run aside. A team that finished in 3rd place in their group, with 3 draws, who only managed to win ONE game inside 90 minutes (against Wales as well >:() are champions. Proves that you don't need to be good at football to win these things. You just need one moment at the very end.
Managers and teams the world over should learn that defensive football is boring. In fact, all defensive sport is boring. What draws the biggest cheers and the biggest euphoria? Goals! The most memorable game of this tournament? Portugal 3-3 Hungary, without question. They should either shorten extra time to 10 minutes each way (or less), bring back the golden goal, or just go straight to penalties after 90 minutes, because time and again we've seen teams just play defensively and waste all of our time. Teams don't play any more positively or negatively than they would if the golden goal rule was there.
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If it makes you all feel any better, think of the people, the ordinary portoguese supporters; Portugal never won anything, and back in 2004 they reached the finals in their home tournament and LOST. At least a joy for a nation that didn't really have any so far, for France it stings but they know what it's like to win the Euro Cup and the World Cup.
The other reason I rooted for Portugal is that I always root against the host country of any tournament.
Yeah, isn't it rude to host a tournament and then win it? it's like throwing a party at your house and being the one who enjoys it the most, it shouldn't be that way! ;D
I'm always out for some drama in football when I'm not personally involved, so rooting against the hosts falls into that category. More generally, I remember being undecided about the Bayern Munich vs Borussia Dortmund Champions League final, then when Bayern scored I started to root for Borussia 'cause I wanted to live the drama of Bayern being catched up with the victory at hand. Seeing the hosts losing falls under this category, when you're not personally involved it's funnier when the stakes are very high.
I think this tournament was more about the favoured teams not getting their shit together at the right time than Portugal actually deserving to win this. But anyway, that's life.
Well, that's the point of the Euro and World cups... it's not a season long tournament when you face everyone and the best one usually comes out, it's a tournament where you have to be on top form for just a month, and then play at max 7 matches when half of them - especially in the World Cup - may be against significantly lesser opponents.
Also in these situations the national feel helps to cement a team, it's easier to keep together for a month a bunch of people of the same nation (Italian CT Antonio Conte was great at this) than holding together for a whole seasons players in a club from different nations.
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Managers and teams the world over should learn that defensive football is boring. In fact, all defensive sport is boring. What draws the biggest cheers and the biggest euphoria?
The problem is that it's all about winning, not entertaining. And in these kind of tournaments it's really hard to do something else because history has proven that more times that not, it's better not to receive goals than try to go out an make them.
I would love for FIFA to do something like they did in rugby where they grant you extra points if you score certain amount of times, that would make the sport a lot more entertaining, at least where points do matter.
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While I agree that defensive football is mostly boring, I can understand when teams, that can't match the individual strength of the opponent players try to play defensive and hope for some counter attacks and some luck. And football is no beauty contest, there's too much money involved.
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Good to see I'm not the only one thinking that Portugal was NOT the best team of the competition (I've seen sentiments like that online). Not by a long shot IMHO. The Germany-France game and the Portugal-France game were rather settled by luck than by soccer skill.
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I don't buy into the whole "they only won because of luck, the other teams were unlucky" bs. If you're good enough to go to the final and stand as a winner when the whistle blows, you deserve to get the trophy. Portugal weren't amazing, but was there really any other team that was? France looked better going into the final, but they failed to do their job and they lost. A bunch of "favorites" went out before that, and it's hard to argue that a team deserves to win if they can't even make it to the final.
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Come on. I think we all know that soccer has a pretty solid element of chance in it. Check out these stats:
https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/season=2016/matches/round=2000451/match=2017907/statistics/index.html
France dominated in all regards, had more shots on target etc. It's just that one of the few good shots that Portugal had went in, whereas France's many shots didn't go in.
Even before the final, Portugal's advance was a common joke. The game yesterday was a very fitting end.
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Chance is a thing, but I like to believe that you make your own luck. A team that wins needs to have luck with them, because if it's working against them, then they won't win. At the end of a season you often look at the winner and say "they had luck" and the teams at the bottom and say "they had bad luck", but I think ultimately it's an element of its own that you need to have. If you're a good team then you can create your own luck.
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Portugal weren't amazing, but was there really any other team that was?
Italy? And Wales were pretty amazing vs Russia and Belgium.
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Portugal weren't amazing, but was there really any other team that was?
Italy? And Wales were pretty amazing vs Russia and Belgium.
Italy looked strong but caved mentally against Germany on penalties. It's always a toss up with penalties, and the game was in many ways an early final, but even the mighty Germany got beaten by France, in a game where they caved in. Wales had a great tournament, but nobody expected them to go the final. They did really well going as far as they did, and maybe with a little more luck, they could have beaten Portugal, but it was two fast goals that sealed the deal.
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Chance is a thing, but I like to believe that you make your own luck. A team that wins needs to have luck with them, because if it's working against them, then they won't win. At the end of a season you often look at the winner and say "they had luck" and the teams at the bottom and say "they had bad luck", but I think ultimately it's an element of its own that you need to have. If you're a good team then you can create your own luck.
There is an element of luck. How many times have we seen games where one of the teams shoots 10 times and fails to score and the other team shoots just 1 and score? Griezman had a couple of great looks yesterday that missed by centimeters, Gignacs woodwork shot was also a matter of centimeters, not to mention the several balls the keeper saved.
Regarding Portugal, they played ugly no doubt, but they did exactly what their coach wanted which was trying not to receive goals and they were good at that. As I said before, in these kind of tournaments you don't need to be the best, you just need to keep your goal clear and try and see if you can get lucky and score one. In a league format it's a lot harder to do it because it involves points.
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There's definitely an element of skill involved in a team that focuses on defense and manages to win that I feel is overlooked. You can't just say "we'll defend and then win on penalties", and that's that. I know I'm somewhat alone in the boat of someone who can appreciate defensive football as well, and I know that attacking football is what gets most people pumped, but there's definitely skill required to be able to close down games and come out as the winner in overtime or on penalties. You still have to be good to close off space, make sure that the opponents doesn't get that one brilliant goal chance that will lead to a goal, and Portugal managed to do that well in this tournament IMO. They weren't the most fun team to watch, but tactically I was impressed.
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There's definitely an element of skill involved in a team that focuses on defense and manages to win that I feel is overlooked. You can't just say "we'll defend and then win on penalties", and that's that. I know I'm somewhat alone in the boat of someone who can appreciate defensive football as well, and I know that attacking football is what gets most people pumped, but there's definitely skill required to be able to close down games and come out as the winner in overtime or on penalties. You still have to be good to close off space, make sure that the opponents doesn't get that one brilliant goal chance that will lead to a goal, and Portugal managed to do that well in this tournament IMO. They weren't the most fun team to watch, but tactically I was impressed.
I agree with this. I appreciate as any other bloke matches that end with 4-3 as the final score, and I'm bored as well with bland 0-0 matches, but I understand and respect the use of tactics, and making the most out of what you have.
Maybe the example is a bit exagerated and out of context, but if everyone should play to attack because it's fun, maybe back in ancient times people would complain as well "Waiting out a siege in a well furnished castle is so boring... they should ride out in the open fields even if they have half the soldiers of the attacking army!" ;D
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That was probably very expectant as a final for this tournament, but still a very very boring match. I had a LOT of fun watching it on the big screen in Lille and standing in the middle of the crowd though, wouldve been more fun if theyd won.
I see where people are coming from, but if you want exciting football why would you watch international tournaments like these? Just watch the Serie A or something, thats fucking exciting. Euros and the WC are mostly fun for supporting your own country, not for absolute world-class entertainment. Mainly because these players dont play nearly as much with eachother as they do with their clubs.
I'd say theres a certain degree of skill involved in parking the bus, but lets face it, Portugal were no monstrous defensive force either. It was probably the lamest possible way to lose as I was already anticipating a nerve-wracking penalty shootout which wouldve atleast given me something to cheer for. :lol
Congrats to the portuguese dtfers, if there are any. Cant say im a huge fan of them but i think its great that CR finally has a euro cup to his name in what could be his last full-time starterposition euro tournament.
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Euros and the WC are mostly fun for supporting your own country
I guess that depends on your own country, because for me this is the very definition of not-fun. :lol
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Touché! :lol
I bet it was more fun 8 years ago, before they got asspounded in almost every major tournament.
Theyre all so isolated from the rest of europe too nowadays, not more players playing for big english teams anymore like some used to.
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There's definitely an element of skill involved in a team that focuses on defense and manages to win that I feel is overlooked. You can't just say "we'll defend and then win on penalties", and that's that. I know I'm somewhat alone in the boat of someone who can appreciate defensive football as well, and I know that attacking football is what gets most people pumped, but there's definitely skill required to be able to close down games and come out as the winner in overtime or on penalties. You still have to be good to close off space, make sure that the opponents doesn't get that one brilliant goal chance that will lead to a goal, and Portugal managed to do that well in this tournament IMO. They weren't the most fun team to watch, but tactically I was impressed.
I agree 100%, there's a lot of skill required to keep the other team from scoring goals, however, look at what happened in the UCL final this season, both teams went defensive and it was one of the most boring games ever. I think even you have to agree with that, no matter how much you enjoy defensive game.
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I think Train of Naught brings up a good point with how the players don't play with each other that much internationally, so it's hard to really get a great team going where everyone finds each other well with passes and so on. Even when Spain were at their best a few years ago, their main core was Barcelona players who knew each other in and out from Barcelona. A midfield with Iniesta-Busquets-Xavi would still be as dominant in Spain as they would in Barcelona. But most national teams don't have that luxury and you end up with 4 midfield players from 4 different clubs. It's hard to get something amazing going and you're mostly relying on individual skill to carry you through, even if teams like Wales or Iceland showed great team spirit.
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There can be and there were very good and exciting games in euro and world championships and there can be and there were boring games in every league across the world. Just because the players know each other better in a club doesn't automatically make a good and exciting game.
And for Portugal, when you win a tournament you have done a lot of things right, no one is taking that from them, but they also had a lot of luck. It's not that they were that good in defense that the opposing teams didn't get any good chances, that was a mixture of skill and luck, and the wins in overtime or penalty shootout can't be planned in advance, there's also a mixture of luck and skill involved, every one of these games could have gone the other way. So they probably deserved the win, but they weren't the best team, not by a long stretch.
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Well no, it doesnt automatically make the game more exciting, but it does raise the overall skill level by quite s bit.
I'm convinced that if a team like, say, Napoli, were to participate in the euros, hypothetically of course, they would be one of the favorites to win the whole tournament. A few star players but definitely not in the absolute top of european clubs yet.
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I don't know if they could win, I seriously doubt it because teams like Spain or France or Germany or Italy (and maybe others) have probably a higher level of individual player skills, regardless of how good they know each other, but that's not really my point.
Would they (Napoli) play exciting and offense orientated soccer, or would they too prefer a defensive strategy that may raise their chances but isn't that exciting to watch?
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Oh yeah, this is the kind of team that would play against the likes of Spain/Germany and give it a 100% and probably would create some grerat chances and maybe win. That's probably not the case with every good european team, I took this one as an example because I love that team, some of my favorite players are on it aswell (Dries Mertens/Marek Hamsik/Gonzalo Higuain), but there's a lot of teams that would park the bus too, fair enough.
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I don't really like and follow Serie A (or whatever it's called), but Napoli is one of the coolest teams there in my opinion.
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Serie A is to avoid like the plague for people who don't like defensive football. The lesser teams know they can't defeat the big ones and all they can hope for is a draw, so from the get go they play for the 0-0 since it's their best scenario anyway.
Teams that has a champion go through anyway, those who don't have one get stuck in the 0-0 and they lose points along the way.
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Serie A is to avoid like the plague for people who don't like defensive tactical football.
Fixed for you! ;)
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Apparently Sam Allardyce is being offered the England National Team. How is it that a guy that has won 373 games, drawn 255 and lost 328 as a manager gets to coach a national team? What is the FA thinking?
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Apparently Sam Allardyce is being offered the England National Team. How is it that a guy that has won 373 games, drawn 255 and lost 328 as a manager gets to coach a national team? What is the FA thinking?
To be fair he's good at getting results with mediocre teams, so he should fit right into England.
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Mario Gomez is packing his bags at Besiktas, because of the political situation. Can't say I blame him.
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Apparently Sam Allardyce is being offered the England National Team. How is it that a guy that has won 373 games, drawn 255 and lost 328 as a manager gets to coach a national team? What is the FA thinking?
To be fair he's good at getting results with mediocre teams, so he should fit right into England.
Same kind of choice was taken for Italy with the appointment of Ventura...
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The problem with Ventura I guess is that there was no one else willing or avalaible.
The team is not so great right now, the pay is what it is, so there was not exactly a line of winning and avalaible coaches begging to take the post...
Why would, for example, Ancelotti coach Italy once in three months when he gets way more money by training weekly one of the best teams in football right now (Bayern Munich) having a live experience in Germany where he didn't play or train yet?
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Apparently Sam Allardyce is being offered the England National Team. How is it that a guy that has won 373 games, drawn 255 and lost 328 as a manager gets to coach a national team? What is the FA thinking?
To be fair he's good at getting results with mediocre teams, so he should fit right into England.
Look at the chart in the as a manager section in the link below, his win percentage is just awful. The only place where I can say he did a decent job is Bolton. If England is trying to get better I don't think they're going the right way.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Allardyce (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Allardyce)
Apparently Sam Allardyce is being offered the England National Team. How is it that a guy that has won 373 games, drawn 255 and lost 328 as a manager gets to coach a national team? What is the FA thinking?
To be fair he's good at getting results with mediocre teams, so he should fit right into England.
Same kind of choice was taken for Italy with the appointment of Ventura...
Yep, another awful choice. I hate when countries try to get a coach from their own nationality regardless of how good or bad he is. I think both England and Italy would benefit from an international coach that could introduce new concepts.
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What's weird is that now with Big Sam out, David Moyes is the prime candidate to take over Sunderland, and even he would have been a better choice for the England job. Not saying he would have been great, but what he did at Everton for 10-15 years is more impressive than what Big Sam has done.
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I don't know the guy who is set to train the english team, but I imagine the candidates weren't exactly queueing up to get the job. The a-level guys go somewhere else, where they can earn more money and probably more fame too. So you have to work with the ones who are left over and still willing to do the job.
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I don't know the guy who is set to train the english team, but I imagine the candidates weren't exactly queueing up to get the job. The a-level guys go somewhere else, where they can earn more money and probably more fame too. So you have to work with the ones who are left over and still willing to do the job.
The England job is arguably the biggest manager you can take out of the international teams, a country that sees themselves as "the home of football", Premier League - the league to rule them all, and a situation where people have screwed up badly before, so if you pull it off, you'll become a legend there. I think their problem is that they've had some bad experiences with foreign managers (Capello, Sven Göran Eriksson), and if you look at their national choices, there's not a lot of good names from the English isles. Brendan Rodgers would have been a great choice, but he signed for Celtic. They should have fired Roy before the Euros and gotten Rodgers when they could. If they want to avoid the foreign name and get someone from the isles, there's just not that many good to pick from anymore. I think Eddie Howe is an exciting name with the future in front of him, but he's not ready yet. Pardew is not a tactician and wouldn't have been a good choice.
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Hate to be a downer, Zantera, but outside of England, at this point nobody really sees England as the nexus of football. Sure, the EPL is the most competitive and commands the highest salaries, but English soccer, i.e. without all the foreign players and coaches, is considered mid-tier. England has not won an international competition in 60 years, and as I saw someone on Reddit say, "getting out of the group stage is par for the course for England, anything more should be considered over-performing".
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Hate to be a downer, Zantera, but outside of England, at this point nobody really sees England as the nexus of football. Sure, the EPL is the most competitive and commands the highest salaries, but English soccer, i.e. without all the foreign players and coaches, is considered mid-tier. England has not won an international competition in 60 years, and as I saw someone on Reddit say, "getting out of the group stage is par for the course for England, anything more should be considered over-performing".
A mixture of nationalities in the league is what makes many of the top leagues. PL is arguably the toughest and most competitive out of the league, even if a league like Bundesliga is stronger if you look at the amount of good german players. But put the league aside, England still has great players, they've just lacked a good vision and a manager to pull it off. Sure, it's a cursed job to take, but if you pull it off, there's a lot of reward.
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I'm more on rumborak's side here. England is mid-tier at best and I don't see anything that will change that in the near future. There just aren't enough high level english players, or I haven't seen them yet. They pride themselves as the home and the inventors of football but they severely lack in raising national talents. As almost all of the premier league clubs have a shitload of money at their disposal they buy the players that they need from other countries. No need for raising young talents at the risk of them not evolving as planned.
Every top manager may have a high motivation to take over one of the top clubs in the premier league. But the national team just doesn't have that appeal for top managers, so you have to look for second best or unconventional solutions.
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I think managing a national side just doesn't have the same appeal as a club period. Look at who Spain announced yesterday, an even weaker choice than Big Sam, and that's Spain we're talking about. The top tier of managers seem to prefer managing a club and it's not hard to see why. Unless you really love your country and have a dream to coach your own national team, managing a national side comes down to a handful of games every year, and then the occasional tournament where you have 2 weeks of having to perform your best. There's a lot of sitting around in between games and I can understand managers not liking that. Even a top manager like Conte seemed to change his mind right away after becoming Italy's coach, or at least be very open about it only being for a short period of time.
So I don't think it's just England, I don't think the best managers (with a few exceptions) want to coach a national team period. Spain getting a coach who was fired from Porto after 1 ½ year and has only coached youth teams before, and England getting a manager with the greatest achievement being to avoid relegation really says a lot about what kind of managers want the national team jobs.
EDIT: the big sam appointment reminds me of this quote from Seinfeld:
"You know what message you're sending out with those sweatpants? You're telling the world, 'I've given up. I can't compete in normal society. I'm going to lose, so I might as well be comfortable."
:lol
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Yeah, managing a national team is not necessarily the dream of every manager. And I think in most cases there's less money involved and you can only win something every two years and that is very very hard, even if you coach one of the absolute top teams.
On the other hand, if you succeed as national coach your name is immortal. I think everyone will remember Joachim Löw for years as the coach who won the world championship with Germany. I'm not sure that many know how he suceeded as club manager before.
And you probably need some other talents as national coach than as club manager. You have to work with the players you're given, you have to work out a tactic that works with them. You can't just buy the players you need for your system. So I'm not sure if the top club managers would really succeed as national coaches and vice versa.
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I'm more on rumborak's side here. England is mid-tier at best and I don't see anything that will change that in the near future. There just aren't enough high level english players, or I haven't seen them yet. They pride themselves as the home and the inventors of football but they severely lack in raising national talents. As almost all of the premier league clubs have a shitload of money at their disposal they buy the players that they need from other countries. No need for raising young talents at the risk of them not evolving as planned.
Yep. Bloody immigrants! :P
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Maybe the brexit is gonna change that. I read an article some weeks ago where it said that (because of reasons I didn't really understand and don't really remember) when the brexit comes, then a lot of the foreign players may not be allowed to play for english clubs anymore.
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Yeah, managing a national team is not necessarily the dream of every manager. And I think in most cases there's less money involved and you can only win something every two years and that is very very hard, even if you coach one of the absolute top teams.
On the other hand, if you succeed as national coach your name is immortal. I think everyone will remember Joachim Löw for years as the coach who won the world championship with Germany. I'm not sure that many know how he suceeded as club manager before.
And you probably need some other talents as national coach than as club manager. You have to work with the players you're given, you have to work out a tactic that works with them. You can't just buy the players you need for your system. So I'm not sure if the top club managers would really succeed as national coaches and vice versa.
Not only that, as a national team manger you can only work with players for a limited amount of time, you need to teach them in a limited amount of time and that is extremely hard.
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PL is arguably the toughest and most competitive out of the league, even if a league like Bundesliga is stronger if you look at the amount of good german players. But put the league aside, England still has great players, they've just lacked a good vision and a manager to pull it off.
As others have pointed out, I think that's more wishful thinking than anything else. Every soccer country has ups and downs, decades where you shine, and decades where you just suck. But, after 6 decades, there isn't all that much rational arguments left that somehow the players were there all the time, but the "vision" was missing. At some point I think you have to accept that while you may be hosting the top soccer league, your own players are rather mid-tier. It's a painful thing to hear, but Germany learned that lesson some time in the 90s and invested a ton in youth programs.
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Lewandowski was amazing, now he's getting phenomenal, I really hope he doesn't leave Bayren.
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https://www.google.se/amp/m.firstpost.com/amp/sports/chapecoense-real-plane-crash-heres-what-we-know-about-the-brazil-football-tragedy-in-colombia-3130120.html?client=ms-android-samsung
What a tragedy, almost the whole team got killed but amazingly 3 players survived along with 2 crew members and one journalist.
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Big tragedy :( RIP
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PL is arguably the toughest and most competitive out of the league, even if a league like Bundesliga is stronger if you look at the amount of good german players. But put the league aside, England still has great players, they've just lacked a good vision and a manager to pull it off.
As others have pointed out, I think that's more wishful thinking than anything else. Every soccer country has ups and downs, decades where you shine, and decades where you just suck. But, after 6 decades, there isn't all that much rational arguments left that somehow the players were there all the time, but the "vision" was missing. At some point I think you have to accept that while you may be hosting the top soccer league, your own players are rather mid-tier. It's a painful thing to hear, but Germany learned that lesson some time in the 90s and invested a ton in youth programs.
I'd agree with this. Ngland don't have the players, and when maybe we did our game just wasn't suited to international football where the best teams will keep the ball and play around you.
We got close and lost on penalties a few times, which comes down to bottle as we call it.
I don't see it changing anytime soon.
As regards the Premier League, it's about the only top league where the so called smaller teams aren't there as cannon fodder for the big teams. Barca don't lose to the bottom teams ever, same with Bayern. It happens in the PL all the time.
Unfortunately most of the best players are imported
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https://www.google.se/amp/m.firstpost.com/amp/sports/chapecoense-real-plane-crash-heres-what-we-know-about-the-brazil-football-tragedy-in-colombia-3130120.html?client=ms-android-samsung
What a tragedy, almost the whole team got killed but amazingly 3 players survived along with 2 crew members and one journalist.
Yesterday was a pretty sad day, every bit of news that came along was another little stab. There's been lots solidarity around here, the other team that was playing that final asked for Chapecoense to be named champion and lots of teams from different countries offered to lend them players at no cost so they could rebuild.
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So, anyone tired of the same thing over and over in UCL? Barcelona and Arsenal always getting tough matches, Real Madrid always getting a weaker opponent... I think they need to change the system, aside from what I mention above, usually the same teams qualify each year and because of restrictions you end up getting the same matchups over and over, Barcelona-Arsenal, Barcelona-PSG, Arsenal-Bayern
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Meanwhile in Seattle, the Sounders won their first MLS Cup, and outside the small, but rabid, local fanbase, no one cares. Except my wife and her friends, some of whom are happier about this win than Super Bowl 48.
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So, anyone tired of the same thing over and over in UCL? Barcelona and Arsenal always getting tough matches, Real Madrid always getting a weaker opponent... I think they need to change the system, aside from what I mention above, usually the same teams qualify each year and because of restrictions you end up getting the same matchups over and over, Barcelona-Arsenal, Barcelona-PSG, Arsenal-Bayern
There's only a handful of teams that can win the UCL, so you're bound to have the same or at least similar pairings each year. All other teams are just there to prolong the tournament.
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Last night Germany defeated England 1-0 and Lukas Podolski had his last match for the german national team. Fittingly he scored the winning goal with his left foot, as he had scored probably 90 percent of all his goals.
He surely wasn't the best player Germany ever had but he had a special place in my heart. He emerged out of the youth of my favorite team (1. FC Köln/Cologne) in my hometown, I witnessed his first games in the Bundesliga and his rise to stardom in an otherwise very mediocre team. I followed his career when he went to Bayern München and later to Arsenal and Galatasaray. He always remained rooted in his hometown and he is still highly regarded here.
Why I'm writing this (and it could also be in the old as mold threat)? I feel kinda old knowing that I watched his whole career lasting for 13 years and he's the first one to retire where I know I've seen them from the beginning.
Where did the time go?
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Heeejaaaaa BvB!!!
Woot. F**ck Bayern :D
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Heeejaaaaa BvB!!!
Woot. F**ck Bayern :D
:lol I can't tell you how much I feel like this, Go Dortmund!
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So psyched for my Juventus game today.
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So psyched for my Juventus game today.
I really hope they win. I detest Real Madrid and I think Buffon is long overdue for this trophy, the only major one he's missing
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Might as well scrap the return legs for this round. It's Juve vs Real anyway.
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yeah, I think its a lock. just hope Juventus kick Real ass
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Another standard day at the office for Juventus. Solid game. May be the best defensive unit in decades.
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(https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v410/rumborak/Mobile%20Uploads/PANO_20170527_221938_zpsnyhrvqvk.jpg) (https://smg.photobucket.com/user/rumborak/media/Mobile%20Uploads/PANO_20170527_221938_zpsnyhrvqvk.jpg.html)
My brother called me two weeks ago and told me he had a second ticket for the Pokalfinale in Berlin, Dortmund (my team) vs Eintracht Frankfurt. Looked at the airfares, and decided to chance it. Absolutely incredible experience. Apparently 300k wanted a ticket, only 20k (on the Dortmund side) got one. The Olympiastadion is massive (75k People), and I celebrated deep into the night. ;D
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Congrats on winning the cup.
Although my favorite team is 1. FC Köln I always liked Borussia Dortmund. Probably because most of the relatives from my father's side of the family live there and I spend a lot of time in Dortmund.
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While I'm happy for Huddersfield Town getting promoted to the Premier League yesterday, I'm slightly baffled as to how they managed to do it. Their goal difference for the season was -2, yet they still got enough points to finish 5th, and get into the playoffs. Then, in the playoff semi-final, their only goal over the two legs was an own-goal. They got through that via a penalty shootout, with the game tied after extra time. And in yesterday's playoff final, it was 0-0 after 120 minutes, and they got through via penalties. They're like the Portugal at Euro 2016 of English domestic football.
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I saw the Dortmund match and for a good portion of it thought it might go astray but luckily they pulled the win. Not so lucky is that Marco Reus will again be missing half a season due to injury :-\
While I'm happy for Huddersfield Town getting promoted to the Premier League yesterday, I'm slightly baffled as to how they managed to do it. Their goal difference for the season was -2, yet they still got enough points to finish 5th, and get into the playoffs. Then, in the playoff semi-final, their only goal over the two legs was an own-goal. They got through that via a penalty shootout, with the game tied after extra time. And in yesterday's playoff final, it was 0-0 after 120 minutes, and they got through via penalties. They're like the Portugal at Euro 2016 of English domestic football.
That's crazy
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Soccer is weird that way. Vfl Wolfsburg, the team that got the Cup in 2015, and before that finished 3rd place in the league, two days ago barely escaped relegation.
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Soccer is weird that way. Vfl Wolfsburg, the team that got the Cup in 2015, and before that finished 3rd place in the league, two days ago barely escaped relegation.
Yeah, not sure what happened there. I know not having Draxler anymore hurt them but I don't think he's that good a player that the team would completely suck without him. There were several things wrong with them this season but I'm sure they'll be able to do a better job next season.
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Wolfsburg did throw a lot of money out buying players but didn't look if they were really motivated to play for them (Draxler) or how they all would play together. It's just a patched up team with no real chemistry. They still shouldn't have ended that low in the league but I think once it goes bad most of the players don't really care, that team has no heart and no soul.
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So, Champions League final coming up... who are you rooting for? Juventus vs Real Madrid
I root for AC Milan so I should be against Juventus winning, but AC Milan is still to this day the last team to have won 2 cups in a row, back in 1989/1990, I kinda like that the record still holds... I'll have to "hope" that Juventus wins, which means a lot of friends and coworkers going apeshit over it and me having to endure it all ;D
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Juve no doubt. I detest Real Madrid, mainly because of Cristiano Ronaldo and Florentino Perez
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I have no stake in either team, so I'll watch with general soccer interest.
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Juve no doubt. I detest Real Madrid, mainly because of Cristiano Ronaldo and Florentino Perez
Me, too. And I'd like to see Buffon finally take that crown :D
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Juve no doubt. I detest Real Madrid, mainly because of Cristiano Ronaldo and Florentino Perez
Me, too. And I'd like to see Buffon finally take that crown :D
Yeah, I really want that too. he deserves it more than any other player.
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I don't care at all for Juventus but I agree that Buffon holding the Cup would be a very nice sight, and the icing on the cake of a stellar carrer.
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Pretty cool to have the CL final in my home country. I live about an hour away from the stadium. I'd like Juve to win it, but because of that I think Real will end up doing what Real do and win it.
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Juventus!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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You could tell there's a lot of Bayern players in the German team. They can play like shit the whole game, but somehow still eek out a win. I'll take it though, it keeps the clean sheet! :lol
US game, I didn't see it, but from all the accounts I've seen it must have been horrid, with the US deservedly losing the game. I think from here on it's all must-wins, which frankly I don't think will happen. A bummer, because a non-qualifying US will mean nobody will watch the WC here.
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Watching Croatia vs Kosovo today, should be easy win for Croatia but I'm kinda used to poor matches despite the lead on the group table :-\
I saw highlights from Brazil and some of the France match, and both teams are deservedly favorites for next year's WC. It's too early to say, of course, but I like to make these kind of assumptions :D
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... France ... are deservedly favorites for next year's WC.
What, the same France who were held to a 0-0 draw by the minnows that are Luxembourg?
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Because I'm in Sweden right now, the USA Honduras game was too late for me to watch. However, I happened to wake up during half time and put on a quick stream. But, with the score to that point and what I saw for 5 minutes, I went back to bed. That was abysmal playing.
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After fifteen years, Feyenoord returns to the Champion's League tonight to face Manchester City. Excited!
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My favorite team made it's first european game after a 25 year absence. Cologne against Arsenal.
I was very excited but sadly both my fears came true. My team lost and some of the so called fans caused a lot of trouble in London. >:(
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I sympathize with Cologne only because the town has a massively awesome cathedral :metal
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As a Dortmund fan, I am actually rather pissed right now. The game against Tottenham was so marred by bad reffing, it changed the entire game. A foul that wasn't called that then resulted in a Tottenham goal, and a wrong offside call that resulted in a disallowed Dortmund goal.
Why the fuck doesn't UEFA use VAR?
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As a Dortmund fan, I am actually rather pissed right now. The game against Tottenham was so marred by bad reffing, it changed the entire game. A foul that wasn't called that then resulted in a Tottenham goal, and a wrong offside call that resulted in a disallowed Dortmund goal.
Why the fuck doesn't UEFA use VAR?
Becuase it's the most important tournament and the VAR system is still on trial so until they figure out how to best apply it they're not using it for this competition. I'm also a Dortmund fan and I'm pissed off at the referee but let's be honest, Tottenham played well and they deserved the win regardless of the mistakes.
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Well, yesterday was such a loooooong hard day but fortunately for us we have Saint Messi on our side. This was one hell of a qualifying, so many things were done wrong and I think we deserved to be left out but football is such an unpredictable sport.
And I can't believe how the US lost yeterday against Trinidad & Tobago, I still can't grasp that. I guess Klinsmann leaving really hurt the team
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Glad for you then! Even though I must confess that when you're not involved personally, I don't know if it's just me, you kinda develop a sympathy for the underdogs, and a mild amusement at the fails of the top team.
