Soccer Thread 2020-2021

[sovereignstar v2]

Kasper....

[miami_fan]

Hmmm.....I wonder what the approval rating of VAR is in the Leicester section right now.

[sovereignstar v2]

That's the thing with VAR. I understand that is offside, but I still hate how meticulous things are now. And the same amount of calls that are still wrong is shocking.

[sovereignstar v2]

Well done Leicester. Now secure Top 4.

[miami_fan]

Congrats AlexB and Leicester FC. So happy supporters were able to see this in person.

[AlexB]

I’ve had a little cry TBH

[AlexB]

I might be biased (OK, clearly I am!), but today saw one of the great FA Cup Final goals, and one of the great Cup Final saves. Unbelievable.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Oh, and in NUMBERS news.. brace yourself.

LaLiga's eight year deal with ESPN is worth... $1.4 BILLION dollars.

That's $175 million a year, or currently almost $10 million more than the English Premier League is getting from NBC on a year to year basis.

My reaction: Holy shit, the rights train money isn't stopping after all. I think we all thought with the pandemic and digital encroaching, the exponential growth of Soccer rights would slow down. Nope. CHOO CHOO, motherforkers. If LaLiga gets 175 million a year, what is the EPL worth? $250 Million?

403 Forbidden

I missed this before. So ESPN now has LaLiga, Bundesliga, Serie A, MLS, Scottish Premier League, Eredivisie (Dutch), Belgian Jupiter League, Danish Superliga, Allsvenskan (Sweden), A-League, Liga MX, the major cups in England, Spain, Germany and some of the cup games in Scotland and Italy,and finally a few games from the English Championship, League One and Two, Scottish Championship, Bundesliga 2, USL Championship and USL League One plus international games. Whew. I expect the cost to rise a little but with all of this just from the soccer world, if it is just a little, I will be good.

[sovereignstar v2]

Alisson just scored a header in stoppage time to keep Liverpool's Top 4 hopes alive. Crazy

[miami_fan]

That was fabulous!

[SirFozzie]

Double Dola.

If that happened to you in FM, you'd give it the old three-finger salute (ctrl-alt-del), as well as probably the one and two finger salutes as well

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by sovereignstar v2

Alisson just scored a header in stoppage time to keep Liverpool's Top 4 hopes alive. Crazy

I'll admit that the significance of this particular scorer was lost on me until I saw the ESPN headline

[miami_fan]

My sports viewing today will be a bit eclectic with a heavy emphasis on soccer.

English League Championship

Brentford vs Swansea- Who is heading up to the EPL? Sorry Swans supporters. I want to see a new team in the EPL.

German Bundesliga Promotion/Relegation Playoff

Holstein Kiel vs FC Cologne- Second leg, with Holstein Kiel up 1-0. If Holstein Kiel win the tie, they move up to the Bundesliga and FC Cologne will be relegated.

Champions League- Obviously

After that will be a mix of playoff basketball and trying not to be too aggravated with Inter Miami.

[sovereignstar v2]

LFG City!

[Lathum]

https://twitter.com/joepompliano/sta...854652417?s=21

[cartman]

USA beats Mexico to win the inaugural CONCACAF Nations League championship. Game went to extra time, and in the 2nd extra time, Pulisic drew a penalty kick and converted. Then in extra time, Mexico got a PK, and the backup goalie made the save of his life. After 11 minutes of added time in the 2nd AET, USA wins 3-2

[_dawgfan_]

Originally Posted by cartman

USA beats Mexico to win the inaugural CONCACAF Nations League championship. Game went to extra time, and in the 2nd extra time, Pulisic drew a penalty kick and converted. Then in extra time, Mexico got a PK, and the backup goalie made the save of his life. After 11 minutes of added time in the 2nd AET, USA wins 3-2

And that's not even half of the things of note in that game. What craziness. I figured it was going to be yet another beat-down and "Why do I get suckered into thinking this is finally the team that turns around USMNT fortunes" after the 2nd (eventually overturned) El Tri goal, but credit to the team - they battled back time and time again.


They still look like a bunch of guys that have a very limited familiarity in playing together and in Berhalter's system, but you can certainly see the individual skill.

