The Gator
Footballguy
Agreed. Love Messi, picked Argentina to win, but my gawd. How does Stu commentate with Messi’s shorts in his mouth?
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***Official 2022 World Cup Thread*** (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter gianmarco
- Start date
AAABatteries
Footballguy
The Gator
Footballguy
B Maverick
Footballguy
Always a thing
prefontaine
Footballguy
Figured this thread would be all over Alvarez. He ran his socks off and opened the game up. Kid was incredible.
The Z Machine
Footballguy
He was good to great today. As much as anyone can make a goal without actually touching the ball, Molina dragging the defense around on the second goal was impressive. Tagliafico and Mac Allistar were both quite good at breaking up dangerous diagonal balls, or vertical runs from Croatia as they got desperate in the 2nd half.
I had Croatia out in the semis with France winning it all, so those were decent picks. I did however pick France to beat Denmark in the final, which wasn't so good.
Dinsy Ejotuz
Footballguy
Enzo Fernandez to Liverpool being reported as almost a done deal, btw. Not official yet, but apparently credible.
CletiusMaximus
Footballguy
I wonder what they'll pay. Benfica bought him less than 6 months ago for €12.00m. I'm predicting its going to be at least 5X that now not including bribes. Still a good deal imo if Bellingham and Rice are both going over €100.00m.
prefontaine
Footballguy
Would be a great fit. But didn't he move to Benfica over the summer? Not quite as crazy as that kid Chelsea wanted to buy from Southamptom like a week after he arrived -- for twice the price.
B Maverick
Footballguy
Denmark?
prefontaine
Footballguy
Transfermarkt shows him at €35m but I bet to get him to move after this world cup it would be twice that. And he may be worth it.
Zow
Footballguy
That pick was pretty rotten.
Zow
Footballguy
So do the current club and the player negotiate this together? Or is the player under contract and completely at the mercy of his current club?
Dinsy Ejotuz
Footballguy
I think the release clause is astronomical. And it's not being reported by top tier outlets or anything yet -- so grain of salt.
Just saw Liverpool are odds on at the bookmakers to land Bellingham too (5/2ish).
Dinsy Ejotuz
Footballguy
I think it requires agreement on the part of all parties. It's not like American sports where you can just be shipped off -- and a new contract is agreed before the transfer fee is finalized. Having said, maybe someone else can fill in the details. I'm not 100% sure what the rules actually are.
prefontaine
Footballguy
Crazy thing is Tagliafico only saw the field because Acuna was suspended. Oh to roll that deep at LB!
But honestly Argentina are deep everywhere. Lautaro and Di Maria didn't even get subbed in today because they weren't needed. Instead we got a Dybala courtesy appearance.
Zow
Footballguy
Similar process on loaning out players?
The Z Machine
Footballguy
They did well in the Euros, had Eriksen back, and cruised through WC qualifying. I thought they had a chance. Obviously, they sucked instead.
prefontaine
Footballguy
Yes, technically the clubs agree on a transfer fee and the player and the buying club agree on wages. Essentially Liverpool would have to buy Benfica out of his contract and if Benfica don't want to sell, there's not much to do.
In many cases, there is a pre-arranged buyout clause in player contracts but usually it's a huge multiple of the original purchase price or the players value at the time of the contract. But like in every sport, when the player wants to move, especially if its up the food chain, the player gets their way.
Dinsy Ejotuz
Footballguy
Again, I'm not 100%, but...
I think the current contract ports with a loan -- the player continues to get paid their normal wages. And they do have to agree to a loan, but if the manager says "You can stay and you'll never see the field or you can go to team X and get 30 games" most guys go. And it's not usually adversarial as far as I can recall. Players want to play.
It's also a GREAT option for young players on really big teams. Liverpool and Blackburn have worked together 3 or 4 times now to get promising young guys legit minutes in a decent competition (one rung down from EPL). Even if the player doesn't eventually "make it" with the bigger loaning club it gives them a chance to prove themselves and find a new home, and maybe also increase their transfer fee.
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The Z Machine
Footballguy
Also, the contracts are usually shorter than the American "10 year, $200 million deals". More like 3-5 years only. So a player that gets hot and has suitors at bigger clubs can ride out a contract for another year or two and then the club gets no money as the player would move on a free transfer. Doesn't happen very often, but that's absolutely a threat a player can make if they want to move and their current club won't sell.
Spartans Rule
Footballguy
Yep. The one thing to work out is who pays the wages. Getting a high-caliber veteran player on loan usually requires paying his entire contract and possibly an additional loan fee, but in the case of a young player being loaned to a smaller club for experience, the parent club might still pick up some or all of the salary.
titusbramble
Footballguy
Zow
Footballguy
Yeah, probably makes sense.
Would be interesting though if, say, the Eagles could loan Minshew to the Niners or some such. Obviously, though, there are probably good reasons why they can't.
That said, I do think trades can occur where one team pays another cash as compensation so maybe it's kind of being done already.
prefontaine
Footballguy
I forgot this too but Benfica drew Brugge in the knockouts so they have a realistic path to continue to advance which is worth so much money that I can't see them selling starters mid-season. Maybe Liverpool will line him up for the summer.
