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***Official Soccer Discussion Thread*** (3 Viewers)

'Steve Tasker said:
'NMYMND said:
'andy_b said:
Z, when Spain does this to the US next Saturday, remember this game before claiming how far behind the world in soccer the US is :) .

Spanish football (club and country) is at such a peak right now it is scary.
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There are players that went Euro, Champions League, World Cup, Champions League from 08-11. Not bad.
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Don't forget the
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Have not, and I bet some from Spain haven't either.Thought my memories are tempered by blowing the 2-0 lead against Brazil.

 
'NMYMND said:
'Steve Tasker said:
'NMYMND said:
Z, when Spain does this to the US next Saturday, remember this game before claiming how far behind the world in soccer the US is :) .

Spanish football (club and country) is at such a peak right now it is scary.
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There are players that went Euro, Champions League, World Cup, Champions League from 08-11. Not bad.
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Don't forget the
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Might be just enough to give them the motivation to really spank the US next Saturday.
 
'Spartans Rule said:
'Eephus said:
It's always great to see a well played final.
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:goodposting: An open game, played well all around, with some great goals and minimal theatrics. The type of game that could sell a casual fan or non-fan on soccer. Which makes me wonder how many of those tuned in on FOX.
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Probably not many, but for people that generally only watch the World Cup if this game doesn't open things up for them I'm not sure anything will. It was a great showing of the world's best.
 
Congrats to Barca, they really were the superior team today. Played their game and didnt let themselves fall victim to the United counter attack. No complaints about anything in this game (aside from some of United's players), well played on both sides, well ref'd (aside from some odd calls later and the fact that it took him that long to card Valencia), no diving, nothing to mark this less then the beautiful game.

United:

VDS - solid in goal, some awkward moments, he will be missed

Fabio - solid game, nothing spectacular and no glaring mistakes

Rio - Great as usual

Vidic - not his best, would have liked to see him close messi on the goal, over all solid game

Evra - like Fabio, nothing spectactular, nothing glaring

Valencia - horrible game, didnt get forward and was unable o use his pace. clumsy fouls all over the park, no services, really a bad day for guy who came back from inj and turned United' season around

Carrick - mostly invisible, did a great scholes impression to get booked.

Park - worked hard all over the park but looked a little off, wasnt quite top form

Giggs - most of the day I felt he looked his age, for the first time in months. late in the game got tired and whiney.

Rooney - great game, worked hard, great goal, couldnt ask for more.

Chicharito - tough day, couldnt stay onside and couldnt get service, isolated most of the game but still worked hard

SAF - would have liked some changes earlier. Nani and Scholes didnt get much time to make a statement. With the midfield not doing much, may have liked some changes there.

One notable item, not only was Berbatov NOT on the subs list, but he reportedly wasnt sitting behind the bench with the rest of United's players. Summer transfer out? Prob get the most $$ for him....

Also, 2 goals in the 1st half and 5 seconds of added time only? WOW

Again, congrats to Barca.

 
What a quote by Sir Alex

Ferguson: 'In my time as a manager, it's the best team we have ever faced. No one has ever given us a hiding like that.'

 
'B Maverick said:
Also, 2 goals in the 1st half and 5 seconds of added time only? WOW
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We discussed this issue in detail a few pages ago. If the sport continues to leave this only up to the ref, it is almost constantly going to be wrong. The ref has enough to do, there should be a dedicated time keeper at the pro level.
 
So happy to see Barcelona come up with a performance like that, especially as they had been pretty far off their peak for a while now. Can't pick a guy out of the starting 11 who didn't play well. And when Messi, Xavi, and Iniesta control things like that, it's wonderful to see. I thought Man U played with more spirit and determination than in 2009, and Rooney's finish was top class, but ultimately, Barcelona was too much today. Also glad that it was a fair match - no rampant diving or excessive fouling (with the exception of Valencia - his yellow card was a long time in coming). The best players in the world playing the game the right way - this is what top class football should be.