[miked]

The back line looked lost for good chunks of the game. Some of the chances for Mexico came very easy. Still a decent showing and even better when, as usual, Mexico fans are throwing trash at players.

[Ghost Econ]

People have always wondered what would happen if the US had a world class striker. It appears we'd be a slightly worse Poland.

[whomario]

Euro 2020: your complete guide to all 622 players | Football | The Guardian

[SirFozzie]

You may not see a better series of moves this summer. Too bad they couldn't turn it into a goal.

https://twitter.com/ESPNFC/status/1402776082609315842

[sovereignstar v2]

Missed this one. Miazga is a douchebag.

[miami_fan]

It may be the kiss of death. If it is, I'm sorry to their supporters. I am picking England as the winner of Euro 2020 in 2021.

[AlexB]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

It may be the kiss of death. If it is, I'm sorry to their supporters. I am picking England as the winner of Euro 2020 in 2021.

If serious, I welcome you to our nation’s biennual (usually) summer of false hope and disappointment

FWIW I don’t think we will come close - GK & defense is bang average, midfield OK, attackers decent but overrated.

[miami_fan]

I am serious. I say it with great trepidation. Putting all my cards on the table, I am usually one that laughs at that false hope that you describe.

I like the squad both as players and what I have seen of them as people from afar. I expect England to play more on the front foot. Not an all out attack but more of a possession game. I don't necessarily think it will be intentional as Southgate is not comfortable with that style but he is more willing to let it happen if it is working if that makes sense. I think the injury to Henderson will be a blessing in disguise that will force a more possession style earlier in matches. Hopefully that will lead to more goals and allow Henderson to come in after an hour and shore things up. I think the criticism of Pickford as a England GK is harsh. He is not the same keeper for England that he is for Everton. The defense is problematic. I can't deny that. That defense is another reason to play more on the front foot IMO. Finally, I am down on the other traditional powers. I don't trust teams managed by Roberto Martinez who I like so I can't pick Belgium. I don't trust teams managed by Frank DeBoer who I don't like so I can't pick Netherlands. Germany, Spain, Italy, and Spain are either too early or too late in their squad development IMO. Of course there is France, but who wants to pick the favorite if they are not putting any money on it.

So yes, I am picking England and I really hope they win. Just try to make sure your fellow supporters are not too insufferable when they do. Deal?

[AlexB]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

I am serious. I say it with great trepidation. Putting all my cards on the table, I am usually one that laughs at that false hope that you describe.

I like the squad both as players and what I have seen of them as people from afar. I expect England to play more on the front foot. Not an all out attack but more of a possession game. I don't necessarily think it will be intentional as Southgate is not comfortable with that style but he is more willing to let it happen if it is working if that makes sense. I think the injury to Henderson will be a blessing in disguise that will force a more possession style earlier in matches. Hopefully that will lead to more goals and allow Henderson to come in after an hour and shore things up. I think the criticism of Pickford as a England GK is harsh. He is not the same keeper for England that he is for Everton. The defense is problematic. I can't deny that. That defense is another reason to play more on the front foot IMO. Finally, I am down on the other traditional powers. I don't trust teams managed by Roberto Martinez who I like so I can't pick Belgium. I don't trust teams managed by Frank DeBoer who I don't like so I can't pick Netherlands. Germany, Spain, Italy, and Spain are either too early or too late in their squad development IMO. Of course there is France, but who wants to pick the favorite if they are not putting any money on it.

So yes, I am picking England and I really hope they win. Just try to make sure your fellow supporters are not too insufferable when they do. Deal?

Deal

[MIJB#19]

Euro2020. It's hard to miss over here there's a football tournament upcoming, streets are decorated with strings of little orange flags everywhere you look.

"We" have a good squad, one to be optimistic about.

Jasper Cillessen ruled out with COVID-19 is a bummer, but mostly sad for him personally, I'll trust Tim Krul in the goal and wouldn't mind Maarten Stekelenburg either. Virgil van Dijk will be missed, big time. I want to see Denzel Dumfries and Owen Wijndal as the wing backs, Dumfries is a lock on the right, but on the left there are valid alternatives like Nathan Aké. Matthijs de Ligt and Stefan de Vrij are stars in Serie A, a rock solid central defenders duo, even with Van Dijk missing. Daley Blind might end up on the bench, or could move to a defensive midfielder role. But more likely, De Boer will go with his 5-3-2 plan and let Blind play from center.