For example, I have no reason to care for Iceland but seeing them winning their own group after such a brilliant performance at the Euro Cup gave me a smile. And at the same time, nothing against Argentina of course, if they had been left out I would have had a "Ha-ha!" Nelson-esque moment.
Same thing should have Brazil failed, of course.
Anyway, it was thrilling to see such possible outcomes intertwined, these possible scenarios and triumph and defeat being so close it's one of the fascinating things of soccer.
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I totally agree, if we hadn't made it I would have rooted for Iceland and I probably will unless they have to face us
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Well, Iceland will already be one of my alternative teams to root for alongside Italy. Whenever there's a World Cup I usually pick 4-5 teams to root for - Italy, Germany (I've been there many times and I really love the atmosphere and the old timber houses) and the underdogs, like Iceland, Honduras, Trinidad and Tobago when they qualified etc, those kind of teams that you know they're doomed but you can't help cheering for them :D
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(https://i.imgur.com/RgtP5DX.jpg)
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Even though I must confess that when you're not involved personally, I don't know if it's just me, you kinda develop a sympathy for the underdogs, and a mild amusement at the fails of the top team.
It's not just you, I'm from Germany, so I root for them, but other than that I always like the underdogs to go far and I have more than mild amusement when some of the favorites stumble and fall. Or don't qualify at all, looking at you Netherlands :biggrin:.
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And I can't believe how the US lost yeterday against Trinidad & Tobago, I still can't grasp that. I guess Klinsmann leaving really hurt the team
I still can't fathom that 14 of the 23 on the roster were 30+. Like, Tim Howard is freaking 38, is that really the best goalie the US has? Looking at the two Trinidad Goals, IMO they were both entirely defendable.
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I don't even like soccer, but Taylor Twellman is my new favorite sports commentator. This is the best sports take I've heard in years.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iGllo9E-iw
And since Hitler has already been apprised of the situation, here's my second favorite rant about it...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUx8JC_lp-o
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I don't even like soccer, but Taylor Twellman is my new favorite sports commentator. This is the best sports take I've heard in years.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iGllo9E-iw
And since Hitler has already been apprised of the situation, here's my second favorite rant about it...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUx8JC_lp-o
Love the first one, not the second one. While I agree with what he says I'm more used to those being funny, not serious.
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World Cup draw in a few minutes.
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Germany group is pretty good considering the options. Can't complain. England have their work cut out against Belgium, and lol, Portugal and Spain in one group.
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Portugal, Spain and Morocco, the war of the west Mediterranean ;D
After the utter and laughable fail of Italy against Sweden I'm left without my nation, I'll root for Germany, Iceland and Denmark. Germany and Denmark for touristic reasons (especially Germany, love the country, the architecture, the many metal bands, I have friends there, I have been there many times etc), Iceland because they're the viking underdogs who surprised everyone at the Euro Cup :metal
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I totally agree, if we hadn't made it I would have rooted for Iceland and I probably will unless they have to face us
Welp, guess I won't be rooting for Iceland much :P
I think this has to be the first world cup I remember where there isn't a clear death group, all of them seem to have only 2 strong sides at most. The Poland group is a bit of a joke, same with the Russia one but all the others should be pretty interesting. I don't think we'll have it easy as Croatia has some very good players, Iceland is full of surprises and while we usually beat Nigeria in world cups (this is the 5th time we've faced them in the first round) they handed it to us a month ago in a friendly match.
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I totally agree, if we hadn't made it I would have rooted for Iceland and I probably will unless they have to face us
Welp, guess I won't be rooting for Iceland much :P
I think this has to be the first world cup I remember where there isn't a clear death group, all of them seem to have only 2 strong sides at most. The Poland group is a bit of a joke, same with the Russia one but all the others should be pretty interesting. I don't think we'll have it easy as Croatia has some very good players, Iceland is full of surprises and while we usually beat Nigeria in world cups (this is the 5th time we've faced them in the first round) they handed it to us a month ago in a friendly match.
Doesn't matter how good Croatian players are, they always blow it on final competitions. Last time they did well was WC 1998 :P
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They haven't had a decent team since then. Rakitic, Modric, Kovacic, Brozovic, Perisic, Mandzukic, Kalinic. Those are all scary name. Their defense isn't that solid which is what gives me some hope that we won't suffer much.
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I think this has to be the first world cup I remember where there isn't a clear death group, all of them seem to have only 2 strong sides at most. The Poland group is a bit of a joke, same with the Russia one but all the others should be pretty interesting. I don't think we'll have it easy as Croatia has some very good players, Iceland is full of surprises and while we usually beat Nigeria in world cups (this is the 5th time we've faced them in the first round) they handed it to us a month ago in a friendly match.
Yeah, not death group this time.. At least not in the papers..
I think the problem some of us have is that understimate the apparently weakest nations and then end up struggling with them in the match itself.. It happened to us with Iran and Bosnia in the last WC, well, also with Nigeria... so yeah, OTOH, I agree that we should be careful with all three teams..
But then again, about the Poland group, who knows, maybe that's where come out the best matches, at least of the group phase, where usually the strongest teams don't face each other and the matches are a bit predictable over all.. The Poland group, for instance, is very balanced and might be one of the most competitive in that aspect..
But, then again, who knows.. ;D
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The World Cup in the end it's 7 matches at best in a month, with half of the teams being the equivalent of third category teams from the most important european national championships.
Being in the right condition therefore is essential to make a good World Cup, Italy had a history of nobodies activating the "God mode" and being the unexpected hero of the tournament (Schillaci in 1990, Grosso in 2006, I didn't even know who the guy was and he essentially won the Cup half by himself).
Also, the mission to bring football everywhere in the world finally starts to pay off, so there are teams with zero tradition that are actually good at playing, look Costa Rica last time around for example. The divide is slowly starting to bridge.
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Also, the mission to bring football everywhere in the world finally starts to pay off, so there are teams with zero tradition that are actually good at playing, look Costa Rica last time around for example. The divide is slowly starting to bridge.
While I would love to believe this is true, there are tons of teams that have gotten a good generation of players that did good things for a couple of years but because there is no strong plan for the future end up going back to being regular/bad teams. I think it's too early to judge either Iceland or Costa Rica because of this. In the end, either Brasil, Argentina or one of the European powerhouses will win this as usual.
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World Cups are won by the depth of the roster. People *will* get injured, and if your second row isn't top quality, you're out. That's why the big guns end up winning, because they can bring 23 excellent players, not just 11.
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The World Cup hasn't really had a shock winner. Italy in 2006 weren't among the very favorites, but it was still Italy.
The European Championships has had some real shock winners - Denmark 92', Greece 04' and even Portugal in 2016 weren't among the fancied teams. Even the Copa America has been won by Chile (twice) and Columbia in recent times.
It would be really nice to have a shock or new World Cup winner for once.
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We had a new winner in 2010, but that was Spain... it was dominating everything in those years
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It would be really nice to have a shock or new World Cup winner for once.
I disagree.. It'd be way better if Argentina wins it for once instead.. :azn:
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So, in two days, the World Cup begins!
Without Italy, I'll usually go for my usual bunch of substitute teams to root for, a mix of Germany (I love the country, been there many times, I have friends there, I listen to a lot of german bands etc) and casual undergods - this time I'll root for Iceland, after they surprised everyone at the Euro Cup, and Denmark, having visited Copenhagen last year.
I also look forward to some lulz - if you can't rejoyce for your own team, you can at least find solace in the suffering of others ;D some other favorite team losing 7-1 like it happened last time would be fun.
May the best team win, and may known violent players or simulators get sidetracked by intestinal problems!
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I will be watching this very much, it's always the highlight of the year for me. I honestly don't have much faith in Sweden this time, but I hope they prove me wrong :P
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Yeah, I'm up for it. I'm hoping that Germany will play a good tournament, and I wouldn't mind them winning again :biggrin:. But I'm not sure what to think of the team. They definitely have a good team, but the results in the last games makes you wonder.
It will sure be interesting to see who else, besides the ovious teams, will perform well and who will maybe go down surprisingly early.
And how far will Russia go? Their group isn't the hardest, so advancing to the next stage should be a given, but after that it will be hard.
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I will be watching this very much, it's always the highlight of the year for me. I honestly don't have much faith in Sweden this time, but I hope they prove me wrong :P
So you're swedish? I should "hate" your team, as probably most of my connationals will do, but frankly I think that if Italy didn't manage to score a single goal in 180 minutes against Sweden, the fault is Italy's and Italy's alone, so I bear no ill against Sweden. (Altough I'll reserve that for France and Spain)
And how far will Russia go? Their group isn't the hardest, so advancing to the next stage should be a given, but after that it will be hard.
Russia's group is paired with Group B - Winner meets runner-up and the other way around. So assuming Russia either wins their group or come second, they'll either face, most likely, Portugal or Spain.
So... bye bye Russia. And it's not even winter (usually that kinda helped in previous "world cups" against Germany and France)
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I have very little faith in Argentina for this one. Our road to the world cup has been very chaotic and there have been way too many distractions. I just hope Messi can be at his godlike level when it really matters.
I wanted to have Iceland as a second option for this world cup but they've fallen in the same group as we have, so not rooting for them unless they advance to the second phase.
My candidates are Spain, Germany and Brasil. They have the strongest teams and are the ones who play best. France has a good squad but I haven't seen them play a good team game.
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When Messi's on, Argentina has a terrific and terrifying (for the opponent) offence. But I think the defense isn't as strong, but we'll see.
When France plays as a team, they can go very far, but there have already been some disturbances in the preparations for the world-cup, not sure if they are able to overcome their animosities.
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I will be watching this very much, it's always the highlight of the year for me. I honestly don't have much faith in Sweden this time, but I hope they prove me wrong :P
So you're swedish? I should "hate" your team, as probably most of my connationals will do, but frankly I think that if Italy didn't manage to score a single goal in 180 minutes against Sweden, the fault is Italy's and Italy's alone, so I bear no ill against Sweden. (Altough I'll reserve that for France and Spain)
Yeah I'm Swedish, nice to hear that you're not angry over the playoff thing :tup
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I will be watching this very much, it's always the highlight of the year for me. I honestly don't have much faith in Sweden this time, but I hope they prove me wrong :P
So you're swedish? I should "hate" your team, as probably most of my connationals will do, but frankly I think that if Italy didn't manage to score a single goal in 180 minutes against Sweden, the fault is Italy's and Italy's alone, so I bear no ill against Sweden. (Altough I'll reserve that for France and Spain)
Yeah I'm Swedish, nice to hear that you're not angry over the playoff thing :tup
I have to agree with him. That one was mostly Ventura's fault and his shitty tactics and player choices. How do you leave your best player out of the 2 most important games?
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Interesting curveball today, namely that Spain's current manager Julen Lopetegui has been announced as the new boss of Real Madrid. He'll take over after the World Cup. It'll be fascinating to see how the timing of the announcement will affect the Spanish team in the tournament.
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Just read about that. The timing seems to be awful to make the announcement but well, Real Madrid is more important than the national team...
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I think Sweden is a decent team now, better than the last few years for sure. I wouldn't write them off for a runner-up spot in their group ahead of Mexico just yet (and South Korea but I kinda expect them to go out with 0 points)
As for Russia, I would've said #3, only topping Saudi Arabia. Buuut Salah got injured in the CL final against Real Madrid, so I'm expecting Egypt to do worse than in the previous games. Russia could definitely advance to the round of 16 and (probably) face Spain :biggrin: so yeah
As a half-Dutch/half-Spanish person, I only have 1 team to root for this time around. They have gotten better recently but I still wouldn't consider Spain to be the team they were 8 years ago, they might get semi-finals but I'm not expecting more (and maybe less) than that.
One team I think would be fun to give a closer look this time is Denmark. I think with Christian Eriksen currently at the top of his game and beating teams like Poland and Mexico with some ease the last year, I think they could cause an upset, maybe advance to round of 16 and possibly quarters.
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casual undergods
I always like how the whole world roots for underdogs.
I also find it funny how England is pretty consistently rubbish, but never bad enough to be an underdog.
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They invented football and they won a World Cup. They're royalty and so is Italy, even though they failed to qualify. But yeah, they should be considered for what they are now, not for what their history said (which probably is also kinda the problem, people always expect certain teams to be favorites, while in reality they're at a low point in their history).
About Spain losing his coach after the World Cup.... I would assume that while this could hinder a season, the World Cup is a once in a life time event (ok, once in a 4 years old event, but for some it might be the last due to age, and who knows in 4 years if you'll still have a good enough carrer to be capped, or if a May injury takes you out) that the players would try to give their best no matter what.
You can screw up a season because of the coach, but no one is that masochistic to screw up a world cup just because the coach is going or is at odds with the team.
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You can screw up a season because of the coach, but no one is that masochistic to screw up a world cup just because the coach is going or is at odds with the team.
But then, almost all football players are pussies and are distracted by the slightest incident. :biggrin:
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They invented football and they won a World Cup. They're royalty and so is Italy, even though they failed to qualify. But yeah, they should be considered for what they are now, not for what their history said (which probably is also kinda the problem, people always expect certain teams to be favorites, while in reality they're at a low point in their history).
It has very little to nothing to do with the history of England in football, just the fact that they have very good (world class I'd say) players. It's just like Croatia, on the field it's always gonna be a gamble regardless of the shared quality of individual players.
Synergy is so important, like, Sweden seems to be a better team without Ibrahimovic. Obviously he was the best individual of their team, but the whole strategy was built around him and that wasn't a healthy way to perform as a team on a high level like European and global tournaments.
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Well, I daresay that whenever Ibra was playing, the whole team tactic was "Kick the ball forward, cross your fingers and hope Ibra does something", I've seen italian teams win championships that way ;D
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Does England have a complete team of world class players? They have some very good players but I think they lack the depth, same like Croatia, some high class players and then some only solid ones.
Synergy and team spirit are very important. The german team from 2014 was surely a good one but I think without the tremendous team spirit they could not have won the cup, and surely luck also played a part.
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Well, I daresay that whenever Ibra was playing, the whole team tactic was "Kick the ball forward, cross your fingers and hope Ibra does something", I've seen italian teams win championships that way ;D
Yeah they feel more like a team now without him. There was some doubts what would happen when he retired from the National Team, but they showed in the qualification rounds that there's life without him.
Right now though I am a little worried about our offense - we have played two 0-0 games in a row here against Denmark and Peru. I hope they can start scoring some goals right away in the World Cup.
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Lopetegui has been sacked. There, problem solved ;D
(But seriously - was it necessary? people announce they leave the national team after a World Cup all the time, maybe there was some behind-the-scenes stuff that displeased the federation and they booted him)
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Yeah, I just heard it and thought wtf?
Sacking the coach two days before your first match and having no real replacement at hand is definitely worse for the team than a coach that will coach another club after the championship.
But when the other teams weaken themselves I will not complain. ;D
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Who will coach Spain now? The assistant coach?
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Ill root for Uruguay and Portugal. I want to see Germany and Brazil lose. But I don't care who wins anyway.
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Who will coach Spain now? The assistant coach?
Looks like Fernando Hierro will coach them.
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In other news, after the farce that will happen in Qatar, the World Cup 2026 will be held in North America!
USA, Canada and Mexico won a joint bid. On one hand it's nice to see more countries collaborating together, but seeing, say, a match in Toronto and another one in Mexico city will feel a bit divisive. It's nice to have a coherent "theme" for the tournament, helped by the fact that after all they happen in a single country (South Korea / Japan was the exception of course).
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Spain will surely be in complete disarray now. If they get out of the group, it'll be a miracle.
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Supporting Croatia for sure but I can only hope for eight-final at best, they always fuck it up after group stage.
I'd like to see Argentina win (if Croatia doesn't and they won't :P ), I think Messi deserves it. Also, French squad looks great, they are my other favorites.
BTW is anyone interested in fantasy? If yes, join here (https://fantasy.fifa.com/) and I'll make our private league.
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If you want some spoilers, here's how the round of 16 might look like, the biggest uncertainty of course is who will win group B out of Portugal and Spain (they are paired, each team plays against the winner of the one immediately below) :
Uruguay
Portugal
France
Croatia
Brazil
Sweden
England
Senegal
=====================
Spain
Russia
Argentina
Denmark
Germany
Serbia
Colombia
Belgium
Possible quarter finals:
Portugal/Spain vs France
Brazil vs England
===========
Spain/Portugal vs Argentina
Gerrmany vs Colombia/Belgium
Semi finals:
Portugal / Spain / France VERSUS Brazil
Spain / Portugal / Argentina VERSUS Germany
Possible finals:
Spain (or Portugal) vs Germany
Argentina vs Brazil
Argentina vs Spain (o Portugal)
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Okay USA, so you'd like to build a wall to keep the mexicans out, but you have no problem hosting a world-cup with them?
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Spain will surely be in complete disarray now. If they get out of the group, it'll be a miracle.
That's a pretty skewed perception of the term 'miracle'? I mean, it definitely hurts them, but I don't think Morocco and Iran are teams they have no chance of beating.
Also the idea of letting the whole of North America host it seems stupid. Does that mean all 3 (Canada, US, Mexico) get first seed spots in the tournament?? We have had tournaments with 2 average first seed spots, but 3 (one of which, Canada, is waaay below average) seems absolutely ridiculous.
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I'm in for this, kinda just curious how much Russia would suck. My bet is a lot, won't get out of the group for sure.
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Wow! Biggest tournament in world football's just started and no talk here during the game?
Russia didn't suck tonight, that's for sure...OK, Saudi Arabia aren't exactly high-calibre opposition, but you've still got to do the job on the night.
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Russia played well, but like you said, it was just Saudi Arabia.
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Okay USA, so you'd like to build a wall to keep the mexicans out, but you have no problem hosting a world-cup with them?
Oh boy.....
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Not commenting on the current World Cup, because, well... yawn. But I will say here and now I really do not want the PNW hosting a game in 2024, though I feel this possibility is small. But it would be interesting to see what soccer officials and the local government would do to hide the massive drug-induced vagrant population here from the media.
Okay USA, so you'd like to build a wall to keep the mexicans out, but you have no problem hosting a world-cup with them?
Not sure most Americans want to host the World Cup, with out without our neighbors to the north and south. I bet most US sports fans aren't even aware the 2024 World Cup will be held here.
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Not commenting on the current World Cup, because, well... yawn. But I will say here and now I really do not want the PNW hosting a game in 2024, though I feel this possibility is small. But it would be interesting to see what soccer officials and the local government would do to hide the massive drug-induced vagrant population here from the media.
Okay USA, so you'd like to build a wall to keep the mexicans out, but you have no problem hosting a world-cup with them?
Not sure most Americans want to host the World Cup, with out without our neighbors to the north and south. I bet most US sports fans aren't even aware the 2024 World Cup will be held here.
Yeah, especially when it's the 2026 World Cup :biggrin:
I'm 98.3 percent sure that CenturyLink Field will be hosting at least one match.
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I've just realised it's a similar situation to Brazil. They hosted the World Cup in 2014 followed by the Rio Olympics of 2016. USA will co-host the 2026 World Cup before LA hosts the 2028 Olympics.
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Tonight Portugal vs Spain. Go Ronaldo Go :metal
And the 2024 WC would be more like "USA ft.", since 60 of the 80 matches will be played in the USA, and only a handful in Canada and Mexico.
Maybe if they didn't insist on pushing the number of teams to 48, USA could have hosted all the matches.
Still, it won't suck as much as in Qatar. That is gonna be the worst WC ever.
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Tonight Portugal vs Spain. Go Ronaldo Go :metal
Oh yeah, I'm definitely going to watch that one. Didn't care for the opening game yesterday though.
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Egypt - Uruguay is pretty exciting so far, Egypt are playing better than I expected without Salah on the field
But I'm really just looking forward to Spain - Portugal tonight
EDIT: Wondering, does anyone know why the crowd is constantly whistling as soon as Uruguay takes over possession? I know there's a dislike for Suarez, but does the entire squad have a bad rap because of him now?
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Geez, 2 days without coming here and a lot has happened.
Lopetegui has been sacked. There, problem solved ;D
(But seriously - was it necessary? people announce they leave the national team after a World Cup all the time, maybe there was some behind-the-scenes stuff that displeased the federation and they booted him)
I talked about this with my friends. Lopetegui had agreed to extend his contract with Spain about a month ago and now this happens? I can see why they sacked him. How can you trust a guy like that? It's also a message to Madrid that they can't be more important than the national team.
casual undergods
I always like how the whole world roots for underdogs.
I also find it funny how England is pretty consistently rubbish, but never bad enough to be an underdog.
You guys have good players but the national team coaching choices have been pretty bad for a while. I feel like the team has been trying to play premier league football at an international level and that doesn't translate too well.
Spain (or Portugal) vs Germany
Argentina vs Brazil
Argentina vs Spain (o Portugal)
Thanks for the support but I highly doubt it. I don't trust our midfield.
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EDIT: Wondering, does anyone know why the crowd is constantly whistling as soon as Uruguay takes over possession? I know there's a dislike for Suarez, but does the entire squad have a bad rap because of him now?
That's interesting and to be honest I have no idea. Maybe it is because of Suarez and what happened at the last world cup.
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I think because of Suarez and I read somewhere that there are much more fans from Egypt than from Uruguay in the stadium (no wonder concerning the distances).
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I have never laughed for such a long period of time straight about a football game/moment before that 94th minute of Iran - Morocco, that must be one of the most hilarious goals ever, given the stakes of the game, the minute of the game, and the fact that this was a substitute player.
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I'm at work and not watching, but I heard it was ridiculous
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Here we go. Best match of the group stage. :metal
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BS call. Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!
F Ronaldo
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That's what my friends are telling me too. Why do you implement VAR if it's not going to overturn BS calls?
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That's what my friends are telling me too. Why do you implement VAR if it's not going to overturn BS calls?
Agree.
It was a real bad call
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I have no horse in this world cup as I am American of Italian descent.
I like the way Spain plays, and would love to see Messi and Argentina do well. But I think this is Germany's cup. They are a machine
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Just watched a video. I can't conclusively say whether it was a penalty or not. There is contact and even if Cristiano is looking for Nacho's leg, Nacho was late to that play.
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There is contact and even if Cristiano is looking for Nacho's leg, Nacho was late to that play.
Exactly. I think it was a right call.
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WOW. Costa............... What a game already
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what a first half. great game
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As a Spaniard, I thought the penalty call was fair. I think Spain were in control of pretty much the whole game (and wow, that 1-1!), but that late first half goal may have lost enough momentum to get back into the game.
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Ronaldo owns everyone :metal
Very entertaining first half! Spain's goal was great too. On the second goal Spain's goalkeeper had a Kariusism ;D
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Portugal is trying to shut them down at midfield. Spain needs to play their passing game.
As a soccer fan, a great game so far. What makes the World Cup so great.
I rewatched the Ronaldo penalty. Tough call, but in hindsight I can see why they called the penalty.
Agree on the brain fart by De Gea.
Hope the second half is as good.
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On the second goal Spain's goalkeeper had a Kariusism ;D
Unbelievable.
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2-2 Costa!
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LOL. Costa again. Holy shit. What a goal and game.
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Nacho!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What a goal. Holy crap................................... WHAT A GAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :hefdaddy
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Unbelievable.
You can say that again.. this game :metal :metal
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Blows my mind that these two teams have to play each other first and Russia got handed a cupcake opponent.
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Blows my mind that these two teams have to play each other first and Russia got handed a cupcake opponent.
One strange rule they have in the world cup is that the host gets put in the first seed group automatically, so almost all of the time, group A is a very weak one relatively, like this year with Uruguay and Russia as the equivalents to Spain and Portugal
Saudi Arabia is 4th seed so they're the equivalent to I think Iran of group B, all groups have fairly weak teams honestly
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you would think this was a world cup final
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Blows my mind that these two teams have to play each other first and Russia got handed a cupcake opponent.
One strange rule they have in the world cup is that the host gets put in the first seed group automatically, so almost all of the time, group A is a very weak one relatively, like this year with Uruguay and Russia as the equivalents to Spain and Portugal
Saudi Arabia is 4th seed so they're the equivalent to I think Iran of group B, all groups have fairly weak teams honestly
Except when the Host is a good team. Last time Brazil got an interesting group with Croatia and Mexico in it.
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Blows my mind that these two teams have to play each other first and Russia got handed a cupcake opponent.
One strange rule they have in the world cup is that the host gets put in the first seed group automatically, so almost all of the time, group A is a very weak one relatively, like this year with Uruguay and Russia as the equivalents to Spain and Portugal
Saudi Arabia is 4th seed so they're the equivalent to I think Iran of group B, all groups have fairly weak teams honestly
Exactly right.
But after all is said and done, usually the best teams get out of the group stage. Then the singles games are brutal
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Blows my mind that these two teams have to play each other first and Russia got handed a cupcake opponent.
One strange rule they have in the world cup is that the host gets put in the first seed group automatically, so almost all of the time, group A is a very weak one relatively, like this year with Uruguay and Russia as the equivalents to Spain and Portugal
Saudi Arabia is 4th seed so they're the equivalent to I think Iran of group B, all groups have fairly weak teams honestly
Except when the Host is a good team. Last time Brazil got an interesting group with Croatia and Mexico in it.
Yeah that's what I meant with almost, but The Trooper is also right, it's not that big of a deal to me as most of the knock-out games are great match-ups anyway, even with teams like Costa Rica last world cup in the quarter finals, they came so far that they have proven that they are worthy at that time and can still put up great games against the big teams.
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Agree with Train.
Spain has this one tho. Portugal is wasted from chasing Spains passing.
lol ok scratch that. F'n Ronaldo,
I am not a fan of Ronaldo but all I will say is ............................... maybe the greatest ever.
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He did it again
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And I hate how FIFA sets this up. I would select the top 32 teams in the world.....or 31 and the host but even then I'd have the hotbeds hosting.
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Despite a great goal by Ronaldo, De Gea did another brain fart on that.
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And I hate how FIFA sets this up. I would select the top 32 teams in the world.....or 31 and the host but even then I'd have the hotbeds hosting.
I tend o agree, but it comes down to $$$$$$$$$$$$$.
The greatest financial and most attended world cup was in the United states in 1994, FIFA is a business, So money talks.
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As a fan of soccer for over 40 years (yea I am old at 51), I love the game. This was a great game.
One of the greatest games in World Cup history
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And I hate how FIFA sets this up. I would select the top 32 teams in the world.....or 31 and the host but even then I'd have the hotbeds hosting.
I tend o agree, but it comes down to $$$$$$$$$$$$$.
The greatest financial and most attended world cup was in the United states in 1994, FIFA is a business, So money talks.
I think they'd make more money if they had a legitimate tournament..... bribes and other bs non-withstanding.
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CR7 is a beast.
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CR7 is a beast.
The best of the world. He won at Manchester UTD, he won at Real Madrid, he won an Euro Cup while injured, and he always, always scores when needed.
I'd love to see a Portugal vs Argentina final for the ultimate Ronaldo vs Messi showdown - that could happen in the quarter finals if Portugal wins the group, or only in the final if Portugal comes second. Actually for Portugal it looks like it might be a little less difficult to qualify as second teams rather than winners, the winner gets Argentina in the quarter finals and likely Germany in the semifinals. The second of the group has France and Brazil instead. Of course this is all based on speculation and assuming the top teams will do their job.
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CR7 is an incredible player, but I hate those one-man shows. The rest of the Portugal team is just a backdrop to Ronaldo. I'm obviously biased, but that's what I liked about Germany winning last time; it was a wholly collective effort, with no person particularly standing out.
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CR7 is an incredible player, but I hate those one-man shows. The rest of the Portugal team is just a backdrop to Ronaldo. I'm obviously biased, but that's what I liked about Germany winning last time; it was a wholly collective effort, with no person particularly standing out.
Well, maybe I'll be biased on this as well, but if you want the ultimate collective effort, look at Italy in 2006: not the favorites, plagued by corruption scandals that would send the top team into the lower category, in every match scored always a different player with the top scorers being a forward and a kinda dickish defender with only 2 goals each, and the most crucial man (wonderful goal against Germany and decisive penalty against France in the final) was mr. "Who the hell is this guy and which team does he even play in".
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True, true. With the only caveat that I FUCKING HATE ITALY :lol
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Why's everyone moaning about the World Cup featuring teams from all over the world? That's how it should be. If it was the "best" 32 teams, it would be the Europe/South America Cup, not the WORLD Cup. I bet young fans from so-called smaller countries will be inspired seeing their team go out and play on the world stage, even if it's just for the 3 games of the group stage. Every team who is there has earned the right to be there.
Anyway, in more positive news, today's the big bumper day! FOUR games, no less! Games kicking off at 11:00, 2:00, 5:00 and 8:00 UK time! A bumper feast of the beautiful game!
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Great Cup so far! Can't wait to see how well my Croatians will do against Nigeria. They are objectively better, I hope they don't play like shit as they did in friendly match against Senegal last week. Also will be checking France (one of my favorites) and Argentina today. Peru vs Denmark might be good match as well but I'll probably be out around that time.
About Cristiano... I don't want to sound like hater but I still think he isn't that good of a player to be called best in the world. I mean, he scored 3 last night and that freekick was piece of art, impossible to stop but he didn't do that good. Even in Real Madrid, he is mostly just waiting for goal. Yes, he has unbelievable power and nose for goal but he's not one to take a ball and do something with it, create chances for his team mates. And I think the best player in the world should be able to do that.
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Yeah i feel the same, he is a good player that gets his job as a striker done, but he didn't really create plays/chances, unlike Isco, Iniesta and Costa did this game. Still though, really good striker but would never call him the best in the world
Croatia are one of my favourite teams to watch, but Nigeria is one of the teams I kind of predicted as a country to cause an upset, they do generally perform pretty well in the world cup and are in good shape. Thinking they might even get a point against the now fairly vulnerable Argentina too
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Behold the mighty Iceland!!!! :metal awesome debut in the World Cup!
Ronaldo, 3 goals against SPAIN.... Messi, one missed penalty against Iceland :biggrin:
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Why's everyone moaning about the World Cup featuring teams from all over the world? That's how it should be. If it was the "best" 32 teams, it would be the Europe/South America Cup, not the WORLD Cup. I bet young fans from so-called smaller countries will be inspired seeing their team go out and play on the world stage, even if it's just for the 3 games of the group stage. Every team who is there has earned the right to be there.
Completely agree! :tup
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Yeah i feel the same, he is a good player that gets his job as a striker done, but he didn't really create plays/chances, unlike Isco, Iniesta and Costa did this game. Still though, really good striker but would never call him the best in the world
I disagree to a point. What gets remembered more than anything is how many goals you score, not how many chances you create for others to score. It's a team game, yes, but individual performances stand out.
It's impossible to determine a single greatest player of all time across all of football. Club and international football are two different beasts. Ronaldo scored as many goals in one game last night as he did in the previous three World Cups. Last night was the first time he really stamped his mark on a single World Cup game, after 12 years of trying.
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What I was saying was yes, Ronaldo was the person that stood out the most last game, so I was with you on that, but he didnt have the best performance on the field. I am not looking at who gets remembered more, but who were/could have been the best players of the game/tournament. There are a couple quantifiable factors you could use to measure someones performance, but in the end it comes down to who 'feels' like they had the best performance. If you still think that's Ronaldo, that's fair cause he honestly had a good game without a doubt, I just think several players on the Spanish side had a better game than he did.
