Soccer Thread 2013-14

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

I don't think we 'blunder about' - we work hard and strive bravely against injustice before keeping a stiff upper lip when as go out of a tournament on penalties ....

Lol... you know, the English and Americans both do their fair share of blundering about or whatever you want to call it. The difference is, the English look apologetic for doing it, while us Americans look at everyone like they should have moved out of our way.

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

LOL

At the moment I view Germany as playing nice flowing football, their 'technique' is very efficient, nice passing, good control and movement etc.

Its probably more 'acceptable' to say 'Spain' these days - but from an English perspective we look to Germany for inspiration because England beat them 5-1 back in 2006 and they've come a LONG way since then ... yeah any excuse to post a link to that match

England 5 - Germany 1

I mean, it shows how reputations change over time (as Katon pointed out initially). Germany now is the golden standard for fast paced high-skilled 'sexy football'. Yeah, "Spain", some would say, but I find their 5-5-0 ball control heavy game plan boring.

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by MIJB#19

I mean, it shows how reputations change over time (as Katon pointed out initially). Germany now is the golden standard for fast paced high-skilled 'sexy football'. Yeah, "Spain", some would say, but I find their 5-5-0 ball control heavy game plan boring.

btw hope you're watching the England - Chile friendly, very good so far (even if we're losing at the moment) ... incredibly open with both sides apparently haven forgotten how to defend

[OldGiants]

If this is an 'international' game, why isn't the USA playing an actual nation?

And why isn't there a team from only the United Kingdom, like in the Olympics?

This should have happened years ago. FIFA needs to get this done.

[bhlloy]

Why?

(Bearing in mind that the home nations are far from the only example of non-sovereign nations that have FIFA membership, they are just the biggest)

[Marc Vaughan]

English commentators you gotta love em ... "that was a good foul" ...

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by OldGiants

If this is an 'international' game, why isn't the USA playing an actual nation?

Err Scotland is a nation - please expect your local Scottish bloke to come around to explain this to you later this evening using large blunt objects

And why isn't there a team from only the United Kingdom, like in the Olympics?

The UK is an alliance of seperate nations - think of it like an easy test case of the European Union on a smaller scale

This should have happened years ago. FIFA needs to get this done.

Never going to happen - it'd be hugely resisted by the individual nations involved .. there was enough ruckus over having a UK team for the Olympics (and various players, nations refused to be involved as it was).

[MIJB#19]

Notes for the upcoming World Cup: Colombia is a very dirty team. Score at half time in a friendly with Oranje: 2 players kicked out of the game injured, 1 player provoked into a red card after an attempt to amputate a foot and 1 yellow card for an attempt to punch a player knockout.
Indeed, Colombia will be a challenger for the title!

[MIJB#19]

Ronaldo. Wow.

[cartman]

Originally Posted by MIJB#19

Ronaldo. Wow.

Even Ibrahimovic was applauding

[SirFozzie]

Ronaldo vs Ibrahimovic. Game of the year.

It's like Bird vs Jordan, both in their prime

[bhlloy]

Well that was a thoroughly disappointing set of results for those of us who like to see small nations at the World Cup. Really wanted to see Burkina Faso and Iceland make it

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

Well that was a thoroughly disappointing set of results for those of us who like to see small nations at the World Cup. Really wanted to see Burkina Faso and Iceland make it

Yup, same here.

[MIJB#19]

Because of one awesome game from Ronaldo, FIFA is trying to get voters to change their Player of the Year votes. Maybe they should stop doing these 'Player of the Year' polls at 80% of the year finished and learn to actually wait for the year to end...

[Marc Vaughan]

Might surprise people to know I was actually quite happy with the England vs Germany game, I thought England looked fairly composed during the match generally and outside of our 'finishing' we had some nice movement and didn't look awful.

I'm also (possibly strangely) pleased we lost - having lost a couple of matches the media will hopefully ease off their expectations and not see us as potential world cup winners, which will help a lot with the preparations and allow the team to take a sensible approach tactically to matches without the press complaining about the team being too conservative etc.

[cartman]

Well, no reason to watch the World Cup next year.

Sweden's Zlatan Ibrahimovic - World Cup is nothing without me - ESPN FC

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by cartman

Well, no reason to watch the World Cup next year.

Sweden's Zlatan Ibrahimovic - World Cup is nothing without me - ESPN FC

I have to admit I have a soft spot for him

[DaddyTorgo]

Brazil's World Cup Kick-Off Times Are Perfect

World Soccer Talk has compiled the TV times for the World Cup, which begins on June 12 and ends July 13. Because most of the Brazil venues are two hours ahead of the East Coast, these are some very America-friendly times. (All times Eastern.)