NewlyRetired
Footballguy
Thiago Almada is the first active MLS player to go to a WC final.
He also has a chance to be an answer to a really odd trivia question.
If Argentina wins the WC, Almada will be the very first player in history to have played in a World Cup and not be in either the top 5 leagues in Europe or play in the winning countries domestic league.
He also has a chance to be an answer to a really odd trivia question.
If Argentina wins the WC, Almada will be the very first player in history to have played in a World Cup and not be in either the top 5 leagues in Europe or play in the winning countries domestic league.
BobbyLayne
Footballguy
This piece was written by a friend of my wife & appeared in the New Yorker today:
Longing for More Stoppage Time
Longing for More Stoppage Time
NewlyRetired
Footballguy
There are many differences between the sporting models but my favorite comparison is this one:
In American leagues, when a team fails, they are rewarded with high draft picks.
In most of the rest of the world, when a team fails, they are kicked the **** out of the league
tri-man 47
Footballguy
Well played ...well played.
DA RAIDERS
Footballguy
@Joe Bryant Buenos Aires. And they haven’t even won it yet.
The Big Donkey
Footballguy
Morocco taking this all would be nice.
Frostillicus
Footballguy
Two things from an "every four years guy":
1. Messi has definitely stood out this tournament for his skill. I'm sure some of that is announcer stuff seeping in but he seems really good.
2. What is the most accessible league to watch? Premier? I say this every four years but I want to try to get into soccer. Now that I work from home all the day action in these leagues would be great assuming they're on TV.
1. Messi has definitely stood out this tournament for his skill. I'm sure some of that is announcer stuff seeping in but he seems really good.
2. What is the most accessible league to watch? Premier? I say this every four years but I want to try to get into soccer. Now that I work from home all the day action in these leagues would be great assuming they're on TV.
encaitar
Footballguy
Premier League would be very easy. Their contract is owned by NBC, so at least 2 games every weekend are on the main channel. Peacock carries every game that doesn't get national coverage.
NBC also has a YouTube channel that has highlights of every game put into an easy to handle 6-8 minute video. This is a great way to get a "soccer fix" without jumping all the way in.
NBC YouTube
Champion's League and Europa League(the two biggest club competitions in the world) are both almost exclusively on Paramount+, so you have to pay a fee to watch them, but every game is watchable if you do.
CBS/Paramount also have the rights to Italian Serie A(their top league). You can watch every Serie A game on Paramount and sometimes big games will be on the network.
The English FA is contracted through ESPN. All FA Cup, League Cup, and lower division English games are on ESPN+.
ESPN+ also has the German Bundesliga, so all top German games are on ESPN+
ESPN+ also has La Liga, so all top Spanish games are on ESPN+
ESPN+ also has the Dutch Eredivisie, so all top Dutch games are on ESPN+
Again, like CBS, some of the big games from these leagues will find their way onto one of the parent stations. I believe it was this year that I watched Dortmund/Bayern on ESPN2.
French Ligue 1 is on beIN sports... don't have this personally, so no idea how much coverage they have.
Reality is that you can watch soccer almost every day of the week if you're really inclined to it, but having an ESPN sub and Peacock sub will get you a long ways towards watching the teams you want to see.
Careful, the rabbit hole is deep.
krista4
Footballguy
If I’m looking to be a more-than-every-four-years gal and decided to watch Premier League, who are some players and teams to key on? I need to find “my team,” which might happen organically, but maybe there are starter suggestions.
Is Liverpool too obvious for me? If it helps, my BFF is married to a life-long Wolverhampton fan whom I despise for being a lying, cheating *******, so whoever their biggest rival is could be a nice start.
From Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolverhampton_Wanderers_F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (/ˌwʊlvərˈhæmptən/ (
listen)), commonly known as Wolves,[1] is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the Premier League. The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's traditional kit consists of old gold shirts and socks with black shorts. Since 1979, the kit has also featured the club's "wolf's head" logo. Long-standing rivalries exist with other clubs from the West Midlands, the main one being the Black Country derby contested with West Bromwich Albion.
The Z Machine
Footballguy
I think Wolves biggest rival is West Brom. But they are pretty poor and right now don't play in the EPL. I wouldn't pick a team out of spite, as it won't be "organic", like the club chose you instead of you choosing it.
We're there any players in the world cup that caught your eye? Maybe you liked their play, maybe you liked their name, maybe you liked their haircut or tattoos, or maybe you liked looking at their butt. List all those and see who they play for. Likely one of them plays in the EPL.
AAABatteries
Footballguy
Leeds or Fulham
Leeds has the USMNT captain, Tyler Adams, and also Brenden Aaronson. Coached by an American - Jesse Marsch, many think he’ll be the next USMNT coach.
Fulham has Tim Ream and Antonee Robinson.
AAABatteries
Footballguy
You are such a good human being that you counteract having to root for TSO.
encaitar
Footballguy
A lot will depend on what you're looking for out of it. Are you hoping to cheer for a team that will likely win a trophy somewhat often? Then you're probably stuck with "The Big 5"..... Manchester City, Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool. Do you like watching a team as talented as the big 5, but don't want the satisfaction of winning trophies? Then Tottenham are your team.