Frenkie de Jong and Georginio Wijnaldum are locks on the midfield. De Boer loves to use Marten de Roon behind/with those two. Ryan Gravenberch and Davy Klaassen are offensive alternatives as box to box midfielders. I'll personally miss Donny van de Beek, a guy that can get subbed in when we need a goal (such a shame he rarely plays for Man.U.), he dropped out injured this week.

Up front, Memphis is undisputed. I hope to see us use Donyell Malen up front as well, but in today's 5 substitutes per game world, we should maybe save him and Cody Gakpo for the late game battle with tired defenders. Steven Berghuis can play on the right wing, but with Dumfries at right back, it might get a bit crowded on that flank. Wout Weghorst has shown his goal scoring skills in 1.Bundesliga, but he's considered the ultimate underdog. Luuk de Jong is also there. I'm afraid Quincy Promes is going to be a distraction, regardless of his talent, it's a very risky decision to take him along. Too bad Steven Bergwijn wasn't selected, he could be an alternative for the left wing...

Optimism isn't sky high in the Netherlands, but Oranje has recaptured the heart of the bandwagon fans (the kind of people that never watch any games, then during a summer tournament dress up in orange, but can hardly tell who is who on the team).

I can see things go from a hard exit in the second round against the third place team from Group F to smoothly reaching the semifinals and get beat in overtime by the Spain-France quarterfinal winner. Or. maybe, never say never. The Nations League saga in '18-'19 was very encouraging.


Generally, I think the travelling is going to be the biggest question mark on what I might end up doing for the teams and players. And that COVID-19 thing. Several teams have been hit with it, missing a player or three for their first match already.

[whomario]

Spain vaccinating their players now is the height of stupidity and/or counting on their fans stupidity as they are now decently likely to have some reaction to it between now and their first match without gaining meaningful protection for the first 6,7 days. All that because of overestimating their awesome bubble and likely panic over being seen as line cutting. Instead of framing it as part of the overall vaccination campaign ("get vaccinated, we do it too" or whatever) ...

[whomario]

Germany is a mixed bag, could go shockingly well or crash and burn again. Tough group, calling back Hummels and Muller after years, no competent CDM/Right Back depending on where Kimmich plays (on the plus side: The last time we had that dilemma we won the WC ). But the first 13-14 are pretty good, even if not spectacularly so. Very good CB core, Goosens good on the left. Havertz playing more up front could work well, both him and Werner seem to have grown a bit in England.

Likely to play a 343 with Kimmich on the right. Not personally a huge fan of 3 ATB, but does make sense with the CBs available and this both maximising Kimmichs offensive impact and mitigating the utter lack of true Right Backs or CDMs aside from him. Kroos, Gündogan and Goretzka all aren't exactly defendive stallwarts, so 3 CBs behind helps. It also gives Hummels some leeway to push into higher positions to ping his passes.

[AlexB]

It is a great song in itself, and haunts every tournament in it’s own special way. Another example of false hope!

It being 25 years since Three Lions was first released, Frank just sent me this pic of this piece of paper. I didn't realise he still had it. Should be in the British Museum, surely... pic.twitter.com/Y4GGHfdWn8

— David Baddiel (@Baddiel) May 20, 2021

[sovereignstar v2]

Ahhhhh Turkey. Remind me of 90% of City's opposition in the Premier League.

[whomario]

Dunno what was worse, hologram Bono or that first half.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by whomario

Spain vaccinating their players now is the height of stupidity and/or counting on their fans stupidity as they are now decently likely to have some reaction to it between now and their first match without gaining meaningful protection for the first 6,7 days. All that because of overestimating their awesome bubble and likely panic over being seen as line cutting. Instead of framing it as part of the overall vaccination campaign ("get vaccinated, we do it too" or whatever) ...

I meant to bring this one up. I am fully aware about how prevalent the vaccine is in Spain. I am making the assumption that if the national players wanted the vaccine they could have gotten it before this week.