3 Champions League titles in 6 years is really, really special - such a great time for the club. :thumbup: :banned:

 
'Spartans Rule said:
'Eephus said:
It's always great to see a well played final.
Click to expand...
:goodposting: An open game, played well all around, with some great goals and minimal theatrics. The type of game that could sell a casual fan or non-fan on soccer. Which makes me wonder how many of those tuned in on FOX.
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in a way it was also an important game for us more hard core fans for two reasons1) Lets face it, we have all watched more than our share of poor "big games". This was a nice breath of fresh air2) More importantly, this felt like a vindication for the sport as a whole. It was almost as if the sport on the field was telling the morons that run it off the field that no matter how corrupt you are, the beautiful game can still emerge.
 
Great game. Great saves. Great goals. Messi was taking one too many touches in the first half. I thought maybe he was sitting Van Der Sar up for a quick one later. Not sure if that ever comes into play or just barstool logic...

Villa Just picked that corner out perfectly. I've been frustrated with Villa, but he really played great today. Was involved the whole game and showed why he is a top striker.

Glad Masherano stepped up today.

I hope Barca doesn't make any big chamges to the lineup. An upgrade at LB and some CB depth is the only thing they need. No reason to break the bank on anyone. No reason to try and fit Fabregas in a midfield that is playing so well together. Kieta doesn't get enough time as it is.

 
'Pope Benedict XVI Fan said:
Evra was atrocious, probably the worst player on the pitch.
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It seemed like the Evra-Vidic side of the field is where Barca did most of their damage. And to be fair, the mistakes they made are against a great team that punishes them so severely. Lose Pedro and let him drift wide? Xavi finds him, goal. Lay back on Messi for a second too long? Goal.It was a great game, and even though the Clasicos were by and large successful for Barca in terms of the results, it was good to get that behind the team. Perhaps I'm too partisan, but I'd like to think that it was Barca being dragged down by Madrid's goonery that led to all of the diving and carrying on to the ref. I'm glad they redeemed themselves with such a great game.Agree that they need to beef up the back line a little bit. Mascherano actually acquitted himself fairly well today, and Abidal was steady. I also think there's really no room for Cesc at this point, but maybe in a couple years when Xavi slows down. But there's really no way you can push off a legend like that while he's still playing at such a high level. If the Bojan and $20mm for Rossi rumors are true and everyone stays healthy, they could be just as good next year.Messi. Jesus.
 
'andy_b said:
Tonight will be interesting to watch in MLS for the US players.4 players in particular who should factor in the Gold Cup include Ream, Agudelo, Donovan and Benny all of whom will likely be playing a lot tonight. Hopefully no injuries will occur.
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Agudelo and Ream got through their 1-1 draw with no issues. Agudelo played most of the game at left half.
 
'Steve Tasker said:
'El Floppo said:
'Steve Tasker said:
'andy_b said:
Jesus this is Man U and Barca still makes it look like they are playing an amateur side in terms of possession
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What consistently amazes me about them is how they look so static on the field, but they are always in the right place at the right time and always have tons of space in the midfield. Their positioning is perfect at all times. Other than an occasional sprint, they barely even look like they're running - so effortless.That was always something that astounded me (and really opened my eyes) about La Masia - the amount of time they train WITHOUT a ball on the field.
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I was thinking the opposite... how the MFs are so constantly in motion- not giant 70 yard runs, but constantly sliding around finding the gaps, and switching up who goes where.
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I think we're on the same page. They never look like they're running, but they're always in the right spots...
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yeah... I typically didn't really read through the post before typing. sorry gb.I'd love to see these guys live- I'm reminded by your comment of how I felt about Zidane watching him on TV. It was like the other teams just let him do whatever he wanted, and he barely worked for it... or so it seemed- I'd rarely see him make a run. Seeing him live was the exact opposite- worked his ### off all game, non-stop- short runs and long ### sprints 70 yards... all the time with one or two guys draped over him.