I also don't think the relative improvement to his history in the World Cup should be a factor, I don't think players are better than they are just because their performance in the previous tournament was sub-par.
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Iceland draws against Argentina, Denmark defeats Peru. Go nordic countries go! :metal
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Fun fact I just noticed: not a single European team has lost in the 2018 world cup thus far
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Iceland - Argentina was awesome, Denmark - Peru... not so much. Peru really screwed up there by not scoring at any of the 100 chances they had in the last half hour. Argentina was just playing badly and not showing any interesting strategies whatsoever; it seems their focus is on Messi only, which can hardly be a good way to actually win a game.
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Argentina was just playing badly and not showing any interesting strategies whatsoever; it seems their focus is on Messi only, which can hardly be a good way to actually win a game.
Especially when Messi isn't decisive as Ronaldo. The game passes through Messi's feet.... they all close in around him and nothing happens. If Dybala and Higuain would have been on the field as well, they can't chase around them as well.
Hell, even Wolverine attracted all the attention on himself so that Beast could defeat Magneto in an X-Men movie, just have someone else good at doing mayhem in the area there if Messi is inevitabily surrounded by defenders.
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Not an ounce of interest in soccer! More boring than watching regular season baseball.
Sometimes like 4 hrs of running around and no one scores . Basketball you have a ball that's a couple inches smaller than the hoop , all you use is your hands and they throw it in all night long , from anywhere, no problem ... Soccer you have a ball close to the size of a basketball, you have to get it in a goal as big as a 2 car garage , you can use everything except your hands, and yet no one gets it in there for hours if at all...
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Not an ounce of interest in soccer! More boring than watching regular season baseball.
Sometimes like 4 hrs of running around and no one scores . Basketball you have a ball that's a couple inches smaller than the hoop , all you use is your hands and they throw it in all night long , from anywhere, no problem ... Soccer you have a ball close to the size of a basketball, you have to get it in a goal as big as a 2 car garage , you can use everything except your hands, and yet no one gets it in there for hours if at all...
That's why a soccer goal is about a hundred times more exciting than a made shot in basketball.
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Not an ounce of interest in soccer! More boring than watching regular season baseball.
Sometimes like 4 hrs of running around and no one scores . Basketball you have a ball that's a couple inches smaller than the hoop , all you use is your hands and they throw it in all night long , from anywhere, no problem ... Soccer you have a ball close to the size of a basketball, you have to get it in a goal as big as a 2 car garage , you can use everything except your hands, and yet no one gets it in there for hours if at all...
Uhhhh what?? :lol
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Denmark/Peru was great today! That play by play guy was awesome, and seeing Peru miss on so many great chances made for some great drama.
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El Tri looking very good...
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El Tri looking very good...
FUK YEAH
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El Tri looking very good...
FUK YEAH
I'm off today, but I'd imagine absolutely dick is getting done in the kitchen right now :rollin
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Mexico!
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Awwwwwwwwww yeah!!!!! Hell of a win for Mexico!!
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Germany - Mexico was a treat
Not that I like to see Germany lose, because I think they're a great team, but Mexico completely killed them in the first half. Their second half playing was good, but it wasn't enough (obviously). This will make for a very interesting group.
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This is history. Germany had not lost an opening match since the 80s.
Mexico is going nuts right now.
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Not an ounce of interest in soccer! More boring than watching regular season baseball.
Sometimes like 4 hrs of running around and no one scores . Basketball you have a ball that's a couple inches smaller than the hoop , all you use is your hands and they throw it in all night long , from anywhere, no problem ... Soccer you have a ball close to the size of a basketball, you have to get it in a goal as big as a 2 car garage , you can use everything except your hands, and yet no one gets it in there for hours if at all...
And you really felt you had to barge in here and say that? Really?!! :facepalm:
Great result for Mexico! Shows Germany won't have it all their way this time round. Now let's see how Brazil, another apparent favourite for the tournament, do against Switzerland.
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Way to let my german flag being unused :lol
Well, it's not that Germany didn't try, but Mexico did all they had to do against them. A well deserved win!
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This is history. Germany had not lost an opening match since the 80s.
Mexico is going nuts right now.
I can only imagine, part of me is bummed I'm not with the vatos at work. Congrats bro, arriba!!!
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Not an ounce of interest in soccer! More boring than watching regular season baseball.
Sometimes like 4 hrs of running around and no one scores . Basketball you have a ball that's a couple inches smaller than the hoop , all you use is your hands and they throw it in all night long , from anywhere, no problem ... Soccer you have a ball close to the size of a basketball, you have to get it in a goal as big as a 2 car garage , you can use everything except your hands, and yet no one gets it in there for hours if at all...
And you really felt you had to barge in here and say that? Really?!! :facepalm:
I rarely agree with you, man, but these were my exact thoughts when I saw that post. :lol
I skipped Germany - Mexico thinking that would be a cakewalk for Germany. Shows how much I actually know.
Guess I'll watch England playing tomorrow, the other two games don't look that interesting.
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Well that was shit. Mexico sure deserved the win. Now I fear Germany takes the same route of the last couple of defending world champions and not make it out of the group stage.
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Well, none of the so-called "big teams" have shown up in their opening matches.
France won, but only just.
Brazil, Argentina and Spain drew against sides they should probably be beating.
Germany, defending champions, lost to Mexico.
I know these are only the first games, but this World Cup is anyone's for the taking.
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For comparison: all the top 4 of Brazil 2014 won their debut match.
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The celebration of Mexico's goal caused an earthquake in Mexico City...
https://nypost.com/2018/06/17/mexicos-world-cup-goal-shakes-soccer-and-the-earth/ (https://nypost.com/2018/06/17/mexicos-world-cup-goal-shakes-soccer-and-the-earth/)
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I know these are only the first games, but this World Cup is anyone's for the taking.
I had to work yesterday and missed the last 2 games of the day, so bummed! :-[ but this quote is what makes me so excited for this year's world cup.
If we've learned anything from the past few tournaments, it is that the first game of a world cup isn't always extremely indicative of a team's performance for the rest of the cup. Buuut it definitely made things more interesting that literally none of the big teams have gotten the performance that they would be satisfied with (I'd assume, I mean, I don't think France was even too satisfied with that game against Australia even though they did get away with 3 points).
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Too early to tell after one match, but... if Mexico does well and Germany finishes second in the group, it's Brazil vs Germany at the round of 16. Assuming Brazil can win their group.
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It certainly means the big teams absolutely must step up in the next games in order to save themselves from the embarrassment of failing to make it out of their group. Next round of games will be absolutely critical.
Meanwhile, I'd like to apologise in advance...we've put it off as long as we can...but I'm afraid England are playing tonight.
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So when all the big ones fail, this may be England's chance.
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Assuming Brazil can win their group.
After that wonderful tie against Switzerland (which, admittedly, wasn't really justified - a 2-1 win would have been the logical conclusion), I'm not exactly sure they can. Switzerland didn't play brilliantly, though they were good at holding off Brazil, but Brazil lacked some serious finishing power.
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Watching the Sweden game at work right now (I have two monitors at my desk).
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Kind of a meh game. Sweden needs these 3 points in the game
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We didn't play a great game at all, but we got 3 points which was what we needed. I just really hope the players will grow for the next game cause Forsberg was invisible and our strikers are below par for what you would expect in a world cup.
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Throwing it out there: how would you solve the penalties dilemma? it's often said that it's unfair and too much random that penalty shoot outs can decide a final, be it a World Cup or even a Champions League one, and there are possible alternatives on how to avoid penalties.
What would you do?
As for me, as wacky as it might sound, I'd have after the extra time the game going on, but with one player less. Each time an action ends for whatever reason, each time takes off another player, making it 9 against 9, 8 against 8 and so on. The list of how players should go out should be decided beforehand. Eventually you're left with just the goalkeeper and most likely an attacker, and the first one who scores wins.
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Belgium needs to step up and put this team away.
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If there has ever been a tournament for England to shine it's this one, ANYTHING GOES
Seriously, this is turning out like the most exciting world cup I've witnessed, if any of the later games will be this close/unpredictable
I expected Belgium to be disappointing because of their form lately, but come on it's fucking Panama, what's going on.
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Throwing it out there: how would you solve the penalties dilemma? it's often said that it's unfair and too much random that penalty shoot outs can decide a final, be it a World Cup or even a Champions League one, and there are possible alternatives on how to avoid penalties.
What would you do?
As for me, as wacky as it might sound, I'd have after the extra time the game going on, but with one player less. Each time an action ends for whatever reason, each time takes off another player, making it 9 against 9, 8 against 8 and so on. The list of how players should go out should be decided beforehand. Eventually you're left with just the goalkeeper and most likely an attacker, and the first one who scores wins.
That would totally devolve into a circus on the pitch. The ref would constantly have to interrupt the game to send two players off.
But, on the topic of rule changes, I don't know what the solution is, but I wish "parking the bus" wasn't such a viable strategy. It robs the game off any nice buildup and goals either happen on a fast counter, or as a result of clusterfucks with 20 people in the box.
EDIT: Maybe something like that defenders aren't allowed to be in the other half, and the same for strikers.
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I'd get rid of extra time full stop and go straight to penalties after 90 minutes. If they can't settle it in 90, they deserve the "lottery"...
1-0 Belgium
...of the penalty shootout.
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The coach of Panama is such a mess :lol in the 60th minute he used 2 of his substitutes to swap offensively while behind 1-0, with THIRTY MINUTES REMAINING
not saying Panama had much of a chance, but if you want to go full offense and your team looks as exhausted as Panama's does, I'd not do it two-thirds into the game when you are clearly the inferior side. Wouldn't surprise me if Belgium score 1 or 2 more within the last 12 minutes.
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SOLID second have by Belgium. They are going to be a team to be reckoned with.
Bring on the England game next
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But, on the topic of rule changes, I don't know what the solution is, but I wish "parking the bus" wasn't such a viable strategy. It robs the game off any nice buildup and goals either happen on a fast counter, or as a result of clusterfucks with 20 people in the box.
EDIT: Maybe something like that defenders aren't allowed to be in the other half, and the same for strikers.
Well, one could counter argue by saying that if you have enough supplies to last for months, why you shouldn't wait out the siege hidden away in your castle rather than meeting the invading army in the open field? because a battle is funnier than a siege? :lol
Ok, maybe the example is a bit extreme, but you have to manage with what you have. Is it boring? yes. Is it annoying when lesser teams from the get-go play for a scoreless draw since it's the best case scenario? hell yeah. But I don't fault Iceland for example for clinging to a more than precious draw against Argentina. "Live to fight another day" applies also to football.
About penalties, after reading an article about possible changes, I've changed my mind. I like the proposed idea of having the penalties BEFORE extra time, and use the penalties as tiebreaker only if a team doesn't win in the extra time. Sure, this is definitively the mother of all bus parking situations, but hey, on the other hand you'd see a team attack with nothing left to lose, and if you fared better at penalties, you should be allowed to play to keep the draw.
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Wow! England really put us through the wringer tonight! I mean, they really should have done better with the first-half chances they created; should easily have been 4-0 up at half-time. And absolutely ridiculous officiating! The push on Kane in the Tunisia penalty box was tons worse than what actually gave Tunisia the penalty up the other end. Anyway, a win's a win, and that's England's first win at a World Cup in 8 years. Hopefully they can get a result against Panama on Sunday and not have to rely on getting one against Belgium in the final game.
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having my morning coffee with Columbia and japan.
wow Japan 1-0
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Fun game so far
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So, a dude from Japan and another one from Tunisia can score a penalty in the World Cup, but Messi can't? :lol
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:mehlin
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wow this world cup has been entertaining. @ games today that are fun that I NEVER expected to be,
Looking forward to Russia v Egypt
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I had to miss every single game yesterday and it seems like I missed some of the most exciting games :lol after Spain, Colombia is probably my favourite team to root for so this was kinda sad, but my bro told me they played pretty good for a 10-man team so I haven't lost all hope yet.
Russia though, 6 points, wow! Albeit against a clearly inferior country and one that hasn't been in the world cup for decades (?), this WC has proven that it's not that easy to secure points against average teams when the pressure is on.
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Now watch Russia win the whole thing
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Now every team has played at least once and the big teams didn't really convince in their first match. Sadly, worst of all was Germany :(.
Belgium had one good half against Panama and England wasn't bad, but both have to show they can play well against stronger opponents too.
Now watch Russia win the whole thing
Good for Russia to win their two games and to get out of the first round, but I'm still not convinced that they will go far.
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Now watch Russia win the whole thing
If only the World Cup was held in winter...
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Not all football fans are hooligans:
World Cup: Japan fans impress by cleaning up stadium
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-44492611 (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-44492611)
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Now watch Russia win the whole thing
If only the World Cup was held in winter...
You know Russia take a three-month break in their domestic league during the winter, right?
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That was a history joke.
Can't think of at least a couple of situations which involved Russia and winter, and things going absolutely horribly for everyone else except the russians? :D
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Time for Portugal now, let's see if Ronaldo will score again.
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Should be a good game. Morocco is a decent team.
My bud Tony Meola is calling the game on tv here in the States
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LOL did not take long for Ronaldo :mehlin
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:lol
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Of all the people in the world to guard on a restart you do not cover Ronaldo? Huge brain fart by Morocco
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What a shame for Morocco. Totally outplayed Portugal and last game against Iran. Solid team that will be going home. Fun team to watch
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"Only" 1-0 for Portugal? that's gonna be a big incentive for Spain to try to win from 2-0 upward and do better for the goal difference.
Unless Iran.......... :hat
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True. Morocco totally outplayed Portugal. Wonder if Spain took a lot out of them. Will be interesting to see how Spain plays.
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So Spain didn't get the chance to move upward because of goal difference... now they'll face Morocco who'll play only for the honor, while Portugal will face Iran with nothing to lose and the knowledge that if they pull the performance of a lifetime, they qualify.
All of this to go against Russia or Uruguay in the round of 16.
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Both Spain and Portugal slacking against teams we thought they should have no trouble beating. At this point, I can still see Iran sneaking in a 2nd place spot if they play like I was told they did at the end of the Spain game (unfortunately didnt see it so cant judge for myself).
France was kinda disappointing, cant believe i predicted them as the runner-up of the entire tournament :lol
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France just seemed bored. Peru played their hearts out.
Next up Messi and Argentina.
So far there has not been a team that feels like they want the Cup.
I feel bad for teams like Iran, Morocco & Peru. These are solid teams that play like they want to win yet they are basically out
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France seemed super unimpressive tbh.
Gonna catch Iceland game tomorrow in a bar (and maybe the next game as well depending on how long I'll be there), hopefully they'll do well.
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So far there has not been a team that feels like they want the Cup.
I've got to agree with this. So far it could be anyone's cup. France, while unimpressive, gets the job done. They have a very solid defense and so much talent in offense that they compensate for the lack of game-playing. I think they could be the ones to get this.
I'm also expecting the German machinery to start working properly soon.
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So far there has not been a team that feels like they want the Cup.
I've got to agree with this. So far it could be anyone's cup. France, while unimpressive, gets the job done. They have a very solid defense and so much talent in offense that they compensate for the lack of game-playing. I think they could be the ones to get this.
I'm also expecting the German machinery to start working properly soon.
I'm afraid my poor fellow countrymen will stand in the way of the German Panzerwagen on Saturday. :(
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So far there has not been a team that feels like they want the Cup.
I think Mexico made it pretty fucking clear what their intentions were.
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Argentina looks dreadful again.
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Did Karius became general trainer of all the goalkeepers of the World Cup or something?
Anyway, I hoped for some lulz, and teh lulz arrived.
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I would like to say it was good while it lasted, but it wasn't. This is a fucking disgrace.
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I just watched the 3-0 and I lol'd. Nothing against Argentina, as I said before, it's always nice to have some lulz in the World Cup.
Now Iceland must win tomorrow!!!! :metal
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Ouch, I thought that Argentina would have trouble with Croatia but didn't expect it to be like this.
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:rollin :rollin :rollin
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Yea that was just a big fail! :lol
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A couple of nice goals aside, I thought today's games were very underwhelming.
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I feel absolutely dreadful for Messi. This Argentina team is absolutely a shadow of their former selves that reached the final in 2014, and even that side was quite flawed. It's borderline embarrassing... the potential greatest player of all time only getting ~20 touches in the opponent's half is downright shambolic-- there's no creativity, no service, and not even a semblance of team chemistry. Sampaoli and his coaching staff should be ashamed for fielding one of the weakest midfield formations that Argentina has ever fielded. Ugh, I am just so disappointed.
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What a disgraceful Argentinian team today. I saw messi coming down on the first line to receive the ball from the defenders because there was no midfield whatsoever. We asked for Pavon and Dybala, they came in, the team still sucked. This just shows that the problem is deeper: The team doesn't know what style suits them, and Sampaoli is improvising.
Let's see how Colombia fares on sunday with Poland.
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Totally unrelated to the World Cup, I just picked up tickets to a Mexican league friendly up in Sacramento between Morelia and Tiujana (my team, kinda hard to work with Mexicans for 30 years and not get neck deep in their sport). Should be quite an experience.
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Why people talk of team that lost like they handed it to Croatia by scoring three own goals? Even first goal Caballero fucked up wasn't that easy to score. Also, in studio on BBC someone (maybe even Fabregas) said better keeper would stop Modrić's goal, not giving him or any other player any credit. Yes, Argentina was really bad but so they were against Iceland and they still dominated despite tge score.
BTW I was on main square in Zagreb last night during the match, big screen was there, it was really fun :biggrin:
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Did Karius became general trainer of all the goalkeepers of the World Cup or something?
Anyway, I hoped for some lulz, and teh lulz arrived.
Karius should sue them all for plagiarism.
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DAMN! I was already savoring another lulz, made sweeter by Neymar being outed worldwide as a cheater, and then Brazil scores.
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And then Neymar himself adds a second.
Two things I don't like about football: 1, cheating and 2, how a team can play abysmally and not deserve to win, but somehow they do.
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Football is a metaphor for life. Life ain't fair and neither is football.
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Very interesting game lol.
Lets go Iceland in a bit.
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And then Neymar himself adds a second.
Two things I don't like about football: 1, cheating and 2, how a team can play abysmally and not deserve to win, but somehow they do.
I think Brazil didn't play well, but they completely outplayed Costa Rica and had 22 shots on goal, whereas CR had only 3. I'm not sure if Brazil really didn't deserve the win.
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It should be quite obvious to anyone that followed the game that Brazil deserved the win more than Costa Rica. Neither team really impressed me though, but that's pretty much become the recurring theme of the 2018 World Cup by now.
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Pretty exciting game right now. :tup
Rooting for Iceland but that was a nice goal!
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Pretty exciting game right now. :tup
Rooting for Iceland but that was a nice goal!
Same here
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Well deserved win for Nigeria, they pretty much owned the second half. Still feel bad for Iceland.
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Well that's blown Group D wide open, and makes Nigeria vs Argentina an incredibly tantalising clash now. Winner of that qualifies, but if they draw and Iceland beat Croatia, it'll come down to goal difference between Nigeria and Iceland.
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Well that's blown Group D wide open, and makes Nigeria vs Argentina an incredibly tantalising clash now. Winner of that qualifies, but if they draw and Iceland beat Croatia, it'll come down to goal difference between Nigeria and Iceland.
Is goal difference next after points? I had the impression it was results between the teams before goal difference, but that might well be either out of date or in fact entirely different competition!
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Well that's blown Group D wide open, and makes Nigeria vs Argentina an incredibly tantalising clash now. Winner of that qualifies, but if they draw and Iceland beat Croatia, it'll come down to goal difference between Nigeria and Iceland.
Is goal difference next after points? I had the impression it was results between the teams before goal difference, but that might well be either out of date or in fact entirely different competition!
It's goal difference, then goals scored, then head-to-head record.
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If I were Croatia I'd totally lose on purpose against Iceland and watch three teams fight to the death for one slot. Or, for the right to be defeated by France in the round of 16.
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wow what a brain fart by Serbia
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If I were Croatia I'd totally lose on purpose against Iceland and watch three teams fight to the death for one slot. Or, for the right to be defeated by France in the round of 16.
You really think France would beat Croatia in the last 16? They barely got past Australia.
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Well, you can pencil Mexico into the round of 16...
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Go Sweden but yea seems like Germany has the game so far. Luckily our defense seems to be on alert. Cautiously optimistic so far. :D
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Welp the german machinery is on full throttle and Sweden barely hangs on, this last 20mins are going to feel like an hour. :omg:
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:censored
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Lol yea that last free kick was just brutal. :omg: Feels tough but congrats Germany!
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Boah, I'm too old for this kind of game. That was brutal, but that freekick was a thing of beauty.
Glad Germany won in the end, but at the same time kinda sad for Sweden. Now if they defeat Mexico and Germany beats South Korea you have three teams with six points.
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Germany got out of jail big time.
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If I were Croatia I'd totally lose on purpose against Iceland and watch three teams fight to the death for one slot. Or, for the right to be defeated by France in the round of 16.
You really think France would beat Croatia in the last 16? They barely got past Australia.
France and Croatia are gonna win their respective groups and therefore they won't meet. The winner of France's group will meet the second of Croatia's group and the other way around.
And Germany.... well, I see they didn't lose the habit of entering Russia as favorites, and then having a hell of a hard time :D
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11 goals in the two games so far today. England very emphatic, but conceding the Panama goal means they are level with Belgium on points, goal difference, goals scored and goals conceded. They top the group on Fair Play rankings, having one fewer yellow card than Belgium.
That means if England and Belgium draw, and England get one more yellow card than Belgium, lots will need to be drawn to determine who finishes top of the group.
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Yeah, they really shouldn't have taken that goal. Way to screw up even if you win (up until that point) 6-0 :biggrin:
Tonight Polonia vs Columbia, let's see if one gets surprisingly eliminated!
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So, today we begin to get serious, group A and B will have their winners and their eliminated teams.
Here's an updated prediction of how the round of 16 might shape up:
Uruguay (maybe Russia)
Portugal
France
Argentina (or Nigeria or Iceland)
-----------
Brazil
Germany
England (maybe Belgium)
Senegal (or Japan or Colombia)
====================
Spain
Russia (maybe Uruguay)
Croatia
Denmark
-----------
Mexico
Switzerland
Colombia (or Japan or Senegal)
Belgium (maybe England)
Urugay and Russia play before Portugal and Spain, so they can't know which is better, to arrive first or second.
Spain is most likely to win their group, they face an eliminated Morocco while Iran will fight to the last breath against Portugal.
Argentina and Germany are not doomed, but they won't be able to win their groups (unless Germany trashes South Korea and Mexico loses 1-0 against Sweden).
England vs Belgium is a toss, and so the situation of Colombia's group.
Basically thanks to the missteps of Argentina and Germany, Spain has the road to the final relatively unchallenged if they win their group. Maybe England should try and doge a bullet and lose on purpouse against Belgium to end up in the relatively lesser half of the round of 16.
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England vs Belgium is a toss, and so the situation of Colombia's group.
England only top the group on yellow cards. If we draw and get one yellow more than Belgium, the group winner will be decided on a coin toss.
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Well, I mainly meant that it's hard to be sure of what will happen, I think that a draw or a victory for either team are all equally likely outcomes. Just like the Japan / Senegal / Colombia combination, I'm very curious to see what will happen.
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Oh I know, I just find that particular situation quite amusing.
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Group F is still entirely open, everybody can be in or out. If South Korea somehow best Germany by more than 2 points and Sweden beats Mexico, it would be Sweden and South Korea getting through. That said, Mexico/Germany is probably the most likely combo.
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That was very close, Iran deserved to be at least in round of 16..
But anyways, I can't really think of another thing other than tomorrow's matches... Go my Argentina!..
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Damn, what a luck for Spain! the same moment they award a lousy penalty for Iran, they equalize against Morocco.... I totally didn't see it coming!
For a brief moment Portugal was winning the group and was in the "good half" of the round of 16... now Spain will watch all the good teams eliminate each other.
And tomorrow, GO ICELAND GO :metal
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If they are going to change a decision based on VAR, the players, coaching staff, the crowd and the media need to respect the referee's final decision. Also, I think they could do with capping the number of VAR challenges a team is allowed to make. Say, one or two challenges per team per half. If you're successful, you keep your challenges. Most other sports with the challenge system, like tennis, cricket, NFL, limit the number of challenges a team is allowed.
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If they are going to change a decision based on VAR, the players, coaching staff, the crowd and the media need to respect the referee's final decision. Also, I think they could do with capping the number of VAR challenges a team is allowed to make. Say, one or two challenges per team per half. If you're successful, you keep your challenges. Most other sports with the challenge system, like tennis, cricket, NFL, limit the number of challenges a team is allowed.
I didn't realize teams made those challenges. I assumed it was up to the referees in the booth to notify the ref on the field.
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I'm pretty sure that the teams or coaches can't decide whether or not the VAR is involved. That is up to the referee of the VARs themselves.
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Yep, it's up to referees.
Couple of interesting matches today. One spot open in both groups, anything is possible in group D.
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If they are going to change a decision based on VAR, the players, coaching staff, the crowd and the media need to respect the referee's final decision. Also, I think they could do with capping the number of VAR challenges a team is allowed to make. Say, one or two challenges per team per half. If you're successful, you keep your challenges. Most other sports with the challenge system, like tennis, cricket, NFL, limit the number of challenges a team is allowed.
I didn't realize teams made those challenges. I assumed it was up to the referees in the booth to notify the ref on the field.
Right now what happens is that the people in the VAR room will let the ref know about something and the ref then goes and watches the screen and makes a decision. However FIFA are analyzing having a challenge system similar to the one in Tennis.
I like the VAR system, the problem is that it is not correctly applied. In rugby, there is a second ref looking at the screen that can tell the main ref whether something went wrong or not, no need for him to go and watch a screen. Lots of people say that something like this would make refs in the court look weak and that is just bullcrap, a ref is there to make sure rules are followed and if he needs to get help from others, like he already does with the 2 assistants in the field, then so be it.
On the other hand, lots of people are blaming VAR for incorrect calls, however refs are still the ones who make decisions. CR7 should have been sent off yesterday after he elbowed the Iran guy, but the ref didn't have the balls to do it.
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Yup, you don't want to red card Nike in The FIFA World Cup.
Trouble with the VAR protocol is it can only intervene in "case of blatant referee mistake", which is a pretty discretional and shady criterium given the VAR is made by other refs, not specifically qualified and trained VAR operators.
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Sorry for the brutality of the off topic, but Indiscipline, what your sig is supposed to mean? that the emperor talked out of his ass not really being an expert on music and Mozart called him out on that?
(I'll stay in topic by adding that the yellow card to CR7 was a blatant "I can't pretend I didn't see it but I can't / don't have the courage to send off the most famous player of the tournament" moment)
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And that elbow check is one of the reasons why I can't stand Ronaldo. A player as good as him doesn't have the need to play this unfair, and if you do, stand up to it and don't complain about a yellow card, be lucky that is wasn't red. Goes to other players as well.
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Sorry for the brutality of the off topic, but Indiscipline, what your sig is supposed to mean? that the emperor talked out of his ass not really being an expert on music and Mozart called him out on that?
(I'll stay in topic by adding that the yellow card to CR7 was a blatant "I can't pretend I didn't see it but I can't / don't have the courage to send off the most famous player of the tournament" moment)
You can see it as the perfect answer to many superficial complaints about DT music. And it says "Majesty" too.
On topic: you're very right, and that's a disgrace we should get rid of, especially in UEFA CL.
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I just found it hilarious that Moroccan players (and I believe even the coach) were complaining about the VAR system giving Spain the second goal. Okay, Morocco played amazing and Spain did pretty much the opposite of that most of the time, but the goal that clearly wasn't offside according to line-technology has nothing to do with it.
Also, that yellow card for CR was total bullshit. Like others said, if the referee recognizes that an actual foul was made by him (which clearly he did, cause he gave a yellow card???) then how can you possibly give someone a yellow card for purposely hitting them without the ball being anywhere close? That might be the most amateurish referee mistake I have ever seen in professional football.
Anyway, Group C next up (don't really care about this one, honestly my least favourite group of the tournament so far) and tonight possibly my favourite group of the tournament since it's so damn unpredictable. Was rooting for Nigeria, but I also really like Croatia and (in former tournaments) Argentina. I wouldn't be devastated if Argentina went out even though Aguero is one of my all-time favourite players. Their defensive side is possibly at an all-time low right now, and Messi is kinda crumbling under the pressure it seems.
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I just found it hilarious that Moroccan players (and I believe even the coach) were complaining about the VAR system giving Spain the second goal. Okay, Morocco played amazing and Spain did pretty much the opposite of that most of the time, but the goal that clearly wasn't offside according to line-technology has nothing to do with it.
From what I heard, they don't complain that it was offsides, but that the corner kick had to be taken from the other side, because the ball went out there. You clearly see that some players aren't aware that the game commences because they expect the corner to be from the other side.
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I just found it hilarious that Moroccan players (and I believe even the coach) were complaining about the VAR system giving Spain the second goal. Okay, Morocco played amazing and Spain did pretty much the opposite of that most of the time, but the goal that clearly wasn't offside according to line-technology has nothing to do with it.
From what I heard, they don't complain that it was offsides, but that the corner kick had to be taken from the other side, because the ball went out there. You clearly see that some players aren't aware that the game commences because they expect the corner to be from the other side.
That's not a problem with the VAR. That is no what the system was designed for. They should have been paying more attention, but hey, it's a lot easier to blame the new scapegoat than admit that you made a mistake.
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When you play a corner from the wrong side and the rules say, that this is forbidden, the referee should have noticed. It's not a thing for the VARs, but if they review the scene because of a theoretical offside goal, they could (should?) have noticed this too. I can understand the anger of the moroccon coach.
Spain played it clever but not exactly classy and fair.
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Again, that's not what VAR is for. I understand them being angry, but they should be angry at the ref, not at the system. I see a lot of people and players complaining but the truth is the system is working perfectly, the problem is that refs keep making wrong decisions even when presented with evidence.
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I see a lot of people and players complaining but the truth is the system is working perfectly, the problem is that refs keep making wrong decisions even when presented with evidence.
So basically football is like politics?
:biggrin:
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When was it not like politics :P
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Meanwhile, Peru is turning France - Denmark into a more (relatively) useless match than it already was. 2-0 to Australia as a farewell to the Cup.
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Welcome Messi to the World Cup
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Welcome Messi to the World Cup
Ronaldo scores 3 goals, Messi misses a penalty.
Then Ronaldo scores a goal, Messi doesn't achieve anything.
And then Ronaldo misses a penalty, is lucky to have not been sent off, and Messi scores.
Do they take their strength from the same fountain of awesomeness or something? and if one fails to access it the other one does? :lol it seems that when one sucks the other is good and the other way around so far.
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I like this last configuration better, let's hope it stays that way
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I like this last configuration better, let's hope it stays that way
Well, the man who owns said fountain is on the stands rooting for it.
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If anybody has never watched a World Cup, even in the Group stage, you are missing something special. WOW Argentina
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I'm astonished. Now to suffer for another 90 minutes.
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Like I said way earlier, I have no horse in the World Cup, as USA and Italy never got there. I just enjoys the game.
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And just like yesterday, the final minutes screw up my hopes. No glory for Iceland, no lulz with Argentina.
So, now It's Uruguay vs Portugal heading against France vs Argentina.... Ronaldo vs Messi in the quarter finals?
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Highly unlikely, but this WC has been nuts so far so who knows.