So did they force players who did not want the vaccine to get the vaccine? Was it an either you get the vaccine or you are off the squad situation?

[whomario]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

I meant to bring this one up. I am fully aware about how prevalent the vaccine is in Spain. I am making the assumption that if the national players wanted the vaccine they could have gotten it before this week.

So did they force players who did not want the vaccine to get the vaccine? Was it an either you get the vaccine or you are off the squad situation?

Nah, was a simple case of it not being their turn. Most european countries, none have enough by half for everyone yet, go from highest risk to lowest by a) age, b) preexisting conditions or c) job exposure/importance (nurses and doctors obviously, but also firefighters or teachers). I don't know the exact parameters for Spain, but i do know that it has only recently been allowed for 40-49 year olds to apply and only 20% received even their first dose yet. And obviously that's an issue where the FA/Spanish Government/Health Care Department felt they didn't want to have that particular public discussion (is it right to vaccinate them if many more vulnerable are yet to get the opportunity?). It just hasn't been as rapid and much less of a free for all as in the US.

The team/staff/management actually asked for it 2 months ago already but were denied. So the timing was the issue here. Now after 2 cases in the squad (and public pressure) later apparently the powers that be decided doing it at a stupid time would be better than not doing it, publicity wise. And quite likely 2 months ago it would have been 'forced' same as now. And there'd be little argument against it in a national team setting, even if one felt it needed one, because for starters really the coach/management can call up whoever he wants based on whatever criteria he wants.

Luis Enrique worried about Covid vaccine side-effects on Spain’s squad | Spain | The Guardian

https://www.thelocal.es/20210611/cov...d-to-know/?amp

[miami_fan]

Thank you for the detailed explanation.

[miami_fan]

WTH is going on?

Denmark vs. Finland - Football Match Report - June 12, 2021 - ESPN

[whomario]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

WTH is going on?

Denmark vs. Finland - Football Match Report - June 12, 2021 - ESPN

Christian Eriksen simply collapsed midstrid with what seems like a heart failure based on the way the medics worked on him with a defibrilator Seemingly unconscious still 15 minutes later when german TV finally cut away...

[miami_fan]

Oh no.

[whomario]

Conscious and "stabilised" via UEFA and danish FA, now in hospital 500 metres from the stadium getting treated and evaluated. Obviously not an all clear given that 29 year old pro athletes aren't likely to just collapse like that without some sort of serious issue ...

[CarterNMA]

Game is back on at the request of Eriksen. (Per BBC Sports.)

[miami_fan]

I like what I have from the favorites so far. Come out, attack, score goals and don’t play not to lose.

[whomario]

Denmark captain Simon Kjaer reportedly immediately recognized the situation, sprinted across half the pitch (he's playing CB and things happened near the other box), kept Eriksen from swallowing his tongue, then switched his body into the correct stable position. To have that sort of awareness in a Situation that just happens out of absolute nowhere, wow. (He then also arranged the circle to block view onto the scene and took care of Eriksens wife who made her way onto the pitch).

[albionmoonlight]

I can't remember ever seeing CPR performed on the field/court/pitch.

Really hope his long term outlook is good.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by whomario

Denmark captain Simon Kjaer reportedly immediately recognized the situation, sprinted across half the pitch (he's playing CB and things happened near the other box), kept Eriksen from swallowing his tongue, then switched his body into the correct stable position. To have that sort of awareness in a Situation that just happens out of absolute nowhere, wow. (He then also arranged the circle to block view onto the scene and took care of Eriksens wife who made her way onto the pitch).

That’s amazing. I feel fortunate I was not anywhere near a TV given what I have read so far.

[Ghost Econ]

The ESPN on demand only shows the restart. A foreign YouTube video is available if that's your thing. It's definitely scary and not like the movies where someone clutches their chest and has 10 seconds of realization.

Feel terrible for his wife. She was able to get down to the pitch after ten minutes, then had to stand 50 yards away. I understand why, but just a terrible situation.

[AlexB]

Originally Posted by CarterNMA

Game is back on at the request of Eriksen. (Per BBC Sports.)