 
'jonessed said:
'Steve Tasker said:
'andy_b said:
'Steve Tasker said:
GOAT?
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He is effing 23 and it is a very fair question. He needs the World Cup though if he wants to end all doubt.
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I agree at the moment, but a few more years like this and I'm not sure it'll matter.
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I don't see why it matters at all. What if he was from Jamaica? Would we really say Jamaica has to win the World Cup for him to be considered the best ever?United is getting too tight and allowing these outside shots. I suppose they don't have much choice, but Barcelona is getting some nice chances.
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Only way this conversation makes sense is that Messi hasn't really stepped up for country when it counted most- a country we all thought was good enough to challenge for the WC. A big fish in a small pond type player wouldn't be judged so harshly because his country has no shot ever going all the way.
 
Ok... all the side comment/replies aside... holy ####.

Andy said it well- it would be easy for apologists to say United had an off day, but Barcelona wasn't going to let anybody have an on day the way they played today.

Yeah- the offense was borderline magic... triangles appeared in a blink all over the field and every player made the easy pass and moved brilliantly to form the next triangle. I only really saw Messi take guys on- the rest just passed and moved. ####### brilliant.

But... as easy as it is to stand in awe of their offense, their defense was absolutely lights out. I just love how they put pressure all over the field. And they trust eachother to work hard. A guy like Pedro, who loses me with his diving and whining, got me back with just how hard he worked off both sides of the ball (I hadn't noticed his workrate before)... and that work was true for every player in red and blue today- and pretty much every time I've seen them play. We all know United's a team that's capable of possessing the #### out of the ball against even good competition... but they were only capable of moving the ball backwards... and barely at that.

The only downside of this Barcelona team- they are so ####### good, they make the game a little boring with how comprehensively they can destroy the best teams in the world. If you can call that a downside.

This Barcelona team is far and away the best team at any level I've ever seen, and probably will ever see.

 
Meanwhile, more importantly, 3yo Floppolinho has started this week to put together some skills of his own on the field. Just figured out to trap the ball, rotate his body around to get going in the right direction, and dribble under control before passing or shooting (just playing with me, not in anything organized).

And he seems to be a lefty. :cashcow:

 
'Good said:
Childish question: Could this Barca team beat the Spain National Team at full-strength? Assume of course you could have two Xavis, two Piques, etc.
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Easily.One has Messi. The other does not.The only place Spain has an advantage (IMO) is goalie. Every other spot is either the same player or a push talent wise (if not an advantage for Barca)
 
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'TLEF316 said:
'Good said:
Childish question: Could this Barca team beat the Spain National Team at full-strength? Assume of course you could have two Xavis, two Piques, etc.
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Easily.One has Messi. The other does not.The only place Spain has an advantage (IMO) is goalie. Every other spot is either the same player or a push talent wise (if not an advantage for Barca)
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:goodposting: Plus Barca doesn't have to even think about getting Torres on the field every game.
 
'andy_b said:
'andy_b said:
Tonight will be interesting to watch in MLS for the US players.4 players in particular who should factor in the Gold Cup include Ream, Agudelo, Donovan and Benny all of whom will likely be playing a lot tonight. Hopefully no injuries will occur.
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Agudelo and Ream got through their 1-1 draw with no issues. Agudelo played most of the game at left half.
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Crap :(1 minute left in regulation and Benny turned his ankle horribly. Could not get off the field on his own power. helped off for x-rays. Did not in any way look good. If he is out, Brad Davis will most likely come in.Landon made it through ok.
 
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Bin Hammam has officially dropped out of the FIFA race.

Sadly I worry that this could close what ever small opening there was for reopening the 2022 vote. I assume he cut some sort of deal with Blatter that would likely have assured that his country would not lose the WC.