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I would have loved Nigeria in the round of 16, but thats not how it played out. Shame.
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I was rooting for Nigeria kind of, but am glad Argentina didnt get eliminated as a result of a super lousy penalty decision. However much I like underdogs, that was an especially bad game by Nigeria.
Still not convinced by anyone but Banega in Argentina's squad though, but the new keeper seems decent (compared to Romero)
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Based on the three games both teams played in the group stage, I really do think Nigeria deserved it more than Argentina. Unfortunately with these kind of things, it's only the result that counts, not what led to the result. I think France has an easy opponent in Argentina and I think Croatia might come pretty far.
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Back briefly to VAR: In the end, it's still down to the referee himself to make the final decision; VAR just gives him another tool to aid in his decision making. But, because in the end it's still down to a human making a decision, controversy will always be nearby.
I always thought that if the officials in the stadium are unable to use the replays to make a decision, then the TV audience should not be allowed to see those replays. But we're way too far down the road to stop that now.
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I think France has an easy opponent in Argentina and I think Croatia might come pretty far.
There will likely be a Croatia vs Spain quarter final. Who knows what will happen when a team in good spirits and shape meet a team that had to struggle with an already eliminated Morocco.
Today: Switzerland trying to win the group against Costa Rica, while the lulz lurks over Brazil - Serbia; Brazil needs a draw to qualify, but a win to pass as first. And possibly have a chance for revenge with Germany, but Germany's group situation is a mess and will be hotly contended until the last second.
It will be exciting, Mexico, Germany and Sweden have more or less equal chances of winning the group, be second, or be eliminated. Less likely is South Korea trashing Germany so bad that they come second for goal difference (this requires Mexico soundly beating Sweden as well).
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Still not convinced by anyone but Banega in Argentina's squad though, but the new keeper seems decent (compared to Romero)
Everyone in the country had been asking for Armani to be the starting keeper as he is better than the other two we have in the squad, and while Romero doesn't play for United he has more often than not saved Argentina's ass.
Regarding Banega, yesterday was his first really good game for Argentina and even then there were stretches of it were he was nowhere to be seen.
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Let's see if it turns out like Goycoechea for Pumpido in 1990.
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Yay!!
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Looks like Germany might need some help from this guy
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e4/Marcos_Rojo_2018.jpg/330px-Marcos_Rojo_2018.jpg)
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So if Germany would go ahead and, dunno, score a couple of goals, that would be great and all.
I've already lost Iceland, I can't remain with only Denmark as alternative teams to root for :lol
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WTF is happening?? :lol
Where is the Mexico I saw a couple of days ago?
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Goodbye Weltmeister.
That was unexpected, what a result. Wat a sad exit for Germany indeed..
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Sweden! :heart
And goodbye Germany :tup
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Sweden is leading their group and Germany is last, that is something I never thought 2 mins before the game.
Go Sweden!
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First big dog out. Brazil under pressure now.
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Wow... Mexico owes Korea a shit ton of tacos.
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2002 champions Brazil were the last World Cup holders to make it out of the group stage at the next tournament. Italy (2010), Spain (2014) and now Germany have all been eliminated at the group stage.
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I don't know what's happening anymore.
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2002 champions Brazil were the last World Cup holders to make it out of the group stage at the next tournament. Italy (2010), Spain (2014) and now Germany have all been eliminated at the group stage.
This is the very first thought that popped into my head too, it's a curse! Gotta love Neuer though, it's the shit that he did in like the 95th minute that makes me love him. Nothing to lose anymore at that point in the game.
Even as someone that absolutely has no positive or negative feelings towards the German team, the moment we saw in the replay that the ball was passed by a German and not a South-Korean, which solidified the 1-0, hit me pretty hard. These guys are absolute giants on paper, never in my life deemed this possible.
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2002 champions Brazil were the last World Cup holders to make it out of the group stage at the next tournament. Italy (2010), Spain (2014) and now Germany have all been eliminated at the group stage.
Brazil in that occasion was the only breaker of a curse that had already begun: France, 1998 champions, was eliminated as well at the first round.
Third time in a row and fourth time out of five that the world champion does not make it out of the first round.
Also: second worst ever german experience in Russia. And this time it wasn't even winter! ;D
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:lol
With some luck, France might have a similar experience to t he one in Napoleonic times...
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Thinking about it, Sweden surviving the group stage makes me feel a liiiiiiiiittle better about Italy.
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:lol
With some luck, France might have a similar experience to t he one in Napoleonic times...
The germans have been taken care of, but I don't think Putin will want to be the first to witness the french be victorious in Moscow.
About Italy, I'm quite sure we would have been trashed, so, if the final outcome was the third elimination in a row at the first round, it's better we didn't go. As I said earlier - no resentment against Sweden, they can win the whole thing for all I care. Blaming them for Italy's suckage would be silly.
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Well that was some big fucked up shit. >:( :(
But I think Germany could have played another 90 minutes and not scored a goal.
Congrats to Sweden.
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About Italy, I'm quite sure we would have been trashed, so, if the final outcome was the third elimination in a row at the first round, it's better we didn't go. As I said earlier - no resentment against Sweden, they can win the whole thing for all I care. Blaming them for Italy's suckage would be silly.
Of course Italy's failure has way deeper roots, and tactical suicide was committed in Spain.
I feel slightly better because maybe Sweden wasn't exactly the pushover we should be ashamed losing to.
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I'm watching this thread for some good Russia-related jokes, but so far there haven't been any. :biggrin:
Holy shit about Germany not making it though. If you asked me before the tournament, that would've been one team I'd bet on making it to playoffs. Oh well.
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I'm watching this thread for some good Russia-related jokes, but so far there haven't been any. :biggrin:
Hey, I said it was the second worst experience for Germany in Russia ;D
No lulz with Brazil tonight. It would have been truly another WTF moment if Serbia somehow would have bested them! (or even forced them to a tie to send them to Spain's half of the round of 16)
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I'm watching this thread for some good Russia-related jokes, but so far there haven't been any. :biggrin:
Hey, I said it was the second worst experience for Germany in Russia ;D
I have heard this one a few times (like six or seven times actually) after their game against Mexico. :)
I've just realized there are no games this Friday, and Friday is the day we (well, me and friends) used to gather at the local bar to watch some group stage games. That sucks.
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So.... what England and Belgium should do? the winner of their group is in the half of Brazil, France, Argentina and Portugal. The loser of the group is headed, save surprises, for a semi-final against Spain.
Should each team consider a tactical defeat? of course "careful what you wish" 'cause Colombia or Sweden could defeat them before they reach the semi-finals with the Spain, but avoiding a quarter final with Brazil and a semi final with either France, Argentina or Portugal should be "tempting"...
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So.... what England and Belgium should do? the winner of their group is in the half of Brazil, France, Argentina and Portugal. The loser of the group is headed, save surprises, for a semi-final against Spain.
Should each team consider a tactical defeat? of course "careful what you wish" 'cause Colombia or Sweden could defeat them before they reach the semi-finals with the Spain, but avoiding a quarter final with Brazil and a semi final with either Croatia should be "tempting"...
Hmmm you eliminated the best of those four :P it's not just that I'm Croatian and rooting for them, they played better than those three so far for sure. But they usually play better in group stages (recalling Portugal 2016 and Turkey 2008 :'( )
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Croatia is in the bottom half of the round of 16. The winner of England and Belgium's group has, as I said, Brazil first (quarter finals) and then Argentina, France or Portugal in the semifinals as likely opponents.
Croatia is in the other half, they will face Denmark and the winner of Spain vs Russia, AKA Spain, in the quarter finals. England and Belgium to meet Croatia should 1) arrive second in their group to begin with and 2) reach the semifinals.
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As a Spaniard myself, I wouldn't write off Russia so easily. Spain has been unpredictable for pretty much their entire history in football apart from those 3 consecutive euro/world/euro cups back in 2008-2012, and it's showing this tournament as well. They may have the better players, but I mean, we are all experiencing what a crazy, unpredictable tournament Russia 2018 has been so far :lol
Seriously has to be the most entertaining world cup ever for me so far, and we haven't even gotten to the knock-outs yet. I am kind of hoping for a Croatia/Belgium final, both teams that have showed some of the best performances so far this tournament, and I like both teams a lot.
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I agree, I never thought I would have enjoyed a World Cup without Italy so much myself.
I "root" for Denmark because I loved Copenhagen when I visited it last year and anyway I'm fond of the nordic country, but I know their days are numbered. I hope there will be a first time winner this time around, one of the "lesser" teams finally deserves recognition.
And I want Portugal vs Argentina in the quarter finals just to see everyone going apeshit over Ronaldo vs Messi ;D
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I don't know why I thought Croatia is there :facepalm:
Yep, this one's very enjoyable. I remember 2010 WC was so boring, most teams were playing defensive.
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As sad as it is for me that Germany is out, this is an interesting championship and the chances for a "new" team to win the cup are bigger then ever.
Probably the best performances so far were Croatia, Belgium and England, with the latter teams not having faced a serious opponent yet.
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I agree, I never thought I would have enjoyed a World Cup without Italy so much myself.
Swap 'Italy' with 'The Netherlands' and the same goes for me, although I always have the possibility of rooting for England as well ;)
That said, I'm not really a football fan since club football doesn't really interest me, but I do follow what goes on there occasionally. With these sort of championships (European Championships and World Cups) I generally watch every single match, if possible. I really enjoy having them on in the background and following what's happening. Great stuff.
The kockout phase is going to be ridiculous, with all the heavy hitters on one side. I think we'll be in for some surprises. And here's me hoping that England - Belgium will not turn out to be a useless game I seriously hope both teams will play to win, even though the price for winning is a wolf in sheep's clothing.
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(https://static.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/funny-football-memes-fifa-world-cup-2018-5b34960335a5f__700.jpg)
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I was really hoping Senegal would make it through. Bummer.
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So was I. Boo!
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So, regardless of who will qualify as first between England and Belgium, the second half of the round of 16 will have 7 european teams out of 8, Colombia is the intruder. It's already certain that an european team will be in the semifinal, and if Colombia loses against England or Belgium, we'll already know from the round of 16 that there will be an european team in the final (even though statistically that's not hard to predict before any World Cup).
England and Belgium should think if Colombia is a "safe" enough adversary worthy of a tactical defeat to avoid the half of Brazil, France, Argentina and Portugal... but as I said before, careful what you wish, you just may get it!
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I'd say defeat is definitely more profitable, which Belgium apparently agrees with since they have pretty much their B team as the starting 11 IIRC from what I heard this afternoon.
There's the argument that the top teams haven't performed well yet, but the scary thing is that if they pull it togethern they DO have the quality to be incredibly dangerous. From what we've seen from all those players in their respective teams, the top countries should always be forces to be reckoned with, no matter their performance so far.
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Here come the two most bizarre games of the tournament so far, though I'm hoping for some good football.
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Going second in that group is the way to avoid Brazil, France, Uruguay, Portugal, Argentina, México and Japan (?) :lol
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Yeah, but how do you lose when the other team doesn't want to win and without making it too obvious?
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Yeah, but how do you lose when the other team doesn't want to win and without making it too obvious?
Good question. You can play for a draw (See France and Denmark) and chalk it up to "uh well, we didn't score", but it would be a farce if a defender "accidentally" loses a striker 3/4 of the field and the attacker "accidentally" shoots the ball straight to the goalkeeper arms, over and over :lol
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Yes, I understand that, but losing purposefully would be ridiculous and unsportsmanlike.
That said, both Argentina and Brazil aren't exactly in the greatest shape, Mexico lost their last match rather embarrasingly and the other side of the bracket has both Sweden and Croatia that can be surprising opponents, so I'm not entirely sure that avoiding the so-called big-guns is the smartest way to go.
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Well, Belgium just got 2 yellow cards which puts them in second place. So there you go :lol
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This match is, unsurprisingly, very boring.
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Was initially going to watch it with the result that I would have to work later today, but I'm not gonna do that if both teams play to lose.
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Was initially going to watch it with the result that I would have to work later today, but I'm not gonna do that if both teams play to lose.
They're not playing to lose, they're definitely playing to win. They're just not trying very hard. :lol
And in fairness, that completely makes sense. Why exhaust themselves fighting to win a game where there's no benefit to doing so. It's being played a bit like a friendly. Neither side is fielding it's strongest 11.
It's a really weird game to be honest.
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That was the worst game of the World Cup so far and honestly, England should be ashamed.
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It was pretty boring and neither side really tried.
I mean, on one hand it was sensible to not exhaust the players. Also by coming 2nd in the group we potentially have an easier run.
On the other hand, there's no momentum now.
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Come on, there were several instances where England had real chances of scoring a goal and they didn't even try. Wellbeck in the last 10 minutes being a prime example. I really wanted to root for England, to actually have some suspense and see them playing at their best and I was hoping this would be the match (because by all means, both Panama and Tunisia were pretty lousy opponents), but instead we got half-arsed 'let's-play-to-lose' football. And what about all the people that tuned in to this match, or even worse, bought tickets for this match specificially, because this would surely be the spectacle of the group? They got cheated on by their own teams! Based on sportsmanship, both Belgium and England both deserve to be beaten by Japan and Colombia respectively in the next round. I doubt that the players of the teams can actually live with what they just showed.
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Come on, there were several instances where England had real chances of scoring a goal and they didn't even try.
Indeed:
It was pretty boring and neither side really tried.
Not sure if you were disagreeing with me or just generally annoyed.
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Generally annoyed, mostly. And from a fair-play perspective it's bad that both teams knew what winning or losing would mean for the remainder of the tournament. It made for the lousiest game of the tournament so far, while it should have been an exciting match.
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So, this is how the road to the final starts.
(https://i.imgur.com/1IC2FuO.jpg)
Place your bets!
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Wait, where's Germ... :'( :'( :'( :'(
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Pretty sure Russia is going to lose, but I hope they'll win to face Croatia in the next round just so I can do silly jokes towards Tomislav on Facebook.
All games should be pretty good though. I'm excited for this.
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Japan & Mexico, the rest is South America vs. Europe
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Still backing my vatos from down south, arriba!!!
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My picks
Portugal
France
BrazilBelgium
SpainCroatia
SwedenColombia
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France vs. Argentina has all the ingredients for a great spectacle ...
... so it will probably be a snooze fest which ends in a penalty shootout :biggrin:
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I assume:
Portugal vs Argentina (more wishful thinking just to see Ronaldo vs Messi)
Brazil vs Belgium (hoping for Mexico to get through)
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Spain vs Croatia (go Russia and go Denmark)
Sweden vs England
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Didn't know the last 10 mins of the Japan-Poland game ended with a performance reminiscent of the Austria-W.Germany debacle in the 1982 world cup.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/44649668
At first I was confused why Japan would even attempt that strategy of doing nothing the last 10 mins, turns out it was a gamble on Japan's part that Senegal would not score in order for them to advance in the next stage.
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Yeah, what Japan did was super lame. I don't know if there is a way you can fix that kind of behavior though. What I would like to see is for the tournament not to be pre-determined as it is right now.
I would have the round of 16 being a lottery like they do in the champions league, a team that went first with one that went second and from that point on have it be fixed. However, given how complicated the logistics in a world cup are that may be very hard to pull off. But it would prevent from having extremely boring games like Denmark-France or England-Belgium.
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That's a double chance for rigging the draw... Platini admitted in 1998 that they orchestrated the France vs Brazil final.
Imagine that Spain was hosting this World Cup, and that the second draw for the round of 16 would have produced this exact result - wouldn't it be extremely suspicious that the host nation is the only strong contender for victory in their own half?
But I don't think it would be such a bad idea on principle to have a draw for the knockout stage. What's the actual reason for things being pre-determined? "it's always been this way"? logistics based on where the games are being held? (even though I can't see how things could be different, each team has their headquarters anyway and you don't know anyway until you qualify for the knockout stage where you're gonna play)
Or maybe it's just the charm of knowing where the road will lead rather than having a draw each time...
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Japan didn't want to go out in the group stage, that's why they played it lame, they didn't want to risk another goal by Poland. That had nothing to do with who they will face in the next round.
But in the Belgium - England match, neither team wanted to really win that game in order to avoid Brazil in the next round. Only the belgium goal scorer didn't get the memo.
Drawing the opponents after the group stage is over might have its charm. But then there's nothing to gain in winning your group.
That's a double chance for rigging the draw...
I'm sure measures will be taken to not let any manipulation happen, after all this is the FIFA,a highly regarded organization. :angel:
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That's a double chance for rigging the draw... Platini admitted in 1998 that they orchestrated the France vs Brazil final.
Well, nothing can be done about that. As long as you have a draw there will always be suspicion.
But I don't think it would be such a bad idea on principle to have a draw for the knockout stage. What's the actual reason for things being pre-determined? "it's always been this way"? logistics based on where the games are being held? (even though I can't see how things could be different, each team has their headquarters anyway and you don't know anyway until you qualify for the knockout stage where you're gonna play)
I think the problem is the timing. First round finished yesterday, and the next round starts tomorrow. If you had a draw today, teams would have little time to plan flights and hotels or whatever else they needed. Same thing would happen with fans and that would be worse. The way it is right now you have at least a couple of days to find hotels and how to get there.
Drawing the opponents after the group stage is over might have its charm. But then there's nothing to gain in winning your group.
There is. You would have 2 groups, teams that won the group vs teams that came in second, the same way you have in the champions league.
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But then there's nothing to gain in winning your group.
Well, you still play against a second qualified team, and supposedly weaker.
Anyway, if Germany would have done Germany and Argentina would have done Argentina, we'd have a fairly even knockout stage. They screwed up (Germany beyond repair) and now Spain has the road to the final clear (thanks to a DOUBLE occourence in TWO matches in the final moments of the match, I'll never get over this if Spain wins again).
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How is this going to work when they expand from 32 to 48 teams. More groups or bigger groups? Will the Knockout tournament still be 16 teams?
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How is this going to work when they expand from 32 to 48 teams. More groups or bigger groups? Will the Knockout tournament still be 16 teams?
Get this (at least I heard this from someone, may not be accurate): they are going to do 3 team groups (top 2 advance), which is completely fucked up if you think about it. It highly increases the odds of teams tactically playing for a tie to eliminate the third team and both get through safely
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Yes, that's how I heard it too, and you got 32 teams advancing from group stage so there's one more knockout round.
If you asked me, this is stupid.
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It also reduces the possibility to repair your own mistakes. Argentina could, Germany couldn't but if they had won against South Korea they would have went through. You make one mistake in a single match and you're home before you know it.
Train and Kwyjibo are right, I've read that they're considering penalty shootouts for matches that end with a draw, to always have a winner.
I hope the experimentation fails and that we go back to the 32 teams format in 2-3 editions. This also limits the possibility of host nations, how many there are out there who can keep that many teams? the triple bill of Usa / Mexico / Canada is silly, as much as it's a chance for continental unity, but USA is hosting anyway 60 matches out of 80 so it's not a trinity but "We play in the USA, and the games that can't be held for physical limits will be played in our neighbours stadium".
What's next? Spain, Portugal and France co-hosting? all the nordic nations of Europe hosting together? Chile, Argentina and Uruguay south-south American bid?
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Well there's the european championship in 2020 that is played in no less than 12 different european countries.
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Well there's the european championship in 2020 that is played in no less than 12 different european countries.
Well, that's an exception, a one-off to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the tournament, and also to cut the costs of organizing and hosting a whole tournament for a single country. It never happened before and won't happen again unless for a 100th anniversary or something. But with so many big tournaments, countries joining to co-host will become more and more likely, I like instead the feel of "we all go to Nation X and tour it all on the road to victory".
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But then you have the problem of countries simply being too small (with not enough stadiums) to actually host such a tournament.
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I know it's a one off and while I think the idea behind it isn't that bad, it's still a mess if a tournament is held from Spain to Scandinavia to almost Asia (Azerbaijan). Extreme travel distances, different time zones, different climates etc.
This co-hosting is okay if the countries are near to each other and the distances aren't too far. From Canada to Mexico is bullshit, as was South Korea/Japan.
What's next? Australia/Austria? North America/North Korea? South America/South Africa?
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South Korea/Japan was bullshit.
What's next? Australia/Austria? North America/North Korea? South America/South Africa?
You make it sound like South Korea & Japan are located on opposing ends of a continent, while they're in fact at the furthest point 400-500 kilometers apart. That's the same distance a team would need to travel within France for instance.
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I know it's a one off and while I think the idea behind it isn't that bad, it's still a mess if a tournament is held from Spain to Scandinavia to almost Asia (Azerbaijan). Extreme travel distances, different time zones, different climates etc.
Which is exactly what happens during the qualifications - all teams travel to the other's home, the only difference is that both teams will travel to pre-selected cities and there won't be an "home" team.
But then you have the problem of countries simply being too small (with not enough stadiums) to actually host such a tournament.
Exactly. Everyone with the right organizing skills and with a nation bigger than Luxembourg or Monaco deserves a chance to host a big tournament. Morocco is trying since forever to host a World Cup. If the only thing that is against them is "you don't have enough stadiums and cities", that's a bit unfair.
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South Korea/Japan was bullshit.
What's next? Australia/Austria? North America/North Korea? South America/South Africa?
You make it sound like South Korea & Japan are located on opposing ends of a continent, while they're in fact at the furthest point 400-500 kilometers apart. That's the same distance a team would need to travel within France for instance.
I mean, Moscow and St. Petersburg are like 650 kilometers apart.
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After getting over the initial shock of Germany dropping out, I am almost glad it happened this way. Would have been horrible to watch that abomination of soccer any further, and now German soccer is forced to do a clean cut. Only thing I'm bummed about is that this was finally Reus' first international competition, and he plays well, but the rest of the team lets him down.
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It also reduces the possibility to repair your own mistakes. Argentina could, Germany couldn't but if they had won against South Korea they would have went through. You make one mistake in a single match and you're home before you know it.
What's next? Spain, Portugal and France co-hosting? all the nordic nations of Europe hosting together? Chile, Argentina and Uruguay south-south American bid?
Regarding the first part, think about the teams that will be added. You'll get some South American and European teams that will be good, but what are Africa and Asia going to bring to the table? Or North America for that matter? Panama, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Morocco. All those teams made it this time and sucked big times, what are the teams that come under them going to do? You have a guaranteed loser in every group so unless someone reaaaaaaally fucks up then all the good nations should get by pretty easily.
On the second part, as Elite pointed out handling a world cup with so many teams will be impossible for a single country. Not only that, with the current format the only nation that hasn't lost money organizing a world cup lately was Germany and that's because their infrastructure was already there. That's why you get multiple countries bidding in, to shed cost.
And it's Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay that are planning to bid for 2030 :P
After getting over the initial shock of Germany dropping out, I am almost glad it happened this way. Would have been horrible to watch that abomination of soccer any further, and now German soccer is forced to do a clean cut. Only thing I'm bummed about is that this was finally Reus' first international competition, and he plays well, but the rest of the team lets him down.
I'm really bummed about Marco too. He is one of my favorite players in the world.
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I think the problem is the timing. First round finished yesterday, and the next round starts tomorrow. If you had a draw today, teams would have little time to plan flights and hotels or whatever else they needed. Same thing would happen with fans and that would be worse. The way it is right now you have at least a couple of days to find hotels and how to get there.
I'm not sure it's necessarily about logistics so much as it would mean even more discrepancy in how long teams have between their final group stage match and their second round match. The predetermined brackets mean that all teams have a broadly similar gap.
It works in the Champions League because all games are played concurrently (well ok over two nights) and the next round is weeks later.
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I think the problem is the timing. First round finished yesterday, and the next round starts tomorrow. If you had a draw today, teams would have little time to plan flights and hotels or whatever else they needed. Same thing would happen with fans and that would be worse. The way it is right now you have at least a couple of days to find hotels and how to get there.
I'm not sure it's necessarily about logistics so much as it would mean even more discrepancy in how long teams have between their final group stage match and their second round match. The predetermined brackets mean that all teams have a broadly similar gap.
I didn't think of this. Having all the tournament mapped out indeed makes for equal resting time between all matches.
Still, while I understand TV rights and how important they are.... while one finalist has to rest one more day than the other with the two semi finals occouring a day apart?
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Because the finals are always three-four days later than the semi-finals anyway. That's plenty of time for a world-class athlete to 'rest'.
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France vs. Argentina has all the ingredients for a great spectacle ...
... so it will probably be a snooze fest which ends in a penalty shootout :biggrin:
And luckily it was not!!!! SEVEN goals!!! France going on top then going under then going up again with a vengeance! kickass goals all around and the final thrill of Argentina scoring! whoah, what a match!!!! :metal
I don't really care for France or Argentina but damn, this was awesome!
No Ronaldo vs Messi in the quarter finals, I would have loved to see that.
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Great match indeed!! Loved seeing France play at their best and they fully deserved the win. Sad for Messi, but the rest of his team just didn't match up.
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That Argentinian team really needs to grow up and play with a little more professionalism. When they scored the 3rd goal with just under a minute left, why start fighting and wasting more time? Several of these incidents throughout the game and even prior games too. France played fantastic and they can honestly go all the way through.
But man what a game, the back and forth along with some amazing playing made for one of the best games I've seen so far.
Obviously bummed for Messi but he can't be Lebron and carry the entire team.
Hope this Uruguay Portugal is a worthy followup.
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I followed the first half on and off through commentary at the beach, and then missed the first 25 minutes of the second half biking home.. so I only missed like, 4 FUCKING GOALS :lolpalm:
Uruguay vs. Portugal has all the ingredients for a great spectacle ...
... so it will probably be a snooze fest which ends in a penalty shootout :biggrin:
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Anyway, no matter the competition or the continent, one thing always stays the same: a player of the winning team being replaced always, ALWAYS walks in the slowest possible way to lose some time. It never fails to happen, at every single match.
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That Argentinian team really needs to grow up and play with a little more professionalism. When they scored the 3rd goal with just under a minute left, why start fighting and wasting more time?
I didn't get this either, not at all.
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Really like Uruguay's style so far! Hopefully they win this one.
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Wow! That was an exciting match indeed :)
Really glad with the result
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Amazing game again. A treat to see back to back exciting games. That Uruguay defense is like a fortress, didn't help Portugal that most of their shots were wide and several crosses went flat.
France and Uruguay will be a great game to see.
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Indeed it was! Cavani is a beast, holy shit. Hopefully he can play next game.
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Two epic games today, something I didn't expect, especially from France who have been quite dismal to watch before they finally turned up today.
The bottom half of the bracket is so fascinating. If Spain don't get to the final, then one of Russia, Denmark, Croatia, Sweden, Switzerland, Colombia or England will be a World Cup Finalist. Crazy to think about, really. The seven of them have clocked up a total of TWO World Cup Final appearances, Sweden in 1958 and England in 1966.
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Messi and Ronaldo go down together in the same day without scoring a goal, while the other stars, Mbappè and Cavani, owns them. And of course Cavani is injured and so for France it will be easier >:(
I already fear a France vs Spain final, for an italian, and of course speaking only of football rivalries, it's the worst possible final ever :facepalm: the only good thing about such a final - at least one of them is sure to suffer :biggrin:
Today: go Russia go, show Spain what it's like to come to Russia with high hopes and have them crushed! :metal
(And I still root for Denmark for touristic reasons)
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Yeah, hopefully it won't be France vs Spain.
Rooting for Russia and Croatia today. Probably won't watch the second game, but definitely gonna watch Russia - Spain.
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For today, Ruslan, we aren't friends. :biggrin: Good luck to Russia of course, but I have to root for my team
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If Croatia win today, one of you two isn't my friend anymore ;)
I'd like to see France in final as I liked their style yesterday and I hope they will play more similar to that than their games in group phase. But of course, Brazil or Belgium will probably be on their way so...
Would like to see someone "new" in finals though. Let's say Uruguay vs Croatia :P
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For today, Ruslan, we aren't friends. :biggrin: Good luck to Russia of course, but I have to root for my team
My prediction is that Spain wins 4-1. :lol But I hope I'll be wrong.
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Kinda random comment but one of the funniest things to see (like it happened during Portugal vs Uruguay) is when the goalkeeper, at the end of a match that's being lost, comes forward for the final action.
The sense of desperation, the "nothing to lose" factor, the off chance that the goalkeeper becomes a hero scoring a goal or disturbing enough the action to allow other players to strike (or, on the other hand, the supreme lulz of scoring from 60 meters like South Korea did to Germany)... they're always exciting moments :lol
I wish goalkeepers would do that more often.
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Kinda random comment but one of the funniest things to see (like it happened during Portugal vs Uruguay) is when the goalkeeper, at the end of a match that's being lost, comes forward for the final action.
The sense of desperation, the "nothing to lose" factor, the off chance that the goalkeeper becomes a hero scoring a goal or disturbing enough the action to allow other players to strike (or, on the other hand, the supreme lulz of scoring from 60 meters like South Korea did to Germany)... they're always exciting moments :lol
I wish goalkeepers would do that more often.
You should see this, goalkeeper scores in 96th minute ;D https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cA13rZEpLQ0 Even though I saw it live (my brother and father are fans) I'm not really sure why he risked getting forward though, it's not like it was the last match of the league (and it was Croatian league, not cup)
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Probably he was just a bit crazy. Like Higuita and his scorpion kick thing, goalkeepers can be insane :biggrin:
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I know, I was a goalkeeper :lol
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Very..... 'interesting' decision of Spain to leave out the best player of the team thus far, Iniesta, out of the starting 11. What the hell :lol
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Aaaaand here we go. :lol
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Very..... 'interesting' decision of Spain to leave out the best player of the team thus far, Iniesta, out of the starting 11. What the hell :lol
At least it's Asensio... and he assisted for goal ;D
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Not gonna lie, that was a preeeetty boring first half.
2 goals (own goal and a penalty) and what, 1 shot on goal total? (Costa in the very last minute of the first half)
Anyway, gonna miss the first few minutes of the second half, hope I don't fall into another France Argentina scenario today :lol
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Very..... 'interesting' decision of Spain to leave out the best player of the team thus far, Iniesta, out of the starting 11. What the hell :lol
Isn't he like 35 now? Surely there's better options...
First half kinda boring mainly cause Russia going on the defense and Spain passing it sideways for most of first half...
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Yeah, that was really boring so far tbh.
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Spain with a super boring passing only strategy. Barely any shot at goal pfff. Just in the last couple of minutes have they played with some urgency. Iniesta with a cracker of a shot. This thing looks like it's going to penalties.
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That's also 30 minutes more in the legs for the team that will win. Not that I think for athletes of this level it's gonna be such a big difference, but still....
Oh and I totally look forward to penalties and Russia pwning Spain :metal
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I kind of want to see the penalty shootout too.
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As much as I like watching the World Cup, deciding matches with penalty kicks is still the stupidest thing in just about any sport.
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Yea I also don't like penalty kicks.
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I endorse one of the suggestions put forward, you can read about it in the Wiki article about penalties: having them before the extra time, and have them be a deciding factor only if the match is still a draw.
That way you encourage the losing team to score at all costs, with the guys that missed the penalties having a chance to redeem themselves. Of course the ones who won the penalties could "park the bus" but hey, they won the penalties, they should have that advantage.
And now I hope the rain will be in Russia's favor, people playing in the snow will be better suited to kick penalties than those sunny spaniards, mh?
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For fucks sake
Well, here we go then
Based on this match, Spain is not going to win the world cup, and neither is Russia.
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I was just telling my mum Spain would lose.