Seems like this was not quite the case (even at the time it was reported as being at the players’ request, not at the player’s request)

But turns out that UEFA gave the players two options: resume the same evening, or come back the following day at complete the game at noon… Note that there was no option to abandon the game completely

That is almost incredible, but for the fact that we’re talking about UEFA (the same could be said for FIFA)

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by AlexB

Note that there was no option to abandon the game completely

Why would that even be an option?

What are you doing there then? Declaring the match a draw so they don't have to play each other? To what end?

Are they then supposed to withdraw entirely, giving the other members of the group automatic advancement to the knockout stage? Do both have to withdraw? Only one?

Do they play their other matches but not this one? If so, why? Is it believed that something about the pairing caused the issue? If not, then why can they play other people but not each other? And why then do their future opponents have to play a more rested team, what did they do to warrant being punished?

I can see giving the day-of off, but beyond that? Pretty tough when the next fixtures are 3 days away at that point.

edit for clarity: If Denmark chooses to withdraw entirely, that's their option (subject to any contractural obligations). I can even get where that's a valid option to them. My issue here is the notion that this particular match could/should be abandoned IF the teams are continuing forward in the competition.

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Why would that even be an option?

What are you doing there then? Declaring the match a draw so they don't have to play each other? To what end?

Are they then supposed to withdraw entirely, giving the other members of the group automatic advancement to the knockout stage? Do both have to withdraw? Only one?

Do they play their other matches but not this one? If so, why? Is it believed that something about the pairing caused the issue? If not, then why can they play other people but not each other? And why then do their future opponents have to play a more rested team, what did they do to warrant being punished?

I can see giving the day-of off, but beyond that? Pretty tough when the next fixtures are 3 days away at that point.

edit for clarity: If Denmark chooses to withdraw entirely, that's their option (subject to any contractural obligations). I can even get where that's a valid option to them. My issue here is the notion that this particular match could/should be abandoned IF the teams are continuing forward in the competition.

The only given alternative was resuming the match on (this) Sunday morning, 17 hours after the incident.

A true withdrawal would normally result in a 3-0 loss (i.e. a 3-0 victory for Finland).

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Why would that even be an option?

What are you doing there then? Declaring the match a draw so they don't have to play each other? To what end?

Are they then supposed to withdraw entirely, giving the other members of the group automatic advancement to the knockout stage? Do both have to withdraw? Only one?

Do they play their other matches but not this one? If so, why? Is it believed that something about the pairing caused the issue? If not, then why can they play other people but not each other? And why then do their future opponents have to play a more rested team, what did they do to warrant being punished?

I can see giving the day-of off, but beyond that? Pretty tough when the next fixtures are 3 days away at that point.

edit for clarity: If Denmark chooses to withdraw entirely, that's their option (subject to any contractural obligations). I can even get where that's a valid option to them. My issue here is the notion that this particular match could/should be abandoned IF the teams are continuing forward in the competition.

I will let AlexB speak for himself but I think something is lost in translation. Anyone who watches the FA Cup will remember Fabrice Muamba collapsing while playing for Spurs. I remembered that the game being stopped but I could not remember the fine details of what happened afterwards.

From the Wiki (emphasis is mine)

The competition was overshadowed by the collapse of Bolton Wanderers midfielder Fabrice Muamba during their Sixth Round match with Tottenham Hotspur. Muamba went into cardiac arrest on the pitch and, following failed attempts to resuscitate him, was taken to the London Chest Hospital, where he went on to recover despite his heart stopping for over 75 minutes.[5] The match was subsequently abandoned. On 27 March the match was replayed, with Tottenham winning 3–1. Muamba attended the final to congratulate Chelsea.

So a player collapsed on the field, life saving treatment was done on the field and that was it for the game that day. The game was abandoned yes but was replayed from the beginning ten days later. I don't think anyone expected UEFA to delay the game ten days. But 90 minutes later or 17 hours later does not seem right either given what we have seen before under similar circumstances i.e. the Muamba incident. To be fair though, I don't have any good answer as to how it should have fit into the current schedule. Maybe it could have been played the same time as as this Netherlands v. Ukraine. I do think it was silly to have them come back to play for three minutes then go into halftime.

[bhlloy]

This may be premature, but De Boer is not a good manager. How do you lose a 2 goal lead to a team that has shown absolutely nothing going forward the entire game.