 
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If I was to choose a US lineup based on pure current form, this would be it

Howard

Cherundolo Goodson Ream Boca

Dempsey Edu Jones Donovan

Agudelo Wondo

I don't see Bob sitting either M. Bradley or Jozy, and it will be interesting to see how he handles Gooch.

 
'TLEF316 said:
'Good said:
Childish question: Could this Barca team beat the Spain National Team at full-strength? Assume of course you could have two Xavis, two Piques, etc.
Click to expand...
Easily.One has Messi. The other does not.The only place Spain has an advantage (IMO) is goalie. Every other spot is either the same player or a push talent wise (if not an advantage for Barca)
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Barca plays and trains together much more than the national team - and some of the Catalans may care more about Barca than the national team.I've always told my casual soccer friends they mostly will see better games at the club level than the national team level.
 
Blatter has been cleared.

Hammam and Warner on "temporary" suspension. FIFA spent most of the press conference attacking the media.

We are very close to worst case scenario for US as the US will indirectly take the hit for Blazer's finger pointing. Think the reffing was dodgy before? Wait til what happens if/when Warner comes back.

 
'andy_b said:
Blatter has been cleared.Hammam and Warner on "temporary" suspension. FIFA spent most of the press conference attacking the media. We are very close to worst case scenario for US as the US will indirectly take the hit for Blazer's finger pointing. Think the reffing was dodgy before? Wait til what happens if/when Warner comes back.
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FIFA is so corrupt I'm not sure there is anyone left to weed out corruption. I imagine these meetings are more about how they can cover up the corruption than punish it.
 
'andy_b said:
'Steve Tasker said:
'andy_b said:
Check out this incredible ending in the NE LA game

http://www.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2011-05-28-new-england-revolution-vs-la-galaxy/highlights?videoID=15266
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Nice save from Donovan. Youtube link
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Both goal line saves were nice. Was my link broken?
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No, but I don't have the appropriate "Microsoft Silverlight" to view the video. I tried to download it and install it, and it still didn't work, so I just Youtubed it.
 
'Steve Tasker said:
'andy_b said:
'Steve Tasker said:
'andy_b said:
Check out this incredible ending in the NE LA game

http://www.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2011-05-28-new-england-revolution-vs-la-galaxy/highlights?videoID=15266
Click to expand...
Nice save from Donovan. Youtube link
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Both goal line saves were nice. Was my link broken?
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No, but I don't have the appropriate "Microsoft Silverlight" to view the video. I tried to download it and install it, and it still didn't work, so I just Youtubed it.
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Ah ok thanks. I can't see the video myself on the IPAD as I use the MLS app for games/highlights but I do blindly link from the regular MLS site for people to see highlights.Anyone else having problems with the vids from MLSnet? If so I will stop linking to them.

 
'andy_b said:
Check out this incredible ending in the NE LA gamehttp://www.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2011-05-28-new-england-revolution-vs-la-galaxy/highlights?videoID=15266
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Wow - can't believe NE didn't score there. The Galaxy have been pretty poor late in matches this year, conceding a number of late goals to cost them points. They were a millimeter away from doing so again. Crazy sequence.
 
Wow,I have watched a million games and I don't think I have ever seen this. The announcers were almost speechless. Here is the sequence of events

Portland DC game, second half, DC up 1-0

Corner kick, Cooper is hauled down for a fairly good PK call for Portland

Cooper takes PK and it is saved.

Scramble and ball out of play

linesman flag goes up indicating keeper jumped the kick

DC argues like crazy but to no avail

Cooper takes penalty kick again and it is again saved

Linesman flag goes up again indicating keeper jumped the kick

DC almost gang tackles the linesman led by the keeper.