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Congrats Russia!
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Wow. Congrats to Russia. Great saves by the Russian keeper.
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I'm happy for Russia. They weren't necessarily great, but Spain's sideways passing is something I just can't stand.
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This show that by standing on your own half for 120 minutes and blocking every shot with three people can win you a match. What a lot of bullshit; theyre out whoever they face next.
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Good to see Spain and their boring ass stye gone. That's what you get for playing for PK's.
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THE LULZ IS STRONG WITH THIS WORLD CUP!!! :metal
Now, seriously, never say never (which is the motto of basically every match so far), but is Croatia headed for the semi finals? will they reach a final for the first time ever, or will England reach the second final (if I'm not mistaken) in their entire history?
While France and Brazil and Belgium will slaughter each other....
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It's always great for the tournament when the host nation does well. Congratulations Russia for knocking out the only "big" team in the bottom half of the draw.
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Oh boy yes. I'm not saying Russia played a great game, I'm sure they'll be out next round, but you know what, Spain didn't do any better. I'm glad for the team to advance.
Akinfeev (Russian goalkeeper) did a fantastic job today.
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I didn't expect them to come further than quarter finals but this is pretty embarassing :lol
Regardless, I love hosts doing well as well and am looking forward to seeing this 'weak' bracket pan out.
Good to see Spain and their boring ass stye gone. That's what you get for playing for PK's.
You may not have watched the game, but it was Russia who played for penalties, not Spain :lol even by simply looking at the stats you would see that.
Also I don't think Akinfeev's brilliant last PK save should go unnoticed, amazing!
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The urgency with which Spain played during extra time is how they should've played during the regular halves. That constant passing from right to left ending with losing possession was a chore to watch and didn't deter Russia at all. Not sure what the end game was with that but whatever, it didn't pay off and now they're out.
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Good to see Spain and their boring ass stye gone. That's what you get for playing for PK's.
You may not have watched the game, but it was Russia who played for penalties, not Spain :lol even by simply looking at the stats you would see that.
Spain had the ball for like 80% of the match, yet played like they didn't care if they scored. That is what I call playing for PK's. Russia was overmatched and their only chance was PK's. Spain could have won it with an actual goal had they tried to score.
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The urgency with which Spain played during extra time is how they should've played during the regular halves. That constant passing from right to left ending with losing possession was a chore to watch and didn't deter Russia at all.
I agree with this. The analysts showed (more than) a couple instances where Pique could have played the ball to Iniesta and attack through the center, but instead plays the wings to take it slow. That style has never entertained me and I doubt it does anyone else. It shocks me because Pique and Iniesta don't play like that at all in Barcelona, maybe they don't feel comfortable with this new - less Barcelona oriented - line-up?
Good to see Spain and their boring ass stye gone. That's what you get for playing for PK's.
You may not have watched the game, but it was Russia who played for penalties, not Spain :lol even by simply looking at the stats you would see that.
Spain had the ball for like 80% of the match, yet played like they didn't care if they scored. That is what I call playing for PK's. Russia was overmatched and their only chance was PK's. Spain could have won it with an actual goal had they tried to score.
I guess that's fair, Russia's response to Spain's way of playing made it seem more like Russia was stalling than Spain, but I can see your interpretation.
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That is Spain's "tikitaka" game. Endless passages between one another, and then Xavi and Iniesta finding a way for the strikers to go through. Xavi is no longer there and Iniesta is at the end of his carrer, so that tikitaka becomes utterly pointless and a careful enough team reaches the penalty kicks and wins. Way to go Russia, and congratulations to Spain for having completely squandered the opportunity to have a basically unchallenged road to the final.
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Spain definitely tiki taka'd themselves to the airport.
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Ouch that could have been the ticket home for Denmark. Saved by a bad penalty kick. Seems like it's ending with penalty kicks anyway though....again..... :-\
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Denmark has the obvious psychological advantage now. Lets see what happens here. I would not be surprised if it ends here for Croatia, but it can go either way.
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Damn this is tough to watch!! :omg:
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THIS SHOOTOUT IS INSANE
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Damn! I'm left without teams to root for :'(
Bjorn Ironside couldn't bring Denmark to the next round with his saves.
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Shame :(
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Tense penalties! Crazy number of saves!
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Aaaand it's over! :-\ Feel bad for the danish goalie, he did some great saves unfortunately for nothing.
Congrats Croatia!
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Feel bad for the danish goalie, he did some great saves unfortunately for nothing.
True, although I did chuckle at him complaining about the stutter on the one Croatia PK, considering he left his line way early on the pivotal PK stop near the end of overtime.
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Jesus I almost died :| Second half was a chore to get through tbh but I think Croatia deserved it in the end. I hope they'll play better against Russia.
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Anyway, one thing I don't really get about penalties and the "duel with the goalkeeper" thing.
Look at these two crucial penalties:
Italy vs Australia 2006, last minute of the second half, penalty for Italy, if they score, no need for extra time:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guKoyzQH0wY
Real Madrid vs Juventus 2018, last minute of the second half, if Ronaldo scores, they go through to the next round:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLwpLGoAkew
Notice anything in those two important, vital, not-to-be-missed penalties?
yeah.
They both shot very powerfully and aiming high, near the upper angle of the net. Why basically NOBODY EVER SHOOTS IMPORTANT PENALTIES LIKE THAT? seriously, is that hard to get that if you aim that corner in the upper part of the net, you can actually tell the goalkeeper you're going to shoot there, and he won't get it anway??? everyone's watching the goalkeeper or even worse not even watching what he does, and you have crappy penalties like the last danish one, who shot in the damn center and on the ground. Is it such a hard secret to crack that important penalties should be shot powerful and high? screw the "duel with the goalkeeper" thing, that's for western movies. I understand the pressure, the emotion and all, but can't half of a team of players train to aim powerfully at a precise point of a net?
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A lot of the penalties in the shootout were, frankly, very bad indeed, including the both by Modric. In fact, the only good one (by your standards) was the one Skaer did, shooting it firmly in the upper right corner.
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They both shot very powerfully and aiming high, near the upper angle of the net. Why basically NOBODY EVER SHOOTS IMPORTANT PENALTIES LIKE THAT? seriously, is that hard to get that if you aim that corner in the upper part of the net, you can actually tell the goalkeeper you're going to shoot there, and he won't get it anway???
It's not that easy. You have to hit the ball in the lower part, but in the right spot. If you kick the ball even lower, the ball can go way too high and it ends up in the crossbar or going wide.
Here are some examples of this.
It's 120' minutes in and there's a Penalty for Ghana. If Gyan scores, they go to the semifinals:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQGBin2TBgQ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQGBin2TBgQ)
And there's of course the infamous Baggio Penalty in the Penalty Shootout of the 1994 World Cup final. I hate to share it because it perpetrates Baggio's mistake over his amazing prowess as a player, but it's still an example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpbkRApq9qY (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpbkRApq9qY)
In both cases they tried to kick the ball into the posterior upper angle of the goal but they kicked a lower part of the ball. Again... This takes some skill, too.
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As I said, I understand the pressure and the emotion, but in a team of trained, professional players, out of 10 people (excluding the goalkeeper) it shouldn't be that terribly hard to find only half of them able to aim at that point.
But then again if Baggio can make a mistake, everyone can, of course.
Anyway, I loved how Schmeichel before the penalties was all smiling and relaxed, like "yeah, whatever, I saved a penalty, I will save some more". After all when there's a penalty shoothout the goalkeeper has nothing to lose: if he gets the goal, nobody blames them, if they save it, they're heroes. It's the ones kicking the penalty that feel all the pressure.
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The more you try to shoot the ball where the goalie has trouble reaching it, the more you risk that the ball goes wide, it's as easy as that. Some take that risk, others do not.
You can train that all you want, but mistakes happen and the more strain the player feels, the more mistakes he will make. How often have you seen seasoned players, that can normally hit anything miss the easiest shots?
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The more surprising how many of them choose to shoot the ball straight down the middle.
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A lot of goalkeepers chose a corner to jump into before the player shoots the ball, therefore the middle is free and the risk of the ball going wide is low. I've often thought that if the goalkeeper just remains standing in the middle he will catch more balls than when jumping into a corner. But sure it doesn't look that spectacular and I'm probably wrong, but it would be interesting to see if there are statistics about that.
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I've only just now seen the foul that caused the penalty in the extra time for Croatia. Glad they're out to be honest, that was so dirty by Jorgenson or whatever he is called, how is that not a red card?
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A lot of goalkeepers chose a corner to jump into before the player shoots the ball, therefore the middle is free and the risk of the ball going wide is low. I've often thought that if the goalkeeper just remains standing in the middle he will catch more balls than when jumping into a corner. But sure it doesn't look that spectacular and I'm probably wrong, but it would be interesting to see if there are statistics about that.
Also goalkeepers tend to throw themselves so that's why you should aim high.
Anyway, statistics also say that the team going first has better chances to win - Spain and Denmark both went first and both went out :D
I've only just now seen the foul that caused the penalty in the extra time for Croatia. Glad they're out to be honest, that was so dirty by Jorgenson or whatever he is called, how is that not a red card?
I've read on another forum that fouls in the goal area are no longer punished with a red card. I assume they decided that penalty AND a red card is too severe.
And maybe I remember wrong, but the guy "just" held back the croatian striker causing him to fall. Frankly I think he did the "right" thing, that was a 100% goal, with few minutes left to play. At least with a penalty there's a chance to miss it - and Schmeichel actually saved it - but without the foul, it was surely the end. I saw it as a "jump on the landmine" moment.
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Anyway, people only ever talk about it if the penalty is missed like here and with Uruguay - Ghana in 2010. These two scenarios are essentially identical, only this time the fouling team lost the penalty kicks :laugh:
It is the most logical thing to do strategically, I don't disagree, but that doesn't take away that I think it is super nasty
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Aparently there are statistics https://www.thestatszone.com/statistical-insight-into-penalty-shootouts-where-to-place-your-penalty (https://www.thestatszone.com/statistical-insight-into-penalty-shootouts-where-to-place-your-penalty)
and I'm not that far off in my opinion :biggrin:
So whats the best strategy?
It might be the boring option, but shooting straight down the middle is likely to give you the best results. It reduces your chance of missing and for the moment the goalkeepers tend to vacate that space. Obviously if every player does it then goalkeepers will start to adjust and stay in the middle more (which we think they should do anyway). But in a one off penalty shootout where the stakes are high and the adrenaline is running, most goalkeepers wont happen to have the presence of mind to make the adjustment. Its likely that adjustment would only come after a number of shootouts where players aim predominantly down the middle of the goal.
I've only just now seen the foul that caused the penalty in the extra time for Croatia. Glad they're out to be honest, that was so dirty by Jorgenson or whatever he is called, how is that not a red card?
If he had tried to injure the player I would consider it dirty. As it is it was unfair (as every foul is) but he just tried to make him stumble, maybe he even thought he had a chance of hitting the ball. And what was he going to do? Watch the croatian player score the goal or do something at the risk of getting a card and/or a penalty, which always has the chance of going astray as we've seen.
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Anyway, people only ever talk about it if the penalty is missed like here and with Uruguay - Ghana in 2010. These two scenarios are essentially identical, only this time the fouling team lost the penalty kicks :laugh:
These are not identical at all. With Uruguay - Ghana there wasn't a chance the ball would go wide, it was a fucking goal, except for Suarez's hand which he held up with the sole purpose of stopping Ghana from scoring. Honestly, the rules here are flawed and that should have been counted as a goal. Can you tell I'm still pissed about that?
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Agree to disagree, I don't think there's any way he could have possibly missed the goal with no keeper in it looking straight at it. From a strategic standpoint, they are two players who, in my view, did everything in their power to stop a goal without being in reach of the ball to do so, so one of them goes for a handball to reach the ball that he couldn't hit with his head, and the other goes for the striker's legs since he is not within reach of the ball anymore.
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Brazil vs Mexico in half an hour.
The five time world champions against a team that is precise as a swiss clock in getting eliminated in the round of 16, which happened six consecutive times since 1994. Seventh time's the charm? go Mexico go!!! :yarr
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Game on!!! Vamos El Tri!!!
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Shit.
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Shit.
7th time in a row. Looks like they have a hard stop at world cups.
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The six minutes of overtime are, I assume, to compensate for all the time Neymar spent rolling on the field whining like a little b*tch?
Sorry for Mexico. They must have round of 16 terrors by now!
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Didn't compare to the first 2 knock-outs, but definitely more entertaining than yesterday's. Deserved win by Brazil, but hope Belgium vs. Japan will be a bit more fun.
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The six minutes of overtime are, I assume, to compensate for all the time Neymar spent rolling on the field whining like a little b*tch?
Fucking right? I've never watched a full Brazil game with him before, but her surpassed all expectations of being a dramatic twat.
Brazil's defense on the other hand was no fucking joke, El Tri couldn't get an edge there.
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Shit.
7th time in a row. Looks like they have a hard stop at world cups.
I know, those poor guys. I was hoping they'd make a serious run too since I'm hitting up a Mexican league game next week, could've made for a hell of an environment if they were still running.
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Seems like this could be an interesting game, judging from the first 5 mins.
I'm not sure who i'm rooting for, I like both Japan and Belgium.
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I'm not sure who i'm rooting for, I like both Japan and Belgium.
The 13 years old in me is just happy to see Kagawa against Lukaku, since both names remind the italian words for poop and the act of pooping ;D
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:lol
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8F9jXYOH2c0 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8F9jXYOH2c0)
Now this is a penalty shootout
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holy shit :omg:
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What the hell Belgium?
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This will be known as the underdog WC.
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ALRIGHTY Belgium!
What a game
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Saw just a few minutes of the first game, only thing I remember is Neymar having a seizure during the game.
The second game holy crap! I didn't watch it live and was amazed at the score. I went ahead and then rewatched the second half of the game. Wow this Belgium team is amazing and I think they have the depth to beat Brazil. Crazy game.
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We'll see how Belgium will perform. So far they met two of the easiest teams to face of the Cup, England while already qualified and with them determined to lose to go on the easy side of the panel, and they got 2 goals from Japan in 5 minutes. You can come back from that but not from 2 goals from Brazil. We'll see.
Poor Japan! How popular is in your country (I could tell the name but I know only the italian version of it, and I don't even know if the names are kept right.... here they called them Oliver Hatton and Mark Lenders) the japan cartoon about young kids playing soccer with crazy sheaningans and impossible goals? in Italy it's very popular and comments about Japan being those team of kids abound on social networks :lol
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Saw just a few minutes of the first game, only thing I remember is Neymar having a seizure during the game.
Same here. Turned it on, saw Neymar pounding the grass like an petulant child. Thought "as expected".
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Saw the first half, went grocery shoping. When I came back 2-0 to Japan :o, prepared some food and came back 3-2 to Belgium!! WTF!? :lol
Have to rewatch the game because I pretty much missed everything.
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I don't know if I should be sad for Japan that they went out in the last minute of the game or if I should be in awe for Belgium to come back after being down two goals in the second half.
Some of the refs should start giving Neymar cards for faking it. His behaviour is so repulsive, it's the main reason why I hope Brazil doesn't win the cup.
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So today we'll see how Sweden and England will do: they're the only team left in their half of the panel to have ever reached a final.
Only once each.
And that was in the 50's and the 60's.
Basically there is no player in this World Cup (and I assume you can say that even as far as the 2002 world cup) that was alive when either Sweden or England played their only final. One finalist of this Cup is gonna basically be a novelty anyway, let's see how extreme that novelty will be.
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Wow this Belgium team is amazing and I think they have the depth to beat Brazil. Crazy game.
Did we watch the same game? Belgium were on their way to conceding 3 goals from Japan within like 10-15 minutes, their defense was terrible. Their only hope against Brazil I can see is from the brilliant De Bruyne/Mertens passes onto Lukaku, but otherwise, neh. Really happy they made it through though because while I do have Belgian friends, the only Japanese friend I have is not involved in football at all. Was kind of hoping for penalties though.
Really excited for Colombia - England, and while Sweden - Switzerland doesn't interest me a whole lot, I do like the Swedish side a lot and have always found Switzerland super boring, so here's to hoping for a Colombia - Sweden matchup in the quarters.
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So today we'll see how Sweden and England will do: they're the only team left in their half of the panel to have ever reached a final.
Only once each.
And that was in the 50's and the 60's.
Basically there is no player in this World Cup (and I assume you can say that even as far as the 2002 world cup) that was alive when either Sweden or England played their only final. One finalist of this Cup is gonna basically be a novelty anyway, let's see how extreme that novelty will be.
Funny fact: Not many in Sweden are aware of the silver in 58 however our bronze in 94 and the team that played are national treasures in Sweden. You could ask any person in Sweden and they could atleast name 2-3 players from the 94 team. However ask them about the players from 58 and it's total blank. :lol
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I still remember Brolin and Kenneth Anderson.
And well, I guess from Italy's victories in 1934 and 1938 there are houseould names like Piola and Meazza, but we actually won those Cups, so that's easier to remember ;D
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And then there's Henrik Larsson as well as Patrik Andersson and Martin Dahlin, who I know because they played for german clubs for a while.
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Sweden wins 2 - 0 against Switzerland!
Congratulations to the scandivian vikings for being among the top 8 teams of the world, and for putting to good use the chance to be there gotten at the expense of Italy, you dirty f@[kers :lol (nah, just kiddin', as I said I don't place blames that belong only to Italy at Sweden's feet).
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Yay!
I thought the game was kind of boring. A bit exciting at the end but mostly because the push for a goal by the Swiss and the Swedes trying to defend.
We haven't reached a quarter final since 94 so that's of course exciting. :tup
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It was 1 - 0 though.
Debating if I should watch England or just go to sleep, haha.
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Sweden wins 2 - 0 against Switzerland!
???
I think the difference between excitement of the games in the 'strong' and 'weak' halves of the bracket is insane so far, hope Colombia and England can break the pattern tonight.
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It was 1 - 0 though.
Indeed, silly me.
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Not sure what the Columbian players are complaining about, that was such a clear cut penalty. It was basically a wrestling move.
EDIT: Commentator has also noticed some of the players scuffing up the penalty spot while others protest at the referee. Utterly awful behaviour.
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Not sure what the Columbian players are complaining about, that was such a clear cut penalty. It was basically a wrestling move.
EDIT: Commentator has also noticed some of the players scuffing up the penalty spot while others protest at the referee. Utterly awful behaviour.
Indeed. The foul was there. What's the point in whining over and over for the penalty? I now root for England.
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Holy shit!
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lol
Classic England.
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Typical England. Columbia are a disgrace though, and this American ref is out of his depths.
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The controversy about the penalty is not about whether he made a foul. Kane (supposedly, that's another discussion) fouled the Colombian player before that, which would make it a free kick for Colombia.
Anyway, pretty mediocre game, and gross playing by both teams. Wouldn't mind seeing both teams drop from the tournament despite my love for Falcao.
Also this
this American ref is out of his depths.
Just hoping for PKs at this point because what the hell, make them suffer a bit longer :lol
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YEEEEEEEEAASAHHHH
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Bloody hell that was tense.
Not a great game, but overall I do think England deserved it more than Colombia. Not sure it's looking all that great for the rest of the Cup though!
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That one hand save was crazy. :omg:
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I literally only watched the last 10 minutes snd the penalty shootout because I was busy working on the new hoise, but what a fantastic end to my evening this is. I literally shouted YES! at Eric Diers winning penalty. Fucking great this is.
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On to the quaterfinals!
France v Uruguay
Brazil v Belgium
Russia v Croatia
Sweden v England
Picks are France, Brazil, Croatia, Sweden.
Knowing how my picks went last time, I'm quite sure I'll get at least one right.
Didn't get to see any matches today. Did catch the end of regular time of England - Colombia, I can only imagine how the English fans felt after that super late equalizer. Glad they made it to the next round.
Ideally I'd like a Belgium v Croatia final.
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Did they take notice from me about how to shoot penalty kicks? :lol Croatia and Denmark kicked them all very lousy, these ones were all powerful and aimed high. Of course Colombia proved the fatal flaw in aiming high where the goalkeeper can't reach it, if you're not precise, you hit the post.
France vs Uruguay... hope for Uruguay, I assume France
Brazil vs Belgium.... hope for Belgium, I assume Brazil
Russia vs Croatia... probably Croatia
Sweden vs England... maybe England, dunno. They're the "expert" ones of their half of the table, the only ones who reached a final.... in the last millennium :D
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Ecstatic to see these Colombian team lose, especially after getting so close. Vile assholes.
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I feel bad for James Rodriguez, you could tell he wanted to try and make the difference so bad
Anyway, my picks for semis are: France, Belgium, Croatia and England. Just listing these as the last 4 countries in a world cup feels crazy, holy shit, this world cup is crazy.
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My picks...
Uruguay
Brazil
Croatia
Sweden
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England winning a penalty shootout in a big tourney? What's next? Unicorns? Mike Portnoy and Kevin Moore recording with Dream Theater?
Anyway, not really good games but congrats to England and Sweden. They got the job done.
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Colombia looked a half-decent team once they started playing football.
As for our lot, excellent control in the first half, looked comfortable on the ball. But here's the kicker, across 120 minutes we created almost nothing.
Still, we won a penalty shoot-out, and that's reason enough for a national celebration :lol
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Colombia's coach at times, depending on the way you looked at him, kinda resembled Roger Waters ;D
Anyway I think that Uruguay vs France and Brazil vs Belgium are somehow the "real" semi-finals of the tournament. And the resulting match out of those two winners will be the anticipated final. Then after that "not exactly final", it will probably be a formality to face in the actual final whoever comes up from the other side of the panel.
Then again this is the "never say never" Cup and Croatia or England might win the whole thing.
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Still heartbroken about Colombia losing, but I'm proud of the team anyways. Brought England to its knees in a very physical game on the extra time with our main player and two other ones injured. Neutralized a very offensive and assembled team like the English, which wasn't an easy task. And the penalties are a lottery anyway.
Mark Geiger was atrocious, for both sides. I'll be the first to say that Barrios deserved a red card for giving in foolishly to those provocations of the English defender on that free kick (Maguire?) and trying to headbutt him. Geiger also stopped a legal play that would have ended in a Colombia goal for no apparent reason. Had no control over the players, giving yellow cards to some for barely protesting (Falcao) while others were given free tackles with no cards given.
Since England are the ones who kicked us out I'll follow the South American custom of rooting for any team that goes against them (Worked for Brazil in 2014 :lol ). I want the cup to stay in South America so I'll root for Uruguay and Brazil. And if an European team must win, I hope it's Croatia.
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Uruguay - France coming up next!!!
Will Mbappè crown himself the real king of the Cup, after the mighty have fallen (Ronaldo and Messi), or a Cavani-less Uruguay will inflict another sorrow to the frenchies, which just like the germans should be used to get their ass kicked while in Russia?
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Quarter-finals about to begin:
France - 6 letters
Uruguay - 7 letters
Brazil - 6 letters
Belgium - 7 letters
Russia - 6 letters
Croatia - 7 letters
Sweden - 6 letters
England - 7 letters
6 + 7 = 13.
You know what else has 13 letters? "IT'S COMING HOME!"
Come on England!
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This Cavani-less Uruguay squad was just hopeless, so much unnecessary ball loss, and not to speak of the friggin 2-0 :lol Deschamps really needs to sack Umtiti though, he is the obvious weak point in France's defence, has been the entire tournament
Hope Brazil - Belgium will be more exciting.
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Say that somehow Belgium wins - we'd know already this evening that for the third time in a row there would be an european world champion, and just like 2006, there would be all european teams in the semifinals.
It's Brazil against the rest of Europe basically.
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This Cavani-less Uruguay squad was just hopeless, so much unnecessary ball loss, and not to speak of the friggin 2-0 :lol
I agree. It was sad to watch, to be honest, especially because I was rooting for Uruguay in this one.
Heading out to my favourite local bar to watch Brazil vs Belgium, hopefully it'll be interesting.
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Damn that was a fantastic goal!
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Damn that was a fantastic goal!
Indeed! Whenever Belgium restarts, I'm happy to not be a brazilian fan otherwise my pants would be ruined! awesome second goal!
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Very exciting game so far! Happy with Belgium so far, although I guess they could play more tightly in defense, the first ten minutes were pretty alarming.
Can't wait for the second half!
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Belgium did! Brazil has fallen!
All european semi final!
Fourth World Cup in a row won by an european!
Now really I root for Belgium against France and then I really don't care who wins, may the best team left get the cup!
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Yaay Belgium, no more Neymar :tup
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This Belgium Brazil game was absolutely insane. The Brazil team is super talented and I think when they weren't diving, which was considerably less this game comparatively, they created chances like no other. The second half was relentless, I really thought Brazil would equalize and then take the lead. Insane game. I hope tomorrow's games are somewhat in this realm.
Too bad the final couldn't be France v Belgium. That would've amazing.
Man of the Match goes to the Belgium goalkeeper, that save of Neymar's kick right at the end was phenomenal. That was the best save of this world cup so far.
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Man of the Match goes to the Belgium goalkeeper, that save of Neymar's kick right at the end was phenomenal. That was the best save of this world cup so far.
I would say the save Lloris did earlier against Uruguay rivals it.
Really happy for Belgium though. That was a fun game to watch and pretty much everyone at the bar was rooting for them. I too thought Brazil will equalize it in the end but glad it didn't happen.
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I've read that this is the first time since 1930 (yeah, the first edition) where there's not either Brazil, Italy or Germany in the semi finals. They won 13 Cups together - the teams left have won 2 in total, and one was so long ago that no player of this cup (and give or take going back as far as 2002) was alive when that happened.
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Best save of the tournament for me definitely was from the Japanese keeper against Belgium. Cannot find any videos of it but he saved a header from a couple meters away in the corner and then saved the rebound as well. Absolutely world-class. Too bad he made some rookie mistakes in that very same game too :lol but that save still definitely stands as the best of the WC2018
Too bad Brazil didn't play as brilliantly the rest of the game as they did in the last 12 or so minutes, that was great to watch. But all around it was a great game, since Belgium were a lot of fun in the first half.
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One thing that I realized is that now basically anyone has a concrete shot at winning the Cup - and they know it.
In a normal tournament, it's fun to daydream but you know deep down that Brazil, Germany, Spain and the likes are there. Here ALL the mighty have fallen, save for France who is used to be there, and so every team can think "oh shit - we play well a couple of matches against other Why-Are-They-Even-Here teams and we win it".
By now I think that the history of the teams no longer matter - it matters only their current form, both physical and psychological, and their hunger. The king is dead, the throne is vacant and anyone wants to sit on it - and they realistically could.
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(https://scontent.fsnc1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/36716954_10156556880621967_6904772029879156736_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=b650a0b2d6be8c99e7c3878ac6515a09&oe=5BE2BA7F)
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:lol
Rooting for England here. Excited as hell for today's games!
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Let's go Sweden! :tup
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Well, as far as the first half goes, England looked better. Their keeper pretty much didn't have anything to do. I'm curious if Sweden has something up their sleeve for the second half.
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Pretty entertaining game, England is definitely the deserved leader so far. Maybe a surprise goal by Sweden could make things more interesting for both sides though :tup
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Yea dosen't look good for Sweden right now. :-[
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Sweden aren't playing like they are down 2 goals. This England team seem very poised so far and creating several chances even with being ahead.
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Congrats England!
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Good game. England looked better, and I liked that they didn't stop after their second goal, but continued to attack instead. However if Sweden did score in the beginning of the second half, who knows how the game would've went. I'm glad for England to get to semifinals with such a young team, good job.
Now it's time to get some beer and prepare for my team playing against Croatia, let's see how that goes.
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Well, England deserved it.
So, the most unusual final could be Belgium vs Croatia. The most "noble" final would be two one-time world champions: France vs England.
An historical rivalry settled into the land where no conqueror ever won :biggrin:
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I would watch the hell out of France vs England. Or Belgium vs England now that the result actually matters.
I don't have much faith in our team against England, so yeah. :lol I guess we may win against Croatia, but England is probably going to dominate us if it comes to that.
Gonna poke Tomislav on Facebook now.
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Opeth? Flower Kings? Beardfish? Pain of Salvation? Can you hear me? Your boys took one hell of a beating! :metal
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Opeth? Flower Kings? Beardfish? Pain of Salvation? Can you hear me? Your boys took one hell of a beating! :metal
LOL, if it was all about music, it would be hard to not root for England (especially since the nation of our own DT isn't present). Beatles and Rolling Stones.... Led Zeppelin... Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden.... I mean, it all started there!
Meanwhile, Russia scored a gigantic goal!
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:metal :metal :metal
Edit: fuck! :lol
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Opeth? Flower Kings? Beardfish? Pain of Salvation? Can you hear me? Your boys took one hell of a beating! :metal
You forgot to call out ABBA and IKEA!
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Great game, the game just went up 200% after Russia scored.
Too bad it went too penalties imo.
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Man, mad props to Subasic for staying in and still doing great, he had some great saves against a stronger Russia in the last 15 minutes. Despite seemingly getting injured in the 89th minute.
Also where the fuck does Modric get all his energy? :lol Still running at full speed when all the other players in the field are barely standing.
Fun game, but again Croatia not showing their full potential. I'm pretty neutral right now to be honest.
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Damn, this will be intense!
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I've seen some bad penalty kicks this tournament, but Smolov takes the cake for worst on-target penalty kick for sure
Congrats to Croatia for making the semis for the first time in 20 (?) years :metal
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I mean, Fernandez gets a pass because he actually scored in the extra time. Smolov doesn't. What the fuck was that, man. What the hell.
I feel pretty bad for Akinfeev, he saved one penalty and almost saved the next one.
Oh well, that's a well deserved win for Croatia anyway. Russia did nothing in the second half and only woke up in the second extra-time half. But I'm going to root for England anyway, mostly because I love England and I hope their young team will win the whole thing.
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Well, weird how either one would have reached the semifinals after two draws (technically a game which ends on penalties is a draw), but well, someone has to go through.
So, France vs England is the announced final, let's see what Belgium and Croatia will do!
And I hope Putin will show some clemency to the guys who screwed up their penalties :lol seriously, it's the first penalty of a quarter final of a world cup, why oh why do you have to make that weird kick made famous by Totti?
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dzH0z1_-hY
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Opeth? Flower Kings? Beardfish? Pain of Salvation? Can you hear me? Your boys took one hell of a beating! :metal
You forgot to call out ABBA and IKEA!
This is a prog forum dammit! :P
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I'm really happy for my team :) I wouldn't be mad if they lost two next matches tbh but I think it's not impossible for them to win England. It's gonna be a fine match either way.
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France vs. Belgium is probably my most anticipated game of the tournament. I'm getting flashbacks to 2 years ago where we all thought that whoever was going to win the Germany/France semi-final would surely go on to win the whole thing, but then Portugal won. :lol So I'm not going to make any claims that the stronger bracket will be the winning one.
There isn't really any team I am rooting for at this point, I liked France Belgium and Croatia from the beginning and England haven't done too bad either.
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I root for Belgium of course, when it comes to football italians and frenchies will hate each other until the end of time, just like any other neighbour ever all over the world :metal
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Uhhh no. The Netherlands and Belgium love each other :lol
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When it comes to all neighbouring and in-cities rivalry (United and City for Manchester, Inter and Milan for Milan etc), I'd say that these rivalries are like marriages: ok, for you who is personally involved, it's the most important thing in the world, but all over the world they're happening exactly the same, and nobody cares about yours ;D
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Yeah, also rooting for Belgium today. Should be a curious game.