In the group stage, over the first two legs, match days will play out in three slots, at 12 noon, 3 p.m, and 6 p.m. nearly every day. Perfect timing for long lunches, watching streaming games at your desk in the afternoon, and after-work bar visits.

Over the final two days of the group stage, when all four teams in a group play simultaneously, two matches each will be played at 12 p.m. and 4 p.m.

That schedule extends through the knockout stages, with the Round of 16 and the quarterfinals seeing matches every day at 12 p.m. and 4 p.m.

The two semifinals will be played at 4 p.m., and the final on Sunday, July 12, at 3 p.m.

[CAsterling]

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

having lost a couple of matches the media will hopefully ease off their expectations and not see us as potential world cup winners,

I love the fact you are such an optimist

Do you really think "The Sun", "The Mirror" and that lovely balanced paper "The Daily Mail" will do anything but claim England should not only win the World Cup, but should win it easily, and anything less is a huge failure and those responsible should be hung, drawn and quartered publicly.

There will be hype, recriminations and demands of the wholesale changes after England fail to meet their unrealistic expectations of destroying every opponent by at least 6 goals.

It has always been this way and so it will always be this way.

[AlexB]

To be fair the Mail doesn't bother with the feelgood optimism at the start, goes straight for the hanging, etc in the month before the tournament!

Cuts out the obviously unnecessary temporary change of editorial focus

[miami_fan]

Great start on Merseyside.

[miami_fan]

WTF Phil Dowd?

[SirFozzie]

Wow. What a Merseyside derby, has it all, goals, controversy, etcetera.

That should have been a red card for the foul on Suarez in the first half, but wow, Lukaku is a beast.

edit: HOLY Shit, Sturridge in the 89th minute ties it up!

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Big kudos to Sporting KC on the huge win tonight against Houston. Sporting now hosts the championship game next Sunday against either Portland or Real Salt Lake. Stadium was electric tonight and it's going to be bonkers next weekend.

[miami_fan]

AC Milan fans prevent players exit from San Siro - reports - ESPN FC

Angry AC Milan supporters have reportedly prevented players leaving the San Siro and demanded a meeting with the team after the 1-1 draw with Genoa.

[sovereignstar v2]

City absolutely raped Spurs today. Made them look like a 4th division team. Could've been 10-nil.

[JetsIn06]

Originally Posted by sovereignstar v2

City absolutely raped Spurs today. Made them look like a 4th division team. Could've been 10-nil.

Yes sir they did. Nasri had a great game, and of course, Aguero and Negredo killed it together again.

Edit: Thought the back four looked good also...especially Zabaleta.

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by sovereignstar v2

City absolutely raped Spurs today. Made them look like a 4th division team. Could've been 10-nil.

Spurs tactics were incredibly inept ... and then they didn't change them, wtf?

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

AC Milan fans prevent players exit from San Siro - reports - ESPN FC

This is one of those things I will never understand. I can get pissed at Tom Brady or Diego Fagundez for not coming through in the end, but I would never think to chase them down outside of the game. Although maybe it's different when every other game in your country is suspected of bribery.

[DaddyTorgo]

Solid 2-0 win for Juve over Livorno. Nice to see the Tevez-Llorente partnership continue to develop (1 goal each, Llorente with the assist to Tevez also via a beautiful lay-off). Also nice to see them take care of business with a makeshift back-line.

[JonInMiddleGA]

AFP: Milan leave stadium after players meet angry 'ultras'

[Kodos]

Was anyone else suprised to see JiMG replied to a soccer thread? I just had to see why...

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Was anyone else suprised to see JiMG replied to a soccer thread? I just had to see why...

Hey, I usually read (well, "click on") nearly all the threads. The bolded-as-unread irks me so I clear 'em. As it happened, this story caught my eye enough to follow up on it yesterday.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Was anyone else suprised to see JiMG replied to a soccer thread? I just had to see why...

We're winning!

[Kodos]

I'm on Jon's team.

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

AC Milan fans prevent players exit from San Siro - reports - ESPN FC

Non-news. 'Fans' in the Netherlands do that every week.

[sovereignstar v2]

Alvaro Negredo is such an underrated player. Not for too much longer though.

[TroyF]

The group of death living up to it's name. There could be three teams on 12 points. Arsenal will get through so long as they don't lose by 3 goals to Napoli. I wish it were done and dusted at this point, but at least there is some room for error.

I love how this Arsenal team are having different guys step up at different points this year. Giroud had an on fire start. Ramsey has been sensational all year, but really had a one months stretch of pure greatness. He has a couple of off games and Wilshire has been a machine the last couple of weeks.