Yellow card to keeper

While ruckus is going on with complaints, John Spencer is half way on field yelling at Cooper "get the %#{! away" from the PK spot and to let Jewsbury take it

Cooper is livid about being removed from the kick and is screaming at Spencer (cameras capture the motion wonderfully). Cooper relents to Jewsbury

Jewsbury steps up and finally converts the PK

What a sequence :)

 
'QuizGuy66 said:
Part of the "Tsunami" Warner warned about

:popcorn: FIFA politicking is always fascinating. Shocked to hear that Qatar bought the World Cup ;)

-QG
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Ok that is no too bad. Does nothing to hurt the US and continues the story of Qatar buying the WC. As many in the media have stated the only people who can fix this are the sponsors. If Adidas et al go to FIFA they would have the financial clout to clean up this mess but to date they can't seem to get past a simple "we are very disappointed with the situation"

And the sponsors have to know they would make much more money in Aussie or US.

Still the finest glimmer of hope that this situation can be rectified but I am not hopeful.

 
'andy_b said:
'QuizGuy66 said:
Part of the "Tsunami" Warner warned about

:popcorn: FIFA politicking is always fascinating. Shocked to hear that Qatar bought the World Cup ;)

-QG
Click to expand...
Ok that is no too bad. Does nothing to hurt the US and continues the story of Qatar buying the WC. As many in the media have stated the only people who can fix this are the sponsors. If Adidas et al go to FIFA they would have the financial clout to clean up this mess but to date they can't seem to get past a simple "we are very disappointed with the situation"

And the sponsors have to know they would make much more money in Aussie or US.

Still the finest glimmer of hope that this situation can be rectified but I am not hopeful.
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I'd take US bowing out of a rebid if it meant a rebid.
 
'QuizGuy66 said:
Part of the "Tsunami" Warner warned about

:popcorn: FIFA politicking is always fascinating. Shocked to hear that Qatar bought the World Cup ;)

-QG
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CONCACAF president Jack Warner threatened a "football tsunami" would soon hit FIFA, and after he learned of the suspension handed to him and the Asian Football Confederation's Qatari president Mohamed Bin Hammam over allegations of handing out cash bribes, he unleashed the first storm. Via highly professional information outlet that is the Trinidad and Tobago Soca Warriors Facebook page.
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:lmao:
 
'Sebowski said:
'QuizGuy66 said:
Part of the "Tsunami" Warner warned about

:popcorn: FIFA politicking is always fascinating. Shocked to hear that Qatar bought the World Cup ;)

-QG
Click to expand...
CONCACAF president Jack Warner threatened a "football tsunami" would soon hit FIFA, and after he learned of the suspension handed to him and the Asian Football Confederation's Qatari president Mohamed Bin Hammam over allegations of handing out cash bribes, he unleashed the first storm. Via highly professional information outlet that is the Trinidad and Tobago Soca Warriors Facebook page.
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:lmao:
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:lmao: :lmao:
 
'Sebowski said:
'andy_b said:
'QuizGuy66 said:
Part of the "Tsunami" Warner warned about

:popcorn: FIFA politicking is always fascinating. Shocked to hear that Qatar bought the World Cup ;)

-QG
Click to expand...
Ok that is no too bad. Does nothing to hurt the US and continues the story of Qatar buying the WC. As many in the media have stated the only people who can fix this are the sponsors. If Adidas et al go to FIFA they would have the financial clout to clean up this mess but to date they can't seem to get past a simple "we are very disappointed with the situation"

And the sponsors have to know they would make much more money in Aussie or US.

Still the finest glimmer of hope that this situation can be rectified but I am not hopeful.
Click to expand...
I'd take US bowing out of a rebid if it meant a rebid.
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Not sure what you mean? Why would you give up the chance to have a proper rebid against Aussie? You have to know just how much a World Cup could mean to the sport in the US especially with how far we have come already. It might be the catalyst needed to take the next leap.
 
'andy_b said:
Check out this incredible ending in the NE LA gamehttp://www.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2011-05-28-new-england-revolution-vs-la-galaxy/highlights?videoID=15266
Click to expand...
This game actually recored for me....via the Spanish station ...those announcers are awesome. Might stick with 'emand yeah, that sequence was great :thumbup:
 
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