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Yeah, Belgium is my favourite of the four remaining teams now.
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Yea i'm rooting for Belgium too. :tup
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Ronaldo is signing with Juventus in a transfer from Real Madrid. :metal
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Ronaldo is signing with Juventus in a transfer from Real Madrid. :metal
Even though I root for AC Milan and therefore I don't give a rat's ass about Juventus, I'm happy and not jealous at all. The best player in the world comes in the italian championship and the whole system will benefit from it.
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France in the final 10 minutes played the most unsporting match in the entire tournament. Completely didn't deserve the win whatsoever.
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I mean Belgium had like 40+ minutes to score after France scored, so I'm not sure what they were thinking. I'm also not sure about what Martinez had in mind with his substitution strategy. But anyway, France was just maddening to watch in the last 10 minutes + additional time. They weren't as much playing as they were just wasting time there. Fuck that. Whoever wins the tomorrow's game (hopefully England), I'm rooting for them in the Finals.
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The Belgians were fuckin warriors! They played so much better than every other team in this cup, so unfair to see them go like that, that French team is even shittier than the Colombian one when it comes to mannerisms.
I hope the Croatians rub their faces in the grass.. but it's not likely.
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Whoever wins the tomorrow's game (hopefully England), I'm rooting for them in the Finals.
Absolutely.
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One thing that I don't understand about wasting time is that if for whatever reason the other team scores (and that happened plenty of times in this tournament), you no longer have the proper time to come back. Just play until the end, with all the attention to defense of course, but don't waste time 'cause suddenly you might find yourself in need of some.
Anyway, I hope either Croatia or England wins this thing.
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One thing that I don't understand about wasting time is that if for whatever reason the other team scores (and that happened plenty of times in this tournament), you no longer have the proper time to come back. Just play until the end, with all the attention to defense of course, but don't waste time 'cause suddenly you might find yourself in need of some.
Anyway, I hope either Croatia or England wins this thing.
Just read an article the other day where researchers watched a bunch of World Cup games with stopwatches and tracked all the stoppage time that actually occurs in game and they found that the refs tend to undershoot it by a fair bit. So if you're ahead it absolutely makes sense to waste as much time as possible because the refs probably won't give your opponents all of it back and so they get less time to score.
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Exactly. And that's why I wish FIFA would amend rules to implement a stop-watch based system, stop time when play stops, resume when it resumes and no stoppage time would be needed, much more fair.
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Exactly. And that's why I wish FIFA would amend rules to implement a stop-watch based system, stop time when play stops, resume when it resumes and no stoppage time would be needed, much more fair.
That will never go down with TV rights, not knowing the exact time when the match will end...
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Exactly. And that's why I wish FIFA would amend rules to implement a stop-watch based system, stop time when play stops, resume when it resumes and no stoppage time would be needed, much more fair.
I think this could only be applied in let´s say the last 10 minutes of a game, otherwise the games would drag on forever. Think of all the times were the ball goes out of touch, or when there is a foul and teams need time to prepare the plays and it's not really wasting time.
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Or they could just get on the refs to make accurate stoppage time calls.
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Exactly. And that's why I wish FIFA would amend rules to implement a stop-watch based system, stop time when play stops, resume when it resumes and no stoppage time would be needed, much more fair.
That will never go down with TV rights, not knowing the exact time when the match will end...
I think this could only be applied in let´s say the last 10 minutes of a game, otherwise the games would drag on forever. Think of all the times were the ball goes out of touch, or when there is a foul and teams need time to prepare the plays and it's not really wasting time.
Applying it for the last 10 minutes or so is a great idea. It would take care of the TV issue MirrorMask mentioned.
But replying to what you said; I think I'd love to see that though, a sense of urgency throughout. So when there's a foul and the referee sprays his fuckin shaving cream on the grass, everyone would get behind it without arguing and behaving like children. I'm sick of that sight. They'll know the longer they waste time the longer they stay on the field.
And on the other hand think of all the time winners waste, it's criminal! I don't remember which game cause I watched all the games this world cup but it really aggravated me watching a substitution for the winners side and seeing the player slow motion dragging his ass out of the field, stopping a taking a moment to wipe his nose with his t-shirt and I thought yellow card! then the camera goes to the referee and he's having a drink of water..
Also since we're on the topic of rules that could be changed, red card for divers, period. Make an example of them and this whole thing will go away pretty fast. Review the VAR and trust the referee to make the judgement whether the hit was worth Neymaring around for a whole minute then red card the bitch.
And bring back silver or golden goals, penalty kicks are not fair, nor are they a quarter-decent measurement of a how better a team is. Keep playing until someone scores and it becomes a battle of stamina and persistence followed by well earned perseverance.
/rant
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Nah, silver and golden goals sucked.
I'm for having penalty kicks BEFORE the extra time, and have them be deciding only if after the extra time it's still a draw. That way you'd see the losing side with extra fire, maybe coming mostly for those who missed the penalties.
(And anyway, as unfair as penalty kicks might be, it's thrilling to watch them).
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Man, I hate Mbappe but that was a quality game yesterday. Hazard was good this game, but France was the better team overall ever so slightly.
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Nah, silver and golden goals sucked.
Yes, they do.
But there's one exception: Oliver Bierhoff's goal in the 96 european championship final :metal :metal :metal :biggrin:
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Exactly. And that's why I wish FIFA would amend rules to implement a stop-watch based system, stop time when play stops, resume when it resumes and no stoppage time would be needed, much more fair.
That will never go down with TV rights, not knowing the exact time when the match will end...
I think this could only be applied in let´s say the last 10 minutes of a game, otherwise the games would drag on forever. Think of all the times were the ball goes out of touch, or when there is a foul and teams need time to prepare the plays and it's not really wasting time.
Applying it for the last 10 minutes or so is a great idea. It would take care of the TV issue MirrorMask mentioned.
But replying to what you said; I think I'd love to see that though, a sense of urgency throughout. So when there's a foul and the referee sprays his fuckin shaving cream on the grass, everyone would get behind it without arguing and behaving like children. I'm sick of that sight. They'll know the longer they waste time the longer they stay on the field.
And on the other hand think of all the time winners waste, it's criminal! I don't remember which game cause I watched all the games this world cup but it really aggravated me watching a substitution for the winners side and seeing the player slow motion dragging his ass out of the field, stopping a taking a moment to wipe his nose with his t-shirt and I thought yellow card! then the camera goes to the referee and he's having a drink of water..
Also since we're on the topic of rules that could be changed, red card for divers, period. Make an example of them and this whole thing will go away pretty fast. Review the VAR and trust the referee to make the judgement whether the hit was worth Neymaring around for a whole minute then red card the bitch.
And bring back silver or golden goals, penalty kicks are not fair, nor are they a quarter-decent measurement of a how better a team is. Keep playing until someone scores and it becomes a battle of stamina and persistence followed by well earned perseverance.
/rant
This is all fantastic.
I'm for having penalty kicks BEFORE the extra time, and have them be deciding only if after the extra time it's still a draw. That way you'd see the losing side with extra fire, maybe coming mostly for those who missed the penalties.
(And anyway, as unfair as penalty kicks might be, it's thrilling to watch them).
And this is an even better idea, although you might get the winning team to be literally defending their goal with 11 players for the entire duration.
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True - that's the only downside of it. But if you won the penalty shootouts, it's up to you to chose to park the bus as a defensive strategy, and that is not a 100% effective strategy. You have to never ever make a single mistake for 30 minutes straight, while the other team has nothing to lose. It should be tested in some competitions to see how it actually goes...
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It's not a bad idea but I don't think it will really make the overtime more interesting. It's really no different than what we've seen in a lot of games. Once you have the lead (regardless of how you got it, via penaltay shootout or a fieldgoal early in overtime) you play it save and as the end draws near you will try to waste as much time as possible. The other team will try to score but will not risk it all, because if a counterattack is successfull you almost have no chance to make a comeback. Maybe in the last couple of minutes you give up your defense but probably not sooner.
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Oh my, so much hate to read, and so many non objective people :D
The match wasn't great, tho stressful, but we just won, 100% won.
And we were convinced belgium was going to win until the match.
It was cool having minimum big fouls, and minimum neymarism (comedy).
The guys wounded yesterday were french, apart hazard the belgians didn't played like ballerinas.
The only reason belgium lost is because their 4-5 huge opportunities weren't aimed to the cage, period !
It's not our fault if they got unlucky or whatever made them miss every shot and every head :)
They just didn't play well enough to win.
Lukaku and de bruyne were nearly invisible, to help the least.
Remember 98' and you'll know sportmanship is better now than then
I don't like penalties, especially for the last 10 matches of the cup, as an exemple Croatia began the competition very well, and played less brillantly each match, and won twice at penalties because they made too many wrong decisions and didn't win.
Winning a world cup at penalties is a minor victory and has very less class than a positive score.
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Exactly. And that's why I wish FIFA would amend rules to implement a stop-watch based system, stop time when play stops, resume when it resumes and no stoppage time would be needed, much more fair.
It's on the right track, but it still could be abused. There needs to be certain situations when the clock doesn't stop, otherwise players would just keep kicking the ball out of play if they need to buy some time.
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Oh my, so much hate to read, and so many non objective people :D
The match wasn't great, tho stressful, but we just won, 100% won.
And we were convinced belgium was going to win until the match.
It was cool having minimum big fouls, and minimum neymarism (comedy).
The guys wounded yesterday were french, apart hazard the belgians didn't played like ballerinas.
The only reason belgium lost is because their 4-5 huge opportunities weren't aimed to the cage, period !
It's not our fault if they got unlucky or whatever made them miss every shot and every head :)
They just didn't play well enough to win.
Lukaku and de bruyne were nearly invisible, to help the least.
Remember 98' and you'll know sportmanship is better now than then
I don't think there's any doubt that France played better than Belgium yesterday, wasn't a complete steamroll though, I think Belgium put up a good fight. It's hard for a player like Lukaku to shine when very little direct chances on goal are created by the team. I believe they even had more ball possession and passes, just didn't create a lot of big chances.
Meanwhile, France did create some huge chances, but like always, Giroud fucks up big time during his international games. I seriously don't get it man, we know how good this guy can be, but never pulls it off with France. It's like Rooney for England.
Super excited for today's game. At this point hoping for either France to win because of their performance in this tournament, or Croatia because of the love for dark horses and despite my hatred towards Real Madrid, my love for Modric
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I'm undecided between Croatia and "whoever might defeat France in the final" (probably England).
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Exactly. And that's why I wish FIFA would amend rules to implement a stop-watch based system, stop time when play stops, resume when it resumes and no stoppage time would be needed, much more fair.
It's on the right track, but it still could be abused. There needs to be certain situations when the clock doesn't stop, otherwise players would just keep kicking the ball out of play if they need to buy some time.
In my mind they wouldn't want to though, because their main concern would be exhaustion.
Hey what's been everybody's favorite goal of the cup so far?
Mine is Kroos against Sweden (https://youtu.be/JDGR1ER-9Sc), man I lost my shit when he scored that goal. It's just so brilliant! I might be wrong but I think the purpose of that initial pass before the shot is to break the goal keeper's line of sight with the ball so it would be too late when he sees it, cause I think that was savable if Kroos had just shot right away from the free kick. Which makes it even more amazing that they executed it that way.
I really wish he would transfer to Bayren.
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According to Reuss and Kroos, they planned it that way and Kroos didn't want to shoot directly because the angle was too steep.
And no, Kroos should/could go anywhere, but not to Bayern München. Would make the Bundesliga even more one-sided and boring.
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Heading to the bar for today's match. Go England!
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Should be a good game.
England v France would be interesting, but I think Croatia has a better chance v France. A bit more physical to rattle the French.
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Best goal of the tournament? Easy: Pavard against Argentina https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ov39iGAgEn4
Go Croatia :metal
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I'm neutral. Croatia does not have her shit together though, at all. And England is missing most ridiculous opportunities. I'm worried about the final here, who ever is gonna get me the shots of French players weeping needs to step up their game :lol
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Croatia has tightly reassembled their shit :biggrin:
Seriously it's like it's not even the same team from the first half heh
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Three extra times in a row. Unreal. Imagine Croatia going to the finals with yet another penalty shootout. Maybe they will win the whole thing with 4 draws in a row :lol
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Seriously it's like it's not even the same team from the first half heh
And England is fucking up everything is this second half.
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The Croatians have started falling over all the time and it's really annoying.
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Then again the English keep passing it dangerously back to the goalkeeper, which is also really annoying.
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OMFG Croatia won :o :metal
The underdog against the historical inaccurancy (the french reaching Moscow), with 3 extra times in a row and one day less of rest..... it's gonna be a carnage but at this point it's really up to them to find the strenghts to do the unthinkable and win!!!
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England played terribly in the second half. I'm sorry to say that, because I would have liked England to go to the finals.
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Yeah, shame but ah well, best England have done in a major tournament in a very long time and they've restored a lot of faith in the team. Especially with such a young squad, we never expected to get this far so things are potentially promising for the future.
Bit disappointed that both finalists played quite cheap in their semi-finals. Lots of falling over and time-wasting and suchlike. Both were the better teams and deserve to be in the final, but it's the side of football that I dislike and that has reduced my interest in recent years.
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OMFG Croatia won :o :metal
The underdog against the historical inaccurancy (the french reaching Moscow), with 3 extra times in a row and one day less of rest..... it's gonna be a carnage but at this point it's really up to them to find the strenghts to do the unthinkable and win!!!
Don't get me wrong, I know that soccer is the most exhausting activity one can engage in (with mass genocide coming in second), but for these world class athletes is four days not enough time to recover for the next game?
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Don't get me wrong, I know that soccer is the most exhausting activity one can engage in (with mass genocide coming in second), but for these world class athletes is four days not enough time to recover for the next game?
Think about it this way: Croatia playing three extra times and France playing none means a difference of full 90 minutes, basically an entire match. I'm quite certain it means something this far into the tournament, though Croatia won't have to travel because the final will be played in Moscow.
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Yeah, shame but ah well, best England have done in a major tournament in a very long time and they've restored a lot of faith in the team. Especially with such a young squad, we never expected to get this far so things are potentially promising for the future.
England in the finals in 4 years. Maybe European Cup first in 2 years.
Bit disappointed that both finalists played quite cheap in their semi-finals. Lots of falling over and time-wasting and suchlike. Both were the better teams and deserve to be in the final, but it's the side of football that I dislike and that has reduced my interest in recent years.
Yeah, I definitely understand what you're getting at, though France was notably worse at the shenanigans. I'll be rooting for Croatia, because rooting for underdogs is way more fun (+ I like their play-style better than the French).
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Anyway, 1998 - 2000: France wins the World Cup and the Euro Cup.
2016 - 2018: France loses the Euro Cup final and now has a World Cup final ahead..... mh..... *fingers crossed*
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Hats off to the English team for an amazing run. Special shout out to Jordan Pickford, who was a complete unknown to me before this cup since I don't follow the premier league, he was to this world cup what Manuel Neuer was to the previous world cup, easily the best goal keeper of the tournment IMO.
Also shout outs to Kane, Maguire, Sterling and Trippier.
When the match ended and they revealed the final draw with the teams for the final and the teams for the 3rd place matches, the 3rd place match looked like it would have made a much better and more deserved final than the actual final. England VS. Belgium final would have been awesome, still excited to see it though, I know it's gonna feel like the final to me.
Modrić, please lift that cup bro. I mean.. please.
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And no, Kroos should/could go anywhere, but not to Bayern München. Would make the Bundesliga even more one-sided and boring.
Ok the Bundesliga could not get more one-sided and boring if they started playing chess instead of football and all the players gained a 100 pounds, it's hopeless. I'm eyeing the UEFA Champions League!
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I'm glad it's not coming home. Croatia has had an amazing World Cup and I really look forward to see how the match unravels on sunday. That being said, they're going as severe underdogs against a much younger France.
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Was kinda pulling for the Eng/France match up, but pretty stoked for Croatia. Should be a good final.
In other news, los Xolos de Tijuana beat the Monarcas de Morelia in a friendly in Sacramento. My first Mexican league game was quite the experience, those fans are fucking nuts. I can only imagine what 80k of them packed into Estadio Azteca for the Chivas/America game would be like. Great time all around.
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Also shout outs to Kane, Maguire, Sterling and Trippier.
Sterling?? What did he do but fuck up pretty much any chance he could have created for his team?
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Yeah, Sterling was definitely not in shape yesterday although in previous matches he did pretty well if I remember correctly.
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All Sterling can do is run fast...
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2015 was his golden year for England!
(https://snag.gy/QHbK6F.jpg)
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I agree about yesterday, I was thinking overall since group stage.
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I know you were, but I guess I just don't see how he contributed in any way to England's (admittedly, good world cup) performance. Personally my pick for the worst player of the team along with Kyle Walker (for him, mostly due to yesterday's game).
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I have no idea where Croatia got the energy from for that kind of second-half performance. Amazing. England looked tired, and seemed content trying to manage their 1:0. That almost never works though, especially not for 60 minutes.
Pretty sure France will mow over Croatia though. None of their star players are injured, they never played any overtime in the knockout games and will have had one more day or rest on Sunday.
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These are highly trained athletes that normally do train for several hours almost each day. Does it really matter that Croatia has played more because of their overtimes. I find that hard to believe. Give 'em half a day off and everything's fine. But still I think that France will win and that it probably will be a boring game dictated by tactics.
And I think that Belgium vs. England for third place has the potential to be highly entertaining if both teams just play for the fun of it.
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After a final ended on penalties (2006 :metal ) and two finals a in a row solved near the end of the overtime with the same stingy result (2010 and 2014), I hope for a classic, 90 minutes final with some goals.
France vs Argentina was the best match as far as emotions go: a team goes up, then goes down, then goes up again with a vengeance, and then the other team scores to keep things on suspence until the end. The problem is that teams generally play finals not to win them, but to not lose them, and so tactics and fear dominate often a match.
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I'm going to root for Croatia, but I'm pretty sure France is going to take the win. That said, I'm way more excited for a proper England - Belgium game, now that both teams don't have anything to lose really, I hope it's going to be great.
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It's 20 years since France won gold so it would be cool if they did it now in that sense. However i'm rooting for Croatia, they're hungrig and will fight. It has the potential to be a great game.
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Tintin got the better of Sherlock lads!
Good clean game, these teams are better sportsmen than tomorrow's teams but I guess that's partially why they're third and forth.
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Belgium looked great and was a pleasure to watch. A well-deserved win, even though I was rooting for England. Good game overall too.
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Belgium played brilliantly, despite England asking them questions in the second half. That goal-line clearance was incredible! And then the counter-attack to produce the second goal...wow!
Onwards to the Final now! I just hope we get a half-decent game this time. Finals rarely produce classic matches. The last three have gone to extra time, and only in 2006 was the score not 0-0 after 90 minutes.
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Pretty good match so far!
I'm glad Lars is commenting on this one, I'm gonna miss him after this world cup haha
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great game so far
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Officiating gods are on France's side in this one. Oof.
Good match so far, but these calls/non-calls are brutal.
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that hand ball was questionable. but they replayed it then the ref watched it. so they properly used the technology. for that I give them credit.
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The UK pundits were adamant that it shouldn't have been a penalty because the ref just couldn't have been certain that it was deliberate. But I'm sure I remember the rules (or perhaps the interpretation) changing a number of years ago such that handballs like that where the hand moves to the ball and it affects/disrupts play are a foul whether clearly intentional or not.
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I don't have a dog in this fight, but this game is why soccer is the greatest sport
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Would love for Crotia to turn this around, great game for a finale.
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Would love for Crotia to turn this around, great game for a finale.
agree
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(https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/mysingingmonsters/images/5/5d/Homer_Simpson.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20170220004946)
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Viva la France!
(https://koalaprint.lt/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Prancuzijos-veliava.png)
Well fought Crotia in this game and overall!
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Good game this time from France, a well-deserved win. Croatia tried but failed to turn this around. Still, a joy to watch, great game.
Congrats France!
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Heeeey Philipp Lahm is there!
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At 36, is it too late for me to be a professional football player, get my Croatian citizenship and win the next world cup? Cause I really wanna hug the Croatian president. I've got four years to do it! It'll be a grand success story if I can make it happen.
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I have been watching world cups since 1972. This has been the best one ever. Congrats France. They are going to be a power to be reckoned with the next 10 years.
Congrats Croatia. What a talented a fun team.
and yeah, I would more than hug the Croatian president hehe
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I hope she's not the president in 4 years.
Anyways, I'm really proud to be Croat right now, they played some of the best football in competition and with some luck they might have won it. Second place is an awesome success, the best in Croatian football. I just hope we won't need to wait another 20 years for another semi ;)
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The UK pundits were adamant that it shouldn't have been a penalty because the ref just couldn't have been certain that it was deliberate. But I'm sure I remember the rules (or perhaps the interpretation) changing a number of years ago such that handballs like that where the hand moves to the ball and it affects/disrupts play are a foul whether clearly intentional or not.
I personally don't think it should have ben a call for a penalty. The referee hesitating to make the call and watching it multiple times (and even walking back to the VAR) is case in point I think. That said; it was a good game definitely and however much I would have liked Croatia to win, the French were far more effective in their attacks. The only thing that's a bit sour though was that France was leading 2-1 at half-time with only one shot on goal.
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I will be remembering the moment when I looked down to put my glass on the table for 2 seconds and missing the silliest goal in WC finals history, geez Lloris, did so fucking great the whole tournament :lol I'm glad for him that it didn't end up being a fatal mistake.
I really think the penalty decision could have been a coin toss, it's a really tough decision and could easily see both sides. Surprised no one has mentioned the 1-0 that was scored through a free kick that was given for a super obvious Griezmann dive.
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The UK pundits were adamant that it shouldn't have been a penalty because the ref just couldn't have been certain that it was deliberate. But I'm sure I remember the rules (or perhaps the interpretation) changing a number of years ago such that handballs like that where the hand moves to the ball and it affects/disrupts play are a foul whether clearly intentional or not.
The pundits in Canada, who are all British, said the same thing. One of them is former English referee Howard Webb, whose opinion would hold more weight that most in this matter.
I thought Croatia were the better team today, but France were the best team in the tournament overall.
Apparently the fools who invaded the pitch during the match were the band Pussy Riot. Guess theyll be cooling their heels in jail again. :o
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Congrats to France. They were the more effective (and more lucky) team in the finals and the better team regarding the whole world cup.
And it was an entertaining final, not the boring and tactical match I feared for.
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I had login issues and couldn't comment in real time.
Already when it was 2-1 it was the "goallest" (most goals scored) final since 1998, when France won 3-0, then we got a 2-0, a 1-1 and two 1-0 in overtime in a row.
I'm actually checking Wikipedia to remember - it was 1966 the last time we had 6 goals in the final, when England defeated Germany with the same result of yesterday, 4-2.
Karius' revenge did strike again however, I agree that the 4-2 was the silliest goal ever in a World Cup final :lol
Things to be happy about France's victory:
- A 19 years old kid scoring in the final
- Racists whining that France has too many black people
Everything else is despair, including the historical inaccurancy of the frenchies reaching Moscow AND winning. This team is better than Napoleon dammit ;D
Anyway, it was an absolute great World Cup, one of the best ever. I fear the next one will be the worst ever.
Now, what do we talk about now that it's all over? :'(
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Karius' revenge did strike again however, I agree that the 4-2 was the silliest goal ever in a World Cup final :lol
Karius' first name is Loris, the french keeper's name is Lloris -> NUGGETZ :biggrin: :metal :biggrin:
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Karius' revenge did strike again however, I agree that the 4-2 was the silliest goal ever in a World Cup final :lol
Now, what do we talk about now that it's all over? :'(
I thought it was fantastic.
Euro 2020 in two years? I seriously can't be bothered with club football, but these World and European Tournaments somehow get me watching almost every game.
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I agree, I love football of course but I'm no fanatic (I went to the stadium only once) and club football is kinda boring.... if I say Bayern Munich, either Real Madrid or Barcellona, Manchester City, PSG and Juventus will win their 2018-2019 domestic leagues, how much wrong can I be?
Champions League is already more interesting, but yeah, nothing can beat the fascination of the World and Euro cup, it's fun to have allegiances to other teams born on the spur of the moment (or looking back for historical issues between the nations), and of course feel the ultimate thrill of your national team competing in a do or die situation.
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Not sure about City winning again, the Premier league is a grinder. The other ones are probably going to go that way though.
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Now, what do we talk about now that it's all over? :'(
I'm trying to get into MLS, anyone here follows?
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Saw the final in France, actually. Contrary to expectation, I was watching the game in a hotel/restaurant lobby with nearly no French spectators at all (mostly Dutch or German). Also, when the game ended and France had won the cup NO big celebration party. I'm like WTF?! When Holland would've won the cup wherever it was, people would have gone bazerk and got totally wasted drunk. It was a fun WC nonetheless. Totally bogus penalty off course, but yeah. Also, that Torrential rain during the cup presentation reminded me a lot off the end of the Ali-Foreman fight in '74 in Kinshassa, Zaire. Just an observation.
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Also, when the game ended and France had won the cup NO big celebration party.
I thought there were huge crowds gathered at the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs-Elysees. I saw live pictures on Youtube. They projected things onto the Arc.
Also, those saying 2022 will be a bad World Cup...didn't we all think Russia 2018 was going to be terrible? All the Russians would be racist and there'd be violence and stuff? And didn't we think that Brazil 2014 would be terrible, with late stadiums? Let's at least get there and see what happens. Sport has this amazing power to transform a nation.
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Correct! There were huge parties (and riots, AND cases of females being violated, mind you) in Paris.
The expectations beforehand were indeed that it would be an atrocious (i.e. behaviour of Russian 'fans') and racism et al. I've witnessed none of that all. If anything the atmosphere in the stadiums looked nothing but joyous (especially with Sout-American and African fans). If it wasn't for that small Pussy Riot-pitch invasion, the organisation would've been flawless.
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I'm yet to see the match because I was in the birth room of the hospital for the arrival of my daughter hahaha!
No regret, but still proud of our team and couldn't be happier.
Happy to read accurate critics, to feel the joy around, and to have a break from the usual egoism and racism.
Salty players are so funny, feels like trump tweeting.
Croatians must have been tired of the very long and demanding matches they fought before the final.
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What makes me happy is the triumphant's hero welcome the croatian player received upon coming back home.
Let's face it, the final it was doomed from the start - France was simply better and more experienced and with 3 extra times in a row Croatia literally played 90 minutes more AND had one day less to rest, it's already good that it ended "only" 4-2.
Usually in football the second place is the worst right behind arriving last, maybe this will help to put things into perspective, that even arriving at the end is a great achievement all things considered. Of course Croatia's second place is different than an hypotetical brazilian or german second place.
And congratulations for the birth of your daughter! :tup
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Usually in football the second place is the worst right behind arriving last, maybe this will help to put things into perspective, that even arriving at the end is a great achievement all things considered. Of course Croatia's second place is different than an hypotetical brazilian or german second place.
Depends on where you come from. Germany's third place in 2006 was much more appreciated than the second place in 2002, because they played with fire and passion, same goes for the third place in 2010, where they played even better and were just fun to watch. In 2014 a third or second place might not have gone down that well, because by now everyone expected them to win the thing.
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As a huge Liverpool fan, I cant express how happy I am tonight. Our first league championship in 30 years. Thank you Juergen and the boys.
Premier League Champions, European champions, world champions.
:heart
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Congratulations, Lowdz.
Liverpool has always killed my AS Roma, but no other team deserves success like this particular one. A real joy to watch.
Happy for Momo and Alison.
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As a huge Liverpool fan, I cant express how happy I am tonight. Our first league championship in 30 years. Thank you Juergen and the boys.
Sounds like a good excuse to listen to Dropkick Murphys' version of You'll Never Walk Alone :D
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Any thoughts on the Champions League results from the past couple of days? Couldn't believe RB Leipzig knocked out Atletico today, total surprise for me. Wasn't surprised PSG edged past Atalanta, but I was certainly sad to see them go out despite having the lead for 80% of the game.
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Yeah, Atalanta was the ultimate underdog and having them reach the 89th minute with a foot in the semifinal and being surpassed is brutal.
It would have been awesome to have Leipzig vs Atalanta for the final, one big underdog would have reached it..... and probably lost it :D I think Leipzig vs PSG will decide who'll have the honor of losing the final, but with this crazy format and matches nearby who knows what can happen!
Personally I root against the biggest teams, as an AC Milan fan I want the big clubs to stay the hell away from our 7 cups, bested only by Real Madrid.
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I've always had immense satisfaction out of watching Atletico lose, like more satisfaction than I get when I see my favorite team win.
Speaking of my favorite team; I feel positive about Bayren tomorrow. Well, more than positive, but I don't wanna jinx it heh
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Surely it's City's year to win it though? No PL title and to me the other potential big teams like Barcelona or Bayern just don't feel as good this year compared to some previous years.
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As much as I hate them, I think Bayern have the advantage. Barcelona is a shadow of itself, City and PSG usually crumble in decisive matches and Leipzig is just too much of an underdog.
I really like this world cup style where 1 match means everything. Normally I am in favor of an NBA style of tournament where you get several matches to really show who is the best, but the excitement of the one match elimination is just brutal.
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That was some brutal shit..
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That was some brutal shit..
Yah, Bayern Munich went full Germany - Brazil 2014. You never go full Germany - Brazil 2014.
I think if we have been warned from the future that one of these matches would have ended 8-2, everyone would have imagined it would have been PSG vs Atalanta.....
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That was some brutal shit..
Yah, Bayern Munich went full Germany - Brazil 2014. You never go full Germany - Brazil 2014.
I freakin love you dude! :lol, believe it or not; I had the same thought after the match!
I actually became a Bayren fan after the 2014 world cup, before that I didn't favorite any one European team, I just went by whomever's performance I liked in whatever tournament I was watching at the time. Then came 2014 and I was simply fascinated, then I realized that team was like 85% Bayren; Neuer, Schweinsteiger, Müller, Lahm, Götze and Boateng. Today remains three of them but somehow they retain the same spirit and shape new comers into their likeness, that strong team-oriented behavior. I don't just like their playing, I've come to be a fan of their attitude on a off the pitch.
That's why earlier in this thread I was saying I want Toni Kroos to move back to Bayren.
I think if we have been warned from the future that one of these matches would have ended 8-2, everyone would have imagined it would have been PSG vs Atalanta.....
Agreed. I also feel it's gonna be up for grabs if it comes to PSG and Bayren in the final. PSG have been pretty good.
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Surely it's City's year to win it though?
Yeah, about that..... ;D
At this point I expect anything to happen. Gut feeling says that Bayern Munich is gonna win it easily, and won't even have to sweat for it, but with this crazy format of single matches all nearby, who knows.
It's France vs Germany in the semifinals then! will we have a mixed final or it's gonna be a national derby?
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Surely it's City's year to win it though? No PL title and to me the other potential big teams like Barcelona or Bayern just don't feel as good this year compared to some previous years.
Didn't quite age well, hahah. I would love to see a Leipzig v Lyon final, that would be unprecedented, at least within the last ~10 years.