Crossing fingers, knocking on wood, salt over shoulder, etc. . . I'm excited to see an Arsenal team with a full starting 11 play a game for once. Giroud, Ozil, Cazorla, Walcott, Wilshire, Ramsey, Kos, Mert, Sagna, Gibbs. It'll be fun to see how that group start off.

The three subs who came on yesterday were three of Arsenals top four players last year. (Cazorla, Walcott, Arteta) It's nice to actually have some depth.

[MIJB#19]

Messi-less Barcelona looked vulnerable, Neymar by no means is as good as Messi is, yet.

[whomario]

Dortmund with a crucial win, especially it being 3-1 and thus controlling their own destiny. Win against Marseille and they are through to the knockout stage.
Played for the win all game, just an amazingly enjoyable group of players they put together for 4,5 years in a row now. Klopp has a neat little commercial basically saying he´s wired and driven by a "joy to win" rather than trying not to loose. Perfect characterization for his team.

Even last weekend, when they lost 0:3 to Bayern, there was no reason for them to hang their head. Missed all 4 projected starters at the back and still played their usual agressive and fast forward play. (same yesterday, with 4 guys at the back either projected as backups and/or playing out of position)

Sven Bender with another facial inury (has to be close to double digits by now), playing 75 minutes with a broken and blodied nose (to the point where they had to get extra jerseys for him from the fan shop)

Hoping for both Arsenal and the BVB to advance here.

[DaddyTorgo]

I'm awesome. I just snuck in a trip to the gym and made it back and fired up the stream literally right at kickoff of the Juve game.

[DaddyTorgo]

FML

STOP LETTING TEAMS SCORE ON YOU JUVE OR YOU'RE GOING OUT OF THE CL!!!!

[DaddyTorgo]

Another PK for Juve. 2-1 now.

Both were clear fouls - second the Kobenhaven guy actually got lucky as it probably ought to have been a red.

[DaddyTorgo]

3-1

Nice header by Vidal arriving late.

Phew...I can breathe a bit easier now.

Real Madrid doing their part.

[TroyF]

Arsenal now seven clear with all the other big boys to play tomorrow. It's still shocking for me to look at the subs list and see that all of them are good players who I wouldn't be unhappy to see come into the game.

A quick listing of the last few years after 13 games:

2013 - 31 points, +17 GD, at least 4 points clear
2012 - 20 points, +10 GD, 8 points behind
2011 - 23 points, +3 GD, 7 points behind
2010 - 23 points, +13, 5 points behind
2009 - 25 points, +21, 8 points behind

I think this team has something special about it. There does need to be another striker in January. I personally think they need another DC. But overall, it's a team that looks like it can stay for the long haul.

[MacroGuru]

The Pots have been released for the world cup...

• POT 1: Argentina, Brazil, Belgium, Colombia, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Uruguay
• POT 2: Algeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Chile, Ecuador
• POT 3: USA, Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico, Australia, Iran, Japan, South Korea,
• POT 4: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, England, France, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Russia

Doesn't look appealing for the US at all.

Of course, the simulator has been updated to reflect the Pots as well...

2014 FIFA World Cup Group stage Draws Simulator

[cartman]

Ran through 10 draws.

#1
Belgium
Chile
Bosnia-Herzegovina

#2
Germany
Ecuador
Italy

#3
Colombia
Portugal
England

#4
Germany
Nigeria
England

#5
Belgium
Ghana
Portugal

#6
Brazil
Cameroon
Italy

#7
Uruguay
Croatia
Bosnia-Herzegovina

#8
Brazil
Nigeria
Netherlands

#9
Switzerland
Nigeria
France

#10
Spain
Cameroon
Netherlands

None of them look very appealing. Numbers 1, 7 and 9 look like ones where the USA could advance.

[MacroGuru]

Originally Posted by whomario

why the hell is there one pot with 7 and one with 9 teams ? Surely regional fitting can´t be so important as to disregard the most basic rules of doing a draw ?

Just found this little tidbit on the article that was added after I posted

*Now, those exceptions. There are nine teams in Pot 4, so at the draw, one will be moved to Pot 2, which only has seven teams. Thanks to Pot 2's global nature, the draw will be altered to make sure that moved UEFA team doesn't end up in a group with two other European countries, and that the Pot 2 CONMEBOL teams are the only South American countries in their group.

[DaddyTorgo]

I'm more of a pessimist. Of yours cartman I'd say #7 is the only one where we're a good bet to advance.

France isn't going to roll over for anybody in #9, and we always have trouble with African teams, so I can see Nigeria pipping us.

#1 I think Chile is a sure bet, and then Belgium has all those scary young kids and is disciplined defensively.

[bhlloy]

They will fix it so one European team is in pot 2 and do a special draw I believe.