Only 5 teams outside of these 6 have won a trophy in the last 20 years. Leicester City is the only one of those 5 still playing the EPL. In fact, since the EPL began, only the Big 5 have hoisted the trophy except on two occasions. In 1994/95 Blackburn won the EPL and in 2016 Leicester City won the EPL. So, if you aren't cheering for one of the juggernauts... maybe don't expect much.
Do you want the side action of cheering for a US player on your EPL team? Then Chelsea, Leeds, and Fulham are your choices for now.
Or do you want to cheer for a team that is hoping to sneak into the Euros or fight to stay up? Maybe you want the excitement of living and dying with every goal as you're on the relegation cut line? Most of the others will be in both those positions sooner or later(outside of Newcastle who might now become a juggernaut themselves since they were bought out by the Saudis).
Biggest advice I would give.... Pick one of the top 5 to cheer for initially, but don't fully commit. Watch homes games from every team if you can and start picking out the atmosphere you like the most or the player/players that really catch your eye. Sometimes it's just one or two players that really drive you towards a team. If you find yourself stuck on the original big 5 team you started quasi-cheering for.... well then, no problem there. Enjoy fighting for trophies.
Sorry for rambling on so much, but there really isn't a good way to go about picking your team. Just thought I'd give you a short rundown on the situation.
dnurk
Footballguy
Posted several times in the usmnt thread but for those every 4 year fans who just want to check out some of our young lads playing for their clubs this site is super helpful
https://usmnt-tracker.com/
https://usmnt-tracker.com/
Dinsy Ejotuz
Footballguy
EPL is a good gateway league. It's English and you'll figure things out a little quicker. Spain (La Liga) is the other bigtime option. Top team vs top team in those leagues is as good as soccer gets.
Germany (Bundesliga) and Italy (Serie A) are a rung down overall right now IMO (though it's cyclical).
Also, the Champions League is a great way to start knowing of teams in other leagues and the quality can be very high in the later stages.
EPL and Champion's League games rarely start later than 2:45 EST.
NewlyRetired
Footballguy
From Grant's wife
=======
An autopsy was performed by the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office. Grant died from the rupture of a slowly growing, undetected ascending aortic aneurysm with hemopericardium. The chest pressure he experienced shortly before his death may have represented the initial symptoms. No amount of CPR or shocks would have saved him. His death was unrelated to COVID. His death was unrelated to vaccination status. There was nothing nefarious about his death
=======
An autopsy was performed by the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office. Grant died from the rupture of a slowly growing, undetected ascending aortic aneurysm with hemopericardium. The chest pressure he experienced shortly before his death may have represented the initial symptoms. No amount of CPR or shocks would have saved him. His death was unrelated to COVID. His death was unrelated to vaccination status. There was nothing nefarious about his death
Dinsy Ejotuz
Footballguy
Quoted for truth. And also
.Anyone deciding what team to watch now, just read a little bit about them. 25 years ago you HAD to pick a big team, but now you could even dip down a level into the "Championship" (2nd tier) and still be able to see all the games and get news.
After you finish your research, pick Liverpool.
Ok, ok... if you want to watch top top soccer week in and week out, you only have like 8-10 choices.
England: Liverpool and Arsenal and maybe Chelsea (poshest London club) if the new owners (no longer a Russian oligarch) keep them good. I can't suggest Manchester United to anyone (I may be biased) and Manchester City (best team in the world IMO) and Newcastle are literally owned by tyrants in petro nations.
France: Paris St. Germain -- also owned by sheiks.
Spain: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid (little sister to the big two). Real v Barca is the best rivalry in all of soccer IMO.
Germany: Bayern Munich (well run club with great history -- but it's a one-team league).
Italy: historically Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan. But none of them are elite clubs right now and Italian soccer is floundering a little bit in general.
Other clubs of note: Ajax Amsterdam (great city, great history, often compete with much bigger clubs by developing insane amounts of young talent), Leeds (heavy American presence there right now, but always prone to sudden changes).
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The Z Machine
Footballguy
I would disagree that Bundie and Serie A are a step lower than La Liga right now. I think they are on par, or even Bundie being better overall. La Liga has fallen off lately, although Real can beat anyone on the planet right now.
I like the CL recommendation, as @krista4 might find she loves Napoli or Dortmund or Brugge.
Great list, other than omitting Dortmund...Quoted for truth. And also
Anyone deciding what team to watch now, just read a little bit about them. 25 years ago you HAD to pick a big team, but now you could even dip down a level into the "Championship" (2nd tier) and still be able to see all the games and get news.
After you finish your research, pick Liverpool.
Ok, ok... if you want to watch top top soccer week in and week out, you only have like 8-10 choices.
England: Liverpool and Arsenal and maybe Chelsea (poshest London club) if the new owners (no longer a Russian oligarch) keep them good. I can't suggest Manchester United to anyone (I may be biased) and Manchester City (best team in the world IMO) and Newcastle are literally owned by tyrants in petro nations.
France: Paris St. Germain -