Barcelona were in absolute shambles though. I am one of the biggest fans of Messi - he's the absolute undisputed GOAT for me, and I was utterly stunned by that performance. The board has left the team a shell of its former self, with a squad that is far too old, and a coach that has literally no business at the helm of one of the best teams in the world. The performance was spineless, lacking of character, and devoid of any semblance of spirit. People blame Messi for not leading his team to victory out there, or getting to the grit and vocalizing to his teammates, but honestly, I really don't believe as though there was much he could've done. The backbone of the team is made up of players who can't press consistently, can't defend, and lack stamina. At 5-2, you could just see that any minute bit of hope had been relinquished by the team, but I never imagined eight goals being scored. It was embarrassing, and I hope not just the team takes full credit for that, but the board, the coaching staff, and the entire hierarchy. It needs to be uprooted from its rotten core.
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There's no team I dislike more than City so I'm thrilled they got eliminated though. I think Pep deserves a lot of criticism honestly. For having possibly the best team (and all the backing in the world) he hasn't gotten City past the quarter final of CL once in his 4 years at the club. Even Pellegrini had better success.
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In my crystal ball I see a tie and penalty kicks on Sunday, I hope it's an inaccurate crystal ball though heh
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In my crystal ball I see a tie and penalty kicks on Sunday, I hope it's an inaccurate crystal ball though heh
I dunno, PSG has Neymar and Mbappè, Bayern Munich is on a roll. My imaginary money would be on the latter.
Anyway, after this sunday we'll know if Paris or Munich will have a spike in Covid contagions a week from now :D
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Yooohooooo Bayren!
Anyway, after this sunday we'll know if Paris or Munich will have a spike in Covid contagions a week from now :D
They should, the amount of hugging and kissing between the players and their crew after the match had me forget for a second that there's a pandemic going on :lol
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I'm not that pleased that Bayern Munich now is one Champions away from AC Milan's seven triumphs, but those teams like PSG who reach the top just because uber rich people pump shitload of money in them can go eat a youknowwhat, so it's all good in the end :D
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can go eat a youknowwhat
Voldemort's dick?
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can go eat a youknowwhat
Voldemort's dick?
:rollin
The organ that must not be named
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As much as I hate them, I think Bayern have the advantage. Barcelona is a shadow of itself, City and PSG usually crumble in decisive matches and Leipzig is just too much of an underdog.
Welp, this is one of those times where I hate to be right :lol
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It seems Messi has had the last of Barcelona's disastrous state and is wanting to leave the club. Part of me thinks he is waging a war against the president. Another part of me thinks he is gone for good. Either way, what was supposed to be a quiet transfer market has suddenly gotten a lot more interesting.
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Just a silly thing worth mentioning: yesterday, in a certainly not important pre-qualification match to reach the group stage for Europe Legue, my AC Milan faced Rio Ave, a portoguese team.
Milan took the lead, got equalized into extra time; at the first moment of extra time Rio Ave went on with a 2-1, and at the last possible moment of extra time AC Milan equalized with a penalty.
Therefore they went to penalty kicks, and Milan won..... after 24 (!), TWENTY FOUR penalties. The entire squads kicked a penalty, and they actually started again from the beginning. All of this while the rain was suddenly pouring down and winds were strong.
It was just a random and silly pre-Europe League. But if it had happened in a World Cup or in an important Champions League match, a game where it takes 24 penalties under the soaking rain would have become legendary.
Oh, and since the last post was about Messi... he remained with Barcelona and now will face Ronaldo (Juventus) in the Champions League group stage!
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I saw those penalties yesterday, that was something else! I guess if you were a fan of any of those teams it must have been excruciating, but for the regular fan that was a blast.
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Yeah, the best way to enjoy penalty kicks is not caring for either team, you enjoy all the excitement and the drama without being personally involved ;D
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Is this bothering anybody here? I was watching Bayren VS. Atletico earlier and thought "There's no fuckin way the teams management and crew are making all that noise", looked it up and sure enough they're creating fake crowd noises for the TV broadcast!! I think that's lame as fuck.
"As mentioned before, sound engineers and a board operator will be in control of choosing the noise to make an artificial football atmosphere. For the Champions League, Sky said the job will be split between some on-sight production at the stadium and in the studio outside of Munich"
"a soundtrack of recorded fan chants mixed by a producer to accompany the action. TV channels showing the games internationally have often picked a feed with artificial noise, without offering their local viewers the choice.
Video games company EA Sports is supplying similar crowd noise, drawn from its own archive of recordings, for broadcasts of Spains La Liga and the English Premier League."
https://the18.com/en/soccer-news/champions-league-fake-crowd-noise-how-it-works
https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/fan-groups-protest-fake-crowd-noise-in-soccer-amid-pandemic/
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It doesn't bother me at all. A football match in an empty stadium is a sad thing to watch, but the times require it to be like this. I like that they are trying to make it seem as normal as possible while things get sorted out. I don't think you can fully replace the crowd noises with a computer, no matter how good the sound engineers are, but at least it provides some of that atmosphere that make football so interesting.
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They even added fake crowd noised during the Wacken streaming concerts this summer. I see no malice in ir, we know and they know they're fake, it's just something to make up for these times.
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They've been doing it for months. Welcome to covid times, kid. Get used to it.
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Oh damn.
Diego Armando Maradona passed away :(
My team is AC Milan which in the '80s was a direct rival with Maradona's Napoli so my football god will always be Marco Van Basten, and I was never a fan of all the excesses.
Still... 60 years old.... way too young, what a pity and what a loss for his fans.
Argentinian people must surely feel now like brazilians when Ayrton Senna died.
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Unreal news. I grew up watching Maradona with the 86 world cup being the first one I saw (still the best one IMO). Watched his ascent and fall to grace, if anyone hasn't I suggest they watch the amazing documentary on him.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5433114/reference
It's completely worth it.
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Oh damn. One of the very best football players, some say THE greatest, ever.
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Yeah, yesterday was a very strange an emotional day here in Argentina. I personally never idolized him like most people down here do since I only got to see the worst part of his career and the ugliness that came after, but I understand that he brought lots of joy to lots of people. I think for the past 5 or 6 years his mind was half gone and unfortunately for him, the people that surrounded him were trying to milk the last drops of the cow. It was a sad day for football overall.
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I don't think there's ever been a more visceral relationship between a town and a football player like Maradona had with Naples. I know / imagine that Argentina is in mourning, but people in Naples are mourning as well and they're already talking about dedicating the stadium to him. I can't imagine Barcelona wanting to name the Camp Nou after Messi for example.
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Nothing worth discussing since Maradona died? well, now we have!
https://thesuperleague.it/index.html
The richest clubs in Europe want to do a tournament of their own, "with blacjacks and hookers". An exclusive club for the ultra rich, where they play basically NBA style with lot of money guaranteed to make the rich even richer, and screw everyone else.
UEFA and FIFA are already on the war path, wanting to ban those teams from their national leagues and even the players from their national teams.
What do you think? I might not see the bigger picture and just be stuck with traditions, but this looks like the death of football as we know it.
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Not surprisingly this is all about money, sportsmanship has nothing to do with it. And the only reason FIFA and UEFA are against it, is that it isn't their money.
It is not the death of football, football as a sport died a long time ago and football as a money making machine will live on as long as there are fans around the globe paying for their tv abonnements.
I completely hate this idea, but, and I don't believe the UEFA will follow through, if they really ban those teams from the national leagues that would at least make those more interesting. So when it starts I hope Bayern will also join. ;)
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Let's be honest - as much as everyone hates this idea, where would the money and the public go? to see Manchester UTD vs Barcelona in the new Superleague, or in seeing Lazio vs Sassuolo in Italy or Real Betis vs Granada in Spain?
This would make for interesting championships once again, but then again, the value of the national leagues would drop quite a lot... it's annoying however to see teams winning only because of the big money behind them, with exploits like Leicester being a once in a carrer anomaly.
Let's look at the four semifinalists of this edition of the Champions League:
- Real Madrid, one of the richest clubs in the world
- Manchester City, a club that sucked until some foreign investors opened a pit of money for them
- PSG, a club that sucked until some foreign investors opened a pit of money for them
- Chelsea, a club that sucked until 20 years ago it wa put on the map but a rich foreign investor
There was no organic growth, no sportmanship base upon which to build upon - someday someone came, threw money at it, and boom, you win the championship!
One of my favorite moments in football will be the Chelsea vs Manchester UTD 2008 final, ended with a penalty shootout. Chelsea is set to win if they score, captain John Terry goes to kick the winning penalty, however he slips in the rain, misses and then the penalty shootout goes on, with Manchester winning.
That's the beauty of sport: you can have all the money of the world, but money can't prevent a player from "slipping on a banana peel" and losing.
This new super league will be a glorified group of friendly matches, of course money matters already now but at least in the Champions League if you lose, you go out, where's the risk in playing in a super league where you're member for life?
Also I don't know what the italian teams think they can get out of this, aside money - they're so obviously gonna be trashed in all the matches, no italian team is strong enough to win the Champions League right now and they will definitively be the sparring partners of this "top of the top" league. Congrats of giving up dominating in the national league for sucking a lot in a super league but hey, you get all the money of the world so who cares?
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What do you think? I might not see the bigger picture and just be stuck with traditions, but this looks like the death of football as we know it.
Yeah I don't like it one bit. I've been looking at the reaction from the fans of the 6 English teams and they are uniformly negative - Is that the same in Italy MirrorMask?
On the positive my team Leicester City reached their first FA Cup final for 50 years yesterday (and they have never won it before) - tough final vs an inform Chelsea though.
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What do you think? I might not see the bigger picture and just be stuck with traditions, but this looks like the death of football as we know it.
Yeah I don't like it one bit. I've been looking at the reaction from the fans of the 6 English teams and they are uniformly negative - Is that the same in Italy MirrorMask?
Yeah, 1% "well, let's wait and see" and 99% negative reactions, including the supporters of Juventus, AC Milan and Internazionale.
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Yeah, I'm also against this idea.
On the positive my team Leicester City reached their first FA Cup final for 50 years yesterday (and they have never won it before) - tough final vs an inform Chelsea though.
Didn't Leicester City win the premier league absolutely out of the blue a few years ago? You guys seem to be doing really well.
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Yeah, I'm also against this idea.
On the positive my team Leicester City reached their first FA Cup final for 50 years yesterday (and they have never won it before) - tough final vs an inform Chelsea though.
Didn't Leicester City win the premier league absolutely out of the blue a few years ago? You guys seem to be doing really well.
Yeah! That was an insane moment, we'll spent most of the years being a yo-yo team (a team that bounces between the Premiership and Championship) - to win the league was surreal. I was born and spent my youth in Leicester, but my parents moved us away when I was about 12 (I'm 45 now...) but I've always supported them. I live in Norfolk now so my local team in Norwich - who are very much my Second team (and ironically are another Yo-yo team - they are going to be promoted back to the Premiership, after being relegated last season!).
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I'm not too bothered either way. Higher-tier professional football has been obsessed with money and status for a good while now (which is the main reason I'm only a casual fan now, whereas I used to love it in my teens). It seems kind of dumb for these teams to do this separate thing instead of the Champions League/Europa League. But I don't see why it's such a big deal to have caused such a backlash. Those European tournaments are only an optional extra anyway, and this "super league" doesn't replace domestic leagues. And frankly it's not like the Champions League is that well designed, some countries' actual champions have to go through playoffs while 3rd place teams from other countries get straight in.
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Yeah, I'm also against this idea.
On the positive my team Leicester City reached their first FA Cup final for 50 years yesterday (and they have never won it before) - tough final vs an inform Chelsea though.
Didn't Leicester City win the premier league absolutely out of the blue a few years ago? You guys seem to be doing really well.
Yeah! That was an insane moment, we'll spent most of the years being a yo-yo team (a team that bounces between the Premiership and Championship) - to win the league was surreal. I was born and spent my youth in Leicester, but my parents moved us away when I was about 12 (I'm 45 now...) but I've always supported them. I live in Norfolk now so my local team in Norwich - who are very much my Second team (and ironically are another Yo-yo team - they are going to be promoted back to the Premiership, after being relegated last season!).
:tup Good luck against Chelsea! I may even watch the game if I don't forget about it.
Gary Neville's rant on the super league subject:
https://www.reddit.com/r/sports/comments/mtjygr/gary_neville_addresses_the_idea_of_the_european/
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I'm not too bothered either way. Higher-tier professional football has been obsessed with money and status for a good while now (which is the main reason I'm only a casual fan now, whereas I used to love it in my teens). It seems kind of dumb for these teams to do this separate thing instead of the Champions League/Europa League. But I don't see why it's such a big deal to have caused such a backlash. Those European tournaments are only an optional extra anyway, and this "super league" doesn't replace domestic leagues. And frankly it's not like the Champions League is that well designed, some countries' actual champions have to go through playoffs while 3rd place teams from other countries get straight in.
While I do agree with this view to a certain point, we have seen some teams in recent years who were close to performing a miracle (Ajax, Lyon). The balance is skewed in favor of these giant teams and that is mostly due to how national leagues are built.
However, I don't think teams like Leicester, Sassuolo or other "little" teams should be left out and not have the opportunity to compete. We all love that Cinderella story, we all love to see these big clubs lose to the underdog and taking that away from football is just nonsense. I don't think this league will go far given how fans, media, players and even politicians are against it.
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I'm not too bothered either way. Higher-tier professional football has been obsessed with money and status for a good while now (which is the main reason I'm only a casual fan now, whereas I used to love it in my teens). It seems kind of dumb for these teams to do this separate thing instead of the Champions League/Europa League. But I don't see why it's such a big deal to have caused such a backlash. Those European tournaments are only an optional extra anyway, and this "super league" doesn't replace domestic leagues. And frankly it's not like the Champions League is that well designed, some countries' actual champions have to go through playoffs while 3rd place teams from other countries get straight in.
While I do agree with this view to a certain point, we have seen some teams in recent years who were close to performing a miracle (Ajax, Lyon). The balance is skewed in favor of these giant teams and that is mostly due to how national leagues are built.
However, I don't think teams like Leicester, Sassuolo or other "little" teams should be left out and not have the opportunity to compete. We all love that Cinderella story, we all love to see these big clubs lose to the underdog and taking that away from football is just nonsense.
For sure, but how much do those things happen in the Champions League? It's only ever won by the biggest clubs. I love how that happens in domestic leagues and cups, and this proposed new league doesn't change any domestic stuff (unless national leagues decide to "punish" the teams involved).
I don't think this league will go far given how fans, media, players and even politicians are against it.
Yeah, maybe. Just seems like a lot of nonsense really.
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But I don't see why it's such a big deal to have caused such a backlash. Those European tournaments are only an optional extra anyway, and this "super league" doesn't replace domestic leagues. And frankly it's not like the Champions League is that well designed, some countries' actual champions have to go through playoffs while 3rd place teams from other countries get straight in.
Well, nothing is set in stone so far, and probably these declarations about banning from national leagues are just a dick measuring contest between UEFA and the rich clubs, but.... when would they even play the super league? the calendar is chocked full as it is, would they play every other week there's not the Champions League? what would be better for those teams, save themselves for their national league or screw the national championship (and play with the reserves there) because all that matters is the super league?
And if they really and seriously kick them out of the national league, we'd have Serie A contended by Atalanta and Naples, the Premier League by Leicester and West Ham, la Liga by Sevilla and... dunno, Granada? and so on, and these teams will contend the future Champions League.
Possible scenarios:
- The super league is just something extra. The calendar becomes even more saturated than what already is, and the big rich ones either stretch themselves thin, or say "ah, screw it" and play with reserves in their national leagues because the Tuesday super match is more important.
- The big rich teams gets excluded from the Champions League. You'd have Leicester, Sevilla and Lyon contending the European Cup, while the big names are playing the Super League.
- The big rich teams gets excluded from their national league as well. You see them play in their exclusive tournament while the national leagues as I said above are contended by West Ham, Sevilla, Atalanta and the likes.
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The Germans are out. Both Dortmund and B. Munich declare they aren't going to be part of this. Also rumoured that PSG might rule themselves out.
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The Germans are out. Both Dortmund and B. Munich declare they aren't going to be part of this. Also rumoured that PSG might rule themselves out.
I only believe this when the super league has really started and they still aren't part of it. Till then I see it as lip service to not anger the fans. Especially Bayern München has never shied away from more money.
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I'm not too bothered either way. Higher-tier professional football has been obsessed with money and status for a good while now (which is the main reason I'm only a casual fan now, whereas I used to love it in my teens). It seems kind of dumb for these teams to do this separate thing instead of the Champions League/Europa League. But I don't see why it's such a big deal to have caused such a backlash. Those European tournaments are only an optional extra anyway, and this "super league" doesn't replace domestic leagues. And frankly it's not like the Champions League is that well designed, some countries' actual champions have to go through playoffs while 3rd place teams from other countries get straight in.
While I do agree with this view to a certain point, we have seen some teams in recent years who were close to performing a miracle (Ajax, Lyon). The balance is skewed in favor of these giant teams and that is mostly due to how national leagues are built.
However, I don't think teams like Leicester, Sassuolo or other "little" teams should be left out and not have the opportunity to compete. We all love that Cinderella story, we all love to see these big clubs lose to the underdog and taking that away from football is just nonsense.
For sure, but how much do those things happen in the Champions League? It's only ever won by the biggest clubs. I love how that happens in domestic leagues and cups, and this proposed new league doesn't change any domestic stuff (unless national leagues decide to "punish" the teams involved).
It will if the super rich get even richer. If those clubs get even better than they are right now then the local competition won't matter anymore.
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The Germans are out. Both Dortmund and B. Munich declare they aren't going to be part of this. Also rumoured that PSG might rule themselves out.
PSG are already doing whatever they want money wise and UEFA lets them do it, so it's not a surprise they won't jump ship.
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But I don't see why it's such a big deal to have caused such a backlash. Those European tournaments are only an optional extra anyway, and this "super league" doesn't replace domestic leagues. And frankly it's not like the Champions League is that well designed, some countries' actual champions have to go through playoffs while 3rd place teams from other countries get straight in.
Well, nothing is set in stone so far, and probably these declarations about banning from national leagues are just a dick measuring contest between UEFA and the rich clubs, but.... when would they even play the super league? the calendar is chocked full as it is, would they play every other week there's not the Champions League? what would be better for those teams, save themselves for their national league or screw the national championship (and play with the reserves there) because all that matters is the super league?
From the announcements, it's clearly a "mid-week" competition, i.e. in place of Champions League or Europa League. It's not actually a League, it's two groups, and then quarter finals onwards for knockout. It's not that different to the CL or EL (which also have "League" in the name but aren't leagues), just with fewer larger groups and the founding teams automatically qualify.
Some (though certainly far from all) of the angry reaction seems to be on the assumption that this will be a league and the teams will leave their domestic leagues, which isn't the case at all.
For sure, but how much do those things happen in the Champions League? It's only ever won by the biggest clubs. I love how that happens in domestic leagues and cups, and this proposed new league doesn't change any domestic stuff (unless national leagues decide to "punish" the teams involved).
It will if the super rich get even richer. If those clubs get even better than they are right now then the local competition won't matter anymore.
Sure, but Arsenal are among those "super rich" teams and we suck. :P
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The Germans are out. Both Dortmund and B. Munich declare they aren't going to be part of this. Also rumoured that PSG might rule themselves out.
I only believe this when the super league has really started and they still aren't part of it. Till then I see it as lip service to not anger the fans. Especially Bayern München has never shied away from more money.
The German league has always been more fan oriented that the other big leagues.
Basically there are only 4 big leagues in Europe - England, Spain, Italy and Germany with one seemingly not wanting to get involved it does look a little shit. PSG are really the only current club that could be classed as 'super' outside of those leagues. I guess you either go to clubs like Ajax, Porto, Monaco and Benefica or add more Italian/Spanish sides - Roma, Lazio, Napoli, Seville, Valencia etc..
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The German league has always been more fan oriented that the other big leagues.
That may be in comparison to the other big leagues, but the majority of german fans aren't really happy with how things are done here.
Rummenigge, a man I really liked when he played for the national team, but who grew more and more arrogant and despicable since he turned funtionary, is as of today a UEFA executive. That may be part of the reason why he said Bayern München wouldn't join the super league.
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Rumours Chelsea are about to withdraw.
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I wonder if those clubs anticipated an anti-super-league backlash that strong. They must've known that UEFA and probably FIFA would protest. But were they naive/stupid enough to think that the fans will mostly agree with their ideas? And that people would buy those outright lies and fairy tales about saving football in difficult times as the driving motive?
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Rumours Chelsea are about to withdraw.
Manchester City also seems to get cold feet.
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Welp, that was short lived :lol. I love that fans were able to unite and bring this down, I just wish people fought more for this beautiful sport.
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Arsenal are out too: https://www.arsenal.com/news/open-letter-our-fans
Damn that really did not last long.
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All six England clubs out!
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wow I was just trying to get caught up about the formation of the super league and what it actually meant, looks like I don't have to now.
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I wonder if those clubs anticipated an anti-super-league backlash that strong. They must've known that UEFA and probably FIFA would protest. But were they naive/stupid enough to think that the fans will mostly agree with their ideas? And that people would buy those outright lies and fairy tales about saving football in difficult times as the driving motive?
Cases are two:
- There are behind the scenes machinations, secret deals, pressures and even blackmails that we know nothing about.
- Yes, they really are that stupid, greed ate common sense and they really thought everyone would roll with it.
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Arsenal are out too: https://www.arsenal.com/news/open-letter-our-fans
Damn that really did not last long.
Apparently your government is capable of doing some good. Who would have thought...
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That Arsenal statement is very nice. It might not be 100% sincere and have some corporate talk here and there, but still, the board signed a statement that said "We made a mistake and we apologize for it" and "we have heard you". All the other teams made shorter and even more corporate-ish statements. Kudos to Arsenal for willing to do that (even if it's not sincere).
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That Arsenal statement is very nice. It might not be 100% sincere and have some corporate talk here and there, but still, the board signed a statement that said "We made a mistake and we apologize for it" and "we have heard you". All the other teams made shorter and even more corporate-ish statements. Kudos to Arsenal for willing to do that (even if it's not sincere).
Certainly better than the Spurs one!
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That's gotta be a record for the world's shortest super league. :metal
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Arsenal are out too: https://www.arsenal.com/news/open-letter-our-fans
Damn that really did not last long.
Apparently your government is capable of doing some good. Who would have thought...
The government didn't really do anything other than jump on the bandwagon.
That Arsenal statement is very nice. It might not be 100% sincere and have some corporate talk here and there, but still, the board signed a statement that said "We made a mistake and we apologize for it" and "we have heard you". All the other teams made shorter and even more corporate-ish statements. Kudos to Arsenal for willing to do that (even if it's not sincere).
Yeah, it came across really well.
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Anyway, things we've learnt from this, or at least got a vivid reminder of:
- Being a successful and rich CEO doesn't make you authomatically competent. CEOs can and WILL screw up majorly and spectacularly, often demostranting a jarring disconnect from reality and what the common man thinks;
- "too big to fail" is a thing and apparently t's acceptable that some companies are allowed to go in crippling debt rather than failing like it would happen to your Uncle Joe's shop if he would go down in debt;
- UEFA and FIFA are no saints and they have so many faults in bringing football to this point, but it's also laughable how the presidents whine "If we don't something football will die". No, YOUR TEAM will die, and if you've spent years spending more than you could, well, it's on you. Buh-uuuuh, woe is me, we paid 15 millions so many players for so many years, big bad UEFA doesn't want to pay us more TV rights to come back from these losses, how can we go on, whaaa whaaa whaa. Screw you.
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:clap::clap::clap::clap::clap:
Very well said. I do agree with some of the statements that football can't continue the way it is right now, but not for the reasons they mention. I believe that UEFA should impose some sort of CAP like that of the American sports and money should be shared more equally. That would bring back a the real competition and would prevent more Manchester Citys and PSGs from showing up and distorting the landscape.
I doubt that FIFA or UEFA will go that far, but I think something like will be necessary if they want to keep the sport interesting.
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Sadly most of the teams that are deep in debt don't think about cutting costs but think about generating more income. That's the super league for you and that's to a slightly lesser degree UEFA and FIFA.
Add corrupt functionaries to the mix and you get the football we have today.
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I believe that UEFA should impose some sort of CAP like that of the American sports and money should be shared more equally. That would bring back a the real competition and would prevent more Manchester Citys and PSGs from showing up and distorting the landscape.
Asking as totally ignorant about NBA - is the salary cap actually and truly being respected? because yeah, you can say apply a rule that no football player can be paid more than 2 millions, but if, say, Mbappè gets a random sponsorship deal with a company that "casually" has ties with the Qatar dude that owns PSG........
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I believe that UEFA should impose some sort of CAP like that of the American sports and money should be shared more equally. That would bring back a the real competition and would prevent more Manchester Citys and PSGs from showing up and distorting the landscape.
Asking as totally ignorant about NBA - is the salary cap actually and truly being respected? because yeah, you can say apply a rule that no football player can be paid more than 2 millions, but if, say, Mbappè gets a random sponsorship deal with a company that "casually" has ties with the Qatar dude that owns PSG........
This question is not easy to answer because the NBA system is quite complex. There is a soft CAP line which teams can cross depending on the players contracts. Since the way players are contracted in football is completely different than how they do it in the NBA I don't think this really matters. Then there's a luxury tax threshold. Teams that are over that threshold need to pay the NBA 1 dollar per dollar they exceed. So, let's say the threshold is 100M and a team is paying 110M in salaries, they also have to pay an additional 10M to the NBA. This tax is progressive as well so the more consecutive seasons you are over the threshold, the more tax you pay. Finally, there is a hard cap which doesn't really matter since teams usually don't get there.
So, going back to your question. I have thought about the sponsorship deals and unfortunately I don't think there is anything that can be done about that. But, I believe that having a cap system similar to the one in the NBA could lead to more competitiveness. That luxury tax in the NBA works wonders because that money is then spread between the teams. If a team wants to be over the limit and pay the tax because they have money that's great because in the end, that benefits the little teams as well and gives them a chance to be competitive.
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Not following this story at all but stumbled upon this and wanted to comment.
But, I believe that having a cap system similar to the one in the NBA could lead to more competitiveness. That luxury tax in the NBA works wonders because that money is then spread between the teams. If a team wants to be over the limit and pay the tax because they have money that's great because in the end, that benefits the little teams as well and gives them a chance to be competitive.
Are there any requirements on how these teams that receive this luxury tax money spend it? The owners of some pro sports teams don't spend more money because they don't have it to spend. Others don't spend it because they don't want to. Not every sports owner is a Jerry Jones or George Steinbrenner whose lives, and thus their money, revolve around their team. I don't want to get in to the weeds too much on the business side of sports, because it's just billionaires doing business deals beyond the scope and realities of all of us here, but I thought it worth asking.
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That's beyond my knowledge honestly. Seeing how the NBA works there's probably a clause about how that money can be used but I would need to do some research into that. But, obviously the leagues could introduce a clause about spending that money in the training grounds or something of the sort
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That's beyond my knowledge honestly. Seeing how the NBA works there's probably a clause about how that money can be used but I would need to do some research into that. But, obviously the leagues could introduce a clause about spending that money in the training grounds or something of the sort
Well, in the NHL, in a hard, and flat for the next few years, cap salary of $81.5 million dollars to spend on players, any advantage that teams with owners that have big pockets in major cities (Toronto, NYC, Chicago, LA, Boston, etc.) is always going to have a big edge (outside of player roster building) when it comes to the management they hire, which includes president of hockey operations, top-tier training facilities, can bid top dollar for any coaches that are available and no other teams would oppose it. Why? Because the league has a revenue-sharing approach across the league that is used to keep the lower-valued tier teams going. Now, I don't know anything about how the NHL does their revenue-sharing and I probably can't explain it since I don't know want to look at the research on it as it may get too complicated for me to understand.
Also, on the topic of cap, teams with owners with big pockets are willing to take on contracts of players from other teams that are injured for the rest of the terms of their contracts as a way to get over the cap as an approach to sign their players to the terms they like. It's complicated math at that point. Again, the concept of Long-term injury reverse or LTIR, is another complicated topic that I want to get into learning, but it seems too complicated to understand. Teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs always seemed to take on LTIR contracts and make it work for them to get their active players under the so-called Salary Cap. It boggles the mind. Heck, last off-season, the Tampa Bay Lightning had some issues trying to sign a few of their players at the number they want without going over the cap and their remedy to solve the problem this season was, by pure coincidence, their best player was going to be out for the season due to an injury that needed surgery. So Tampa Bay made some trades to take on some LTIR contracts from other teams and was able to get under the cap for their active players for the season. Again, it's complicated math that I really want to learn more of.
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On the positive my team Leicester City reached their first FA Cup final for 50 years yesterday (and they have never won it before) - tough final vs an inform Chelsea though.
Hey congrats!
Don't get me wrong, I was rooting for Leicester, but I thought that Chelsea goal was legit. That offside VAR decision was kinda bullshit. Still good job though, big win for Leicester here.
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National championships are about to end.
In Italy, Germany and England, all champions won without playing. The immediate runners up failed to win, and so their victory was mathematical, even without playing. I know this is how modern football works and there are TV rights and blah blah blah, but it sucks that a team can become champion without even playing. In Italy there's a tight, tight race for the 3 remaining slots for the next Champions League - all 4 teams involved in a fight for 3 slots are playing apart on this weekend. I miss the days when all matches were being played together and you couldn't know what was coming.
Some changes here and there anyway:
- England is always the least predictable of competitions, you don't know already from the first match who wins, Liverpool didn't repeat themselves and Manchester City won.
- In Italy Juventus abdicated after 9 years, Inter won.
- In France, Lille needs a win to steal the championship away from PSG.
- Atletico Madrid just might snatch the title away from the two usual spanish suspects.
- In Portugal, Sporting CP won the championship ending 20 years of Porto / Benfica dualism.
- 9th title in a row, however, for Bayern Munich.
Now on to Manchester City vs Chelsea for the Champions League! I'll probably root for Chelsea, sure, they're filthy rich with Abramovich behind them, but at least they had some history and are at the top since 20 years or so, City were a random team that got money poured all over them, just like PSG, and it seems that financial fair play rules don't apply for them, so it would be ironic to see how money can't buy you a cup. Uh well, may the best team win!
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Sadly the german league has turned into the most boring league in Europe for the last couple of years as far as championship goes. And there's really no one in sight, that can realistically beat Bayern Munich in the next few years imo.
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Never say never. Juventus failed to win, even though they had a change of manager and they put Pirlo who had no experience. What's amazing is that they're risking to not even qualify for the Champions League.
Also in France you could say that it's predictable because PSG has all the money - and yet Lille might steal the victory away from them for only 3 points.
So while I fully agree that the Bundesliga is boring because Bayern Munich is the reigning champion by default, all you need is a couple of bad matches and a strong season from an opponent for things to go sideways. Did PSG have a bad season in France? no, as usual they're at the top of their game, this time around it happened that another team won one match more than them.
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Atletico Madrid has won La Liga in Spain! at expense of the usual suspects, Real Madrid and Barcelona!
The iberian peninsula revolution is completed by Sporting CP in Portugal, champions after 20 years of the same old same old Porto or Benfica.
Tomorrow Lille has to win their match to steal the french championship away from P$G.
And always tomorrow night, maybe Juventus will be kicked out of the next Champions League, it's all up to my Milan facing "mini Leicester" Atalanta who have qualified for the third year in a row for the Champions League... where in the last edition they were 3 minutes away from eliminating PSG!
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So, it's all over!
ENGLAND: The usual suspects qualified for the Champions League. Leicester fans and West Ham / Iron Maiden fans are left out of the Champions League :'( Manchester City won, Liverpool didn't repeat themselves.
ITALY: Juventus' 9 years long reign ends in favor of Inter, and my Milan finally returns to Champions League after 7 long years :metal :metal :metal (yeah, in Italy we don't use the letters, we never say FC Internazionale, AC Milan.... cultural differences, deal with it)
SPAIN: At the last match, Atletico Madrid wins the Liga, in face of the usual Real Madrid, with behind the other usual Barcelona.
FRANCE: Lille by ONE POINT steals away the championship from the ultra rich hands of PSG, 700 or whatever billions spent to fail in the Champions League and fail in the championship, congrats :lol
PORTUGAL: Sporting CP won the title after TWENTY YEARS of the usual division between Porto and Benfica only.
GERMANY: Nothing to see year, Bayern Munich won their 9th title.
So, blame it on Covid or just on happenstance, but, Germany aside, this has been a terrible year for those used to win, they all failed! now next year's Champions League is gonna be full of group of deaths, with all the giants not being championship winners!
And this saturday the final act, Champions League final, Manchester City vs Chelsea.... and then we can all concentrate on Euro 2020 and hate each other's nations :metal
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I'm still astounded that Man United (my team) managed to get 2nd place despite playing pretty bad all season. Although they went undefeated on away games throughout the season.
That EL final against Villarreal will be very interesting.
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The hell I just watched! TWENTY TWO penalties!!! EVERYONE scored, 20 goals out of 20, and so the goalkeepers had to face each other, with ManUTD goalie making a fatal mistake.
Villareal wins the Europa League after 22 penalties and 21 goals, it must be a worldwide record when it comes to final matches!
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The hell I just watched! TWENTY TWO penalties!!! EVERYONE scored, 20 goals out of 20, and so the goalkeepers had to face each other, with ManUTD goalie making a fatal mistake.
Villareal wins the Europa League after 22 penalties and 21 goals, it must be a worldwide record when it comes to final matches!
That was beyond great. Almost all of them shot great penalties, even Rulli. I'm happy for Villareal even though I don't like the kind of football Emery plays. It's nice when the underdog gets the price
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Wanna bet that now Manchester City and Chelsea are training their goalkeepers to kick penalties, just in case :biggrin:
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Well, Saturday's game was a hard fought one, more than I thought it would be. I think Guardiola lost the game the moment he decided to leave Fernandinho out of the initial squad. City had no balance in midfield and they suffered greatly for it. As great a manager that he is, he always makes mistakes in these important Champions League games. I think his brilliance gets the best of him and instead of going with something that has worked out before he tries to surprise the rival but ends up confusing his own team.
On another note, this beautiful sport of us keeps demonstrating that money is all that matters. Copa America is supposed to be held this year. Initially, half of it was going to be played in Colombia and half in Argentina. Due to the social crisis in Colombia, they decided to hold the whole thing in Argentina. However, yesterday they announced that because the Covid situation here is pretty bad they have decided that it won't be held here and are looking at other options. The interesting thing is that the cup is supposed to start in 10 days. My bet is that this ends up being held in the US. No other country in America could hold the tournament given the Covid/social crisis situations.
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Well, Saturday's game was a hard fought one, more than I thought it would be. I think Guardiola lost the game the moment he decided to leave Fernandinho out of the initial squad. City had no balance in midfield and they suffered greatly for it. As great a manager that he is, he always makes mistakes in these important Champions League games. I think his brilliance gets the best of him and instead of going with something that has worked out before he tries to surprise the rival but ends up confusing his own team.
Yeah, the match was good, it was also ahestetically pleasant, blue vs azure, it was nice to watch :D
It was rich vs. ultra rich so I was rooting for Chelsea, after all I visited London, so it was nice to see them win.
Pity for the Copa America!
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So, after suspending it in Argentina due to covid, Copa America will no be played in... Brazil. These guys are a joke.
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So, after suspending it in Argentina due to covid, Copa America will no be played in... Brazil. These guys are a joke.
"We can't play on the edge of a cliff because it's unsafe, let's move nearby a tornado instead"
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Anyone following Euro cup? :D
Pretty good opener yesterday, Italy played really well and it seems they might go far this year.
France again looks terrific, Belgium and England are also great. My country Croatia didn't look too good in friendlies and I'd be happy with anything more than advancing from group stage.
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The enthusiasm for the tournament was seriously dampered yesterday.
Christian Eriksen from Denmark suddenly fell down senseless in the middle of the pitch, with a cardiac arrest. His captain immediately attended to him, medics were quickly on the pitch, and all the Denmark players made a human shield when the doctors were working on him to shield him from the cameras, then they all walked him out together.
Also, at the stadium finnish supporters (the match was Denmark - Finland) chanted "Christian!!!" with the danish ones replying "Eriksen!!!".
And Lukaku from Belgium, his team mate from Inter, scored and ran to the camera to say "Stay strong Christian, I love you".
Yesterday we saw some of the most memorable, touching, soul warming moments in football seen in a long time..... and they were tied to a young guy almost dying on the pitch. How weird and surreal.
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First round of matches done!
No big surprises, in the group of death France defeated Germany with a quite thoughtless own goal by the germans, as if the one Turkey did to themselves wasn't bad enough.
Now round two begins, tonight Italy vs Switzerland!
Oh, and next friday there's England vs Scotland, William Wallace mode on :biggrin:
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Oh hey! I've actually watched a few matches this year, though I haven't posted in this thread.
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Haven't watched a game yet but planning on it.
I did hear about Cristiano Ronaldo little stunt on Coca-Cola, ouch! :lol
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If they keep this up, Italy will win this tournament. Very captivating to watch.
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Aside from the horrible Eriksen incident, this has been a decent start to the championship.
As an Englishman us starting with a win against a decent side and playing pretty well was great to see. Also loving Italy (my second team) being so enjoyable to watch.
Loved seeing Germany lose, shame it meant the French won though ;D
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Germany - France was the best game so far though ...
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There have been 5 penalty kicks given in the Euros so far, and players have missed 4 of them. That's a pretty weird stat.
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Germany v France was awful for the standard it should have been. A 1-0 own-goal win is not a great game.
We just had our first come-from-behind win when Belgium brought on their supersubs and completely turned the game on its head vs Denmark and showed class both in footballing terms and in the 10th-minute tribute to Eriksen.
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Germany - France was the best game so far though ...
I thought it was pretty boring. Germany had a lot of ball posession but had absolutely no idea what to do with it. And France didn't do much either, but they always were dangerous when in attack mode. Germany could have played for another two hours and not creating any chances. This is 2018 all over again. :'(
Maybe it's a good thing that Jogi Löw will resign after the tournament. He was so great for so many years, but he seems to have run out of ideas.
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Germany v France was awful for the standard it should have been. A 1-0 own-goal win is not a great game.
The goal itself wasn't good, but it was exciting to watch, I thought. So far.. best attacking team award (given by me, a football noob who only watches EC and WC) goes to Italy.
Belgium's first goal just now was some great player interaction, but I felt bad for Denmark who I thought deserved the win after the first half (in which Belgium played very badly, I might add).
Austria - the Netherlands tonight. No idea what to expect from this. I have a feeling Oranje will be overconfident and give it away, the same way they practically gave Ukraine the two goals in the first match.
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Big match England vs Scotland tonight. We (England) should win this, as this is a fairly workmanlike Scotland team (Robinson and Tierney are the only two top quality players in their team, and they both play in the same position). In theory we should have to much quality and pace upfront for them - but you never know, we still haven't had an outright shock result yet!
As an aside I'd much rather live in Scotland than England these days, but patriotism still wants me to batter them tonight!
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I love London and a gazillion of England bands, but speaking of bands, you can't listen to Grave Digger and be indifferent to Tunes of War, their best album and a concept about scottish history.
So, in the name of the song Rebellion, go Scotland tonight! :yarr ;D
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Sweden is starting their second game now, and I'm stuck at work for a few more hours. Luckily I have dual monitors here at the office ;)
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Big match England vs Scotland tonight. We (England) should win this, as this is a fairly workmanlike Scotland team (Robinson and Tierney are the only two top quality players in their team, and they both play in the same position). In theory we should have to much quality and pace upfront for them - but you never know, we still haven't had an outright shock result yet!
As an aside I'd much rather live in Scotland than England these days, but patriotism still wants me to batter them tonight!
I'm English and my wife is Scottish, so our son is therefore both, so we support both. So in a sense I don't really mind what happens this evening.
Strictly speaking I'm actually only half English, so I guess our household is more Scottish than anything else. :lol
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(https://hips.hearstapps.com/elleuk.cdnds.net/17/21/1495699611-hbz-the-queen-crown-index-1495661201_1.jpg?crop=1xw:0.8886097152428811xh;center,top&resize=980:*)
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(https://hips.hearstapps.com/elleuk.cdnds.net/17/21/1495699611-hbz-the-queen-crown-index-1495661201_1.jpg?crop=1xw:0.8886097152428811xh;center,top&resize=980:*)
Germans don't play till tomorrow!
Well back to the England performance I've seen way to many times in my life during torniment football. Fair play to the Scots they were the better side.
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Germany lost with an own goal, against France... and took the lead with TWO own goals against Portugal :biggrin:
And then rounded it up to 4-2 in their favor just because they could.
This group of death is gonna be interesting!
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What a game though, that was great to watch!!
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Best game of a german team for a long time. :metal :metal :metal
But still some horrible mistakes in the defense.
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And Spain is but a ghost of their all-star team that won the world cup 11 years ago.
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Group A is done! Italy dominated it, three victories out of three, 7 goals scored and ZERO conceded.
Of course the rivals were not that impossible but let's call it a good beginning. Also, it's 30 matches in a row without defeat - a feat that was resisting since the '30s, the times when Italy won two world cups back to back :o
Now the real doubt is if they're actually that strong, or if at the first really difficult match they will crumble. Fingers crossed....
Tonight Group B also ends! (EDIT: not true as mentioned. below)
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Tonight Group B also ends!
Nope, that's tomorrow!
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Group A is done! Italy dominated it, three victories out of three, 7 goals scored and ZERO conceded.
Italy are my second team, I grew up watching Italian Football in the 90's, when sky took the English Premiership away from terrestrial TV, Channel 4 started showing a Serie A game every Sunday (as well as a Brilliant Italian Footy magazine show on Saturday). My two favorite players (outside of Leicester City) come from that era in Robbie "Divine Ponytail" Baggio and Gabriel "Batigol" Batistuta. Samp and Roma were the two teams I ended up supporting most, which still stands (although Mourinho going to Roma may test that :-\).
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Baggio is a national treasure :D
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I'm cheering for Wales, my home country, but don't think they'll get too far. They meet Denmark in the round of 16. My second and third favourite teams are England and the Netherlands.
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In these tournaments I always root for, in order:
- Italy
- Germany because I've been there many times and I love the country
- Scandinavian nations
- Random underdog with no chance to win
- Whoever is playing against France ;D
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For me it's usually The Netherlands and England, because that's my roots.
Then random underdogs too (Ghana in 2010 WC, Iceland last Euro for example).
This year I'm also rooting for Germany and Italy and against Portugal.
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I have a strong dislike for Spain atm. Nothing to do with the country, I just hate their current style of stagnant possession based football - it's so boring to watch.
Really pleased for the Danes, they deserved that - it's a nice story after what happened to Eriksen. They played pretty well in their first two matches and got no reward, it was really good to watch them unleash against a dull Russian side.
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I have a strong dislike for Spain atm. Nothing to do with the country, I just hate their current style of stagnant possession based football - it's so boring to watch.
Yeah, Spain as in "spanish football team" is another team fun to dislike, with all their tiki taka bullshit that basically was imported from Barcelona's glory days with Xavi and Iniesta, and I guess that whenever a team wins so much it's natural to develop some "hostility" towards them.
BTW, I too when I root against France I mean "France's football team", Paris is one of the most beautiful towns of the world and in general I don't feel the hostility with french people that many other italians have (you know that every neighbour in the world bicker among themselves), it's just that whenever the specific entity of France's football team loses, it will always be something to cherish about ;D
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Pretty exciting game between Sweden and Poland right now. :corn
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Indeed!
EDIT 2 minutes later; well, it's over now after that goal :lol
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Lewandowski, what a player!
Go Sweden! :tup
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That was a very exciting finish for Group F!
I had both games on one screen and watched all of it :lol
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The top half of the table looks very heavy loaded, with Italy, France, Belgium and Spain all there (as well as defending champions Portugal).
In the bottom half there's "just" England and Germany and they face off right away.
BELGIUM - PORTUGAL
ITALY - AUSTRIA
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FRANCE - SWITZERLAND
CROATIA - SPAIN
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=======================
SWEDEN - UKRAINE
ENGLAND - GERMANY
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NETHERLANDS - CZECH REPUBLIC
WALES - DENMARK
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I can do without the suspense, I'm too old for this shit.
Glad that Germany advances to the next round, but they didn't really deserve it. Not a good game by them and again some horrible defense.
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Hungary deserved better thsn fourth place, for sure. In any other group they would have advanced to the next round.
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In the bottom half there's "just" England and Germany and they face off right away.
You'd expect the winner of England vs Germany to face the Dutch in the semi's. But football isn't all that predictable!
That Top half is great - could be Belgium v Italy and France vs Spain in the Quarters!
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I'm super happy that Sweden won that game, and now we're off to the next round.
I didn't expect Germany to advance though.
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In the bottom half there's "just" England and Germany and they face off right away.
You'd expect the winner of England vs Germany to face the Dutch in the semi's. But football isn't all that predictable!
That Top half is great - could be Belgium v Italy and France vs Spain in the Quarters!
Exactly, without surprises it could be:
Italy vs Belgium
France vs Spain
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Sweden vs England or Germany
Netherlands vs.... Denmark? Wales?
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...definitively not Wales :lol
Denmark won 4-0 and they fly into the quarter finals!!!
And tonight, Italy vs Austria!!! I love Austria, it's a beautiful nation and I can imagine myself living there, but when fate puts up a sport rivalry, it's wars of independence all over again so screw you, Habsburg, we're gonna fight you like we fought you in the 1800 and in World War I :metal
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Goodbye Orange :(
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Sorry about that!
I didn't expect Italy to suffer that much against Austria.... I don't know how to see this match - as the difficult one that grounds them, reminds a young and inexperienced group how to face difficulties, or a match that shows that, beyond the initial enthusiasm, they're not ready yet and they might very likely crumble in the quarter finals, against Belgium or Portugal.
We'll see, after all also in the 2006 World Cup Italy played a bad and difficult match against Australia, winning only thanks to a very generous penalty, and then went on to win the whole thing.
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At this point in the tournament anything can happen. I didn't expect Denmark to win that clearly against Wales if at all, I didn't expect Austria to hold off Italy for so long, and I didn't expect the Netherlands to go out. So I won't predict anything for the next couple of matches. :D
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Aaaand the reigning champions are out. Belgium defeats Portugal.
I was rooting for extra time ;D
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Sorry about that!
Don't be, they played a terrible game :lol
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That was a great game, Crotia fought so well. :hefdaddy
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That was crazy! down 3-1, they drag Spain 3-3 into extra time, when they go down 5-3.
So France - Spain it is! (save some miracle tonight)
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Today's games!!!
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Oh my God, this is fantastic :lol
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That was intense! :omg:
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WHAT IN THE HOLY FUCKING FUCK OF ALL THE FOOTBALL GODS HAPPENED TODAY!!!!! :o :o :o
14 goals!!! 3-1, 3-3, and then 5-3 from Spain!
And now Switzerland having a chance to go 2-0, royally screwing it up, going emotionally down 2-1 and then 3-1.... and then clinging back to life with a 3-3!!!! and then victory at penalties!!!!
5 penalty kicks out of 5, why in the blue hell they let the only penalty-impaired one kick the potential 2-0 one? :lol
Anyway - European champions out, world champions out!!!! Switzerland and Belgium bathed in the blood of the kings :metal
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Both matches today were fantastic. So many goals, so much unpredictability and drama.
Good for Switzerland for finally making it past the round of 16 in a major tournament. :tup
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Wow, at both games. Intense, spectacular and unexpected. :metal
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Tonight is going to be one of the very rare occasions in which, when England and Germany are involved, I root for the germans ;D
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And that's the end of the era Joachim Löw. I hoped for a better ending. Congrats to England.
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It's my fault. I went and grabbed my german flag (memento of one of my many trips to Germany). I didn't even have time to sit in front of the TV and England scored :lol
Anyway:
Reigning champions out
World champions out with Switzerland
Spain dragged into extra time by Croatia
Suddenly Italy's difficulty of getting rid of Austria doesn't look so worrying, there are no more easy matches from now on and I assume every match will be a story of its own.
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Must say, its nice to not lose to Germany on penalties for a change.
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I'm not the biggest follower of fotball in general except for cups like this but one thing I always enjoy alot is seeing good teamwork like clever passes between several players that pushes a situation forward even if it dosen't lead to a goal it's still such an exciting part of the game for me. Almost more exciting than seeing a specific goal. However seeing passes back and forth between players is boring but I guess in most of those cases they might look for an opening.
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Looked like a battlefield for a minute! :lol Well we're out! Congrats Ukraine!
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Christ, this was a terrible game.
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Wait, where's Tom Brady???
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That game was messy as hell come extra time. Unfortunate we conceded that goal last minute. Olsen must be kicking himself.
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So, shit is about to get real.
Kingslayers Switzerland will face a Spain that is no longer the invincible armada of a decade ago.
Italy on the wings of enthusiasm will face Belgium, the "best of the world" who never won anything.
And then tomorrow it's the match of the relative surprises, Czech Republic and Denmark, one of them will be in the toup four!
And finally, if England really wants it to "come home" and have something more to boast about beside inventing football and winning in their own home a single world cup, they have to show they won't pull a Croatia 2018 and defeat Ukraine.
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...well, that happened, and so we're down to the final four:
ITALY vs SPAIN
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DENMARK vs ENGLAND
I dunno, I was always cautiously optimistic and in "let's take every match one by one" mode, but..... I'm - kinda - possibly - maybe - starting to believe that Italy might win this thing. Not that they WILL, but.... the chance is definitively there.
Ah screw being scaramantic: the final is gonna be Italy - Denmark, there, I said it ;D
And now, for some random folkloristic discussion, which kinda belongs in this thread - In Italy during the '70s and '80s some cult comedic films were made by Paolo Villaggio, one of Italy's most famous comedians, about a down of his luck accountant, Fantozzi, whose ill adventures of being beaten down by life, evil bosses and personal misfortunes became part of Italy's pop culture.
In one of many situations that everyone in Italy knows, the "mega CEO" of the company mandated everyone to attend his boring movie nights, to see artistic films, on the very night Italy vs England was on TV, so everyone tried their best to listen to the match with those portable radios being confiscated while entering the CEO's personal movie theater, in order to not let them be distracted by the match, and of course in that situation everyone tried to get a hold of news from the match, with word of mouth being blown up to epic proportions :lol
"In the dark of the room [while the movie the mega CEO forced everyone to see was playing] rumors were running crazy and uncontrolled. It was said that Italy was winning 20-0 and that even Zoff [the goalkeeper] had scored with his head on a corner kick" :rollin
The goalkeeper scoring with his head on a corner kick was basically a meme before memes were invented, you'll hardly find anyone in Italy who doesn't know what it means.
Another legendary scene is when, en route to the mandated movie night, Fantozzi heard on a crappy radio that the post was hit, so he stopped the car to ask to the first window he found who hit the post (that's what he actually asks, "Sorry, who hit the post?", with the results you can see for yourselves :lol
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFDthUbJclg
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Italy - England is going to be the final. And I have no idea who'll win. Earlier on I predicted Italy would win this thing, as they played well and I enjoyed watching them, but after that stupidly unsporting behaviour in the last 10-15 minutes against Belgium, I'm not really rooting for them. Besides, being half English I kind of have to root for England anyway. Going past Denmark might actually prove slightly difficult, but playing on home territory will probably give them the edge.
Italy - Spain is going to be fun to watch as well. I think Spain isn't going to stand a chance, but who knows. They might surprise us for once.
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NOT THIS TIME :metal
And now we wait for Denmark :hat
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My heart is with my neighbouring country tonight. :heart They have quite the mountain to climb though and it's not helping them to play in a arena smacked with Brits. :D
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Wow have to say Denmark are giving them quite the fight.
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While we await to know who's gonna pull through between Hamlet and Richard III, some funny stuff from last evening:
- Spain's captain at the end, before the penalties, chose the "wrong" side for the penalties and even if he had the chance to pick the spanish side, he chose the italian side instead, with Italy's captain and the linesman trolling him for that;
- Bonucci went to cheer in front of italian fans, and a steward blocked him to forbid him to go back to the pitch because she assumed he was a fan trying a pitch invasion;
- Someone actually snuck in among the group hugs, and Verratti is on camera noticing him and saying with a puzzled look "...who the fuck are you?" before the guy was escorted out.
The lulz was strong last evening :lol
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Feel bad for Simon Kjaers self-goal, that will haunt him. Well fought by Denmark, they deserve all the cred.
So England and Italy in the finale. :tup
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NOT THIS TIME :metal
And now we wait for Denmark :hat
Guess it will be England rather than Denmark who give Italy a thrashing ;)
Okay, Im not so confident in my trash-talking given Italys long history of winning and Englands long history of not winning, but well see what transpires.
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Feel bad for Simon Kjaers self-goal, that will haunt him.
Nah, if he wasn't there, Sterling would have scored it instead.
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Feel bad for Simon Kjaers self-goal, that will haunt him.
Nah, if he wasn't there, Sterling would have scored it instead.
Yea but I don't think that's a comfort for him since it's still a self-goal in a semi. That will haunt him eitherway.
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Kjaer will be remembered for having heroically stood by Eriksen's side, not for an own goal caused by the frenzy of an action. Slovakia's goalkeeper own goal was far worse and far more laughable, this stuff happens.
EDIT: it was Slovakia, not Spain, Spain was the team that benefitted from the own goal.
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I'm so happy we don't show the football at work (Holiday park restaurant) so at around 7:30pm at work last night we were absolutely dead as literally everyone was somewhere else watching it and we
had a really nice chilled final couple of hours with zero customers :p
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Kjaer will be remembered for having heroically stood by Eriksen's side, not for an own goal caused by the frenzy of an action. Spain's goalkeeper own goal was far worse and far more laughable, this stuff happens.
You see it from an outsiders perspective, i'm just guessing his own thoughts. There's no blame on him at all, that was simply an unfourtunate goal and that's very clear and I agree that people outside also see that and don't judge him for it. However i'm still certain it stings for him since they did end up losing but of course it dosen't matter in the end and I don't know him. I don't think he sees himself as a hero only a concerned friend and teammate from his pov but you're right, the general public will remember him as a hero.
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...and it's not helping them to play in a arena smacked with Brits. :D
English yes, Brits almost certainly not :lol
Have to say I had tears in my eyes when the final whistle went on Wednesday. Can't wait for the final although it's hard to see us winning against Italy.
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Yeah, "it's coming home"? more like "Sta tornando a casa" :metal :biggrin:
At least I hope, just like I hope for some other iconic moments from the commentators... I grew up as a kid hearing replays of the ending of the World Cup 1982, won by Italy in Spain, where the commentator at the end exclaimed "It's over! champions of the world, champions of the world, champions of the world!" three times (since it was the third title), something that was replayed a long time.
Then in 2006 - it was exactly 15 years ago - when Italy won against France in Germany, after the decisive penalty the commentator said "...and it's a goal!!! it's over, it's over, it's over, it's over!!! THE SKY IS BLUE OVER BERLIN, we're champions of the world!!!"
"The sky is blue over Berlin" entered immediately in Italy's pop culture and everyone knows what it means. I hope for some other catchy and iconic sentence should things go our way :D
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Yeah, "it's coming home"? more like "Sta tornando a casa" :metal :biggrin:
It's so funny how that song has travelled around the world and has been misinterpreted - even by many of us English folk these days :lol According to the writers, it was never about England winning, rather football returning in the form of a tournament to its spiritual place of birth giving us the opportunity to create memories other than our only triumph "30 years ago".
You're so right about commentators and great moments. They can have such an amazing impact on your memory of a moment. "They think it's all over... it is now!", is probably the most famous line by an English commentator. That was Kenneth Wolstenholme in 1966 but many of my personal favourites were spoken by Barry Davies including this beauty: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oydMFd40p7w
Barry Davies actually commentated on The World Stare Out Championship, too. No, really he did: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9LySnsvxtM :biggrin:
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Meanwhile, as you can see in the link, Boris Johnson has changed his Facebook profile with a photo of the english jersey (he got the number 10) and the cover as well, declaring that "it's coming home" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uruguay_v_Brazil_(1950_FIFA_World_Cup)).
I may or may have not made some mistakes using the link function.
:biggrin:
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The thing around "it's coming home" is that the people who say it are split between those who do us seriously and those who do so completely ironically. As a result it's become a really kind of funny cultural thing.
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Should I take this thread is currently on page 66 as an omen.😀
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You don't have to if we push it to 67
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Topic will now be locked at 66 pages.
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I hope it dosen't end up being penalties.
Edit: Well shit
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Gah, in a normal match I enjoy the drama and excitement of penalties, but it's a sucky and too-random way to settle a final. Then again, both sides were pretty evenly matched and so I guess it needs to be settled one way or another.
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(https://www.explorica.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Italy-Congrats.png)
Gah, in a normal match I enjoy the drama and excitement of penalties, but it's a sucky and too-random way to settle a final. Then again, both sides were pretty evenly matched and so I guess it needs to be settled one way or another.
Yea I hate penalties, it's so random.
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What a rubbish penalty series
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What a rubbish penalty series
Yeah seriously, that was a terrible shoot-out. :lol
Ah well.
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Unfortunate ending notwithstanding, England can be proud of how they played tonight I feel.
In any case, well done Italy.
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Gah, in a normal match I enjoy the drama and excitement of penalties, but it's a sucky and too-random way to settle a final.
It's better than flipping a coin.
https://www.givemesport.com/1702409-euro-1968-how-a-coin-toss-powered-italy-to-their-only-euro-title
(obviously that article's now out of date...)
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I like the suggestion that penalties should be taken BEFORE extra time, and using them as tiebreaker only if the match still ends up in parity.
Having said that, WE'RE CHAMPIONS OF EUROPE!!! THE DREAM BECAME REALITY!!! After the utter disaster of the missed qualification for Russia 2018, Roberto Mancini created a wonderful group that managed to pull through even without a top player among the attackers (but Chiesa was really coming into his own this tournament). THe strength of the group, the desire to delete a bad page of sport history for the national team... I always felt that they could pull it off and it was so, so satisfying to see Italy FINALLY on top of the continent, I have seen the World Cup in 2006 but they never won the european championship after 1968 (and it was just semifinals and the final anyway, it wasn't a proper tournament) and after two defeats (2000 and 2012) I'm glad to see them finally winning it.
I also always felt that the english team was due to their own Maracanazo.... can we call it Wembleydoom? ;D the atmosphere around the team was too much, too much flaunted confidence bordering arrogance, everyone preparing to win without ever taking in consideration the chance of defeat.... I don't want to be too harsh but in this sport you have to know how to win and how to lose, and England show they aren't quite there yet on both things. And those poor guys who missed the penalties being personally attacked.... I hope they recover from this!
Anyway, the dream is true!!! everyone in Italy went crazy, and also in Scotland, Argentina and Ireland I assume ;D finally I scratched a sporting itch off my back that was lasting since 21 years and that fateful Trezeguet golden goal....
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Anyway, the dream is true!!! everyone in Italy went crazy, and also in Scotland, Argentina and Ireland I assume ;D finally I scratched a sporting itch off my back that was lasting since 21 years and that fateful Trezeguet golden goal....
Yeah, I can attest to this. Our weekend was pretty good overall. Copa America on Saturday, England losing on Sunday. Maradona is surely having a blast wherever he is :smiley:
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Never quite understood finding joy in another team (that isn't the direct opposition) losing....
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Never quite understood finding joy in another team (that isn't the direct opposition) losing....
Well, in this particular case, it has to do with a cultural matter. As you may know, the English are not well liked down here, and it translates into football. It's silly honestly and the anger should be directed at politics and not the average citizen, or football player in this case. But people are irrational. Every English person I've met has been super nice, even Rich.
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Ah yeah, Football as a proxy for international tensions is definitely understandable. God knows our government does their best to Stoke the fires.
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:lol Thanks Diego, love you too!
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Having said that, WE'RE CHAMPIONS OF EUROPE!!! THE DREAM BECAME REALITY!!!
Congratulations, hope you had a great night Mirror. Must admit even though I was depressed by the result, as someone who grew up on Italian football in the 90's and followed Samp seeing Vialli embracing Mancini (where was Lombardo?) made me smile. Also Chiellini is an absolute loveable bastard!!
As for England, the wait goes on. We fell back into our old habits of taking an early lead then trying to defend from that point on. We need to learn to continue to push, not be afraid of starting/using our attacking options (Grealish, Rashford, Sancho & Saka). Only managing 2 shots on target sums it up.
But all the football aside England continue to be problematic, the 'fans' trying to break into Wembley, the awful racists social media attacks on the players who missed their penalties. This is sadly the undercurrent of English culture right now, we our a disgrace (even though it's very much the minority, it's still way, way to much).
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Yeah, Mancini and Vialli hugging made my eyes a bit wet. Their team, Sampdoria, was never a big one, they won a miracle italian championship in 1991 and then they reached the European Cup final in 1992, it was their one shot at glory, and an outstanding free kick from Koeman took it away and gave the Cup to Barcelona.
Now, 30 years later, in the "same" stadium (well, new one, same name), they brought all of Italy on top of the world. A well deserved payback for Mancini and especially Vialli who had serious health issues and definitively knows that the most important battles are not the ones fought on a football field.
I feel too for the english player attacked; I have to say that the player themselves - the ones on the pitch and of course Southgate - were all cautious and respectful of Italy, it's everyone else around them who got too smug and too arrogant, with an absolute certainty of victory that I knew would bit them in the ass. I have no animosity for the ones who actually played the final and Southgate, but everyone else around them...... well, it was nice to take it all away from them and lift the cup in their faces in their own stadium. With additional regards from Scotland whose newspaper depicted Mancini as Braveheart and called him after the victory "Roberto the Bruce" :lol
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I don't blame other countries for not wanting us to win to be honest. Even though I live in a rural village in Norfolk after the semi-final win vs the Danish we still had a bunch of drunks crawling out of the pub shouting and kicking all the bins over in our street - I can only imagine the level of idiocy in the big cities.
I'm I right in think Mancini wasn't a hugely popular choice when he was appointed?
'Football's coming Rome' Bonucci. I laughed!
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Bonucci's best line was "You still have a lot of pasta to eat" :rollin
Mancini was a good choice, he was a big name and after the disaster of the "low budget" choice of Ventura (Ventura who, you will say?.... yeha, precisely), he was welcomed. Maybe no one could have foreseen how good it would have went, but everyone was happy enough with him. After the failed Russia 2018 qualification, having a big name leading the national team was already a good beginning.
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Wow, we never used this thread again after Italy won Euro 2020? :o
Anyway, sad news for football history, Pelè has passed away. Not exactly a shock, but t's always sad to see him go. I hope he didn't suffer too much in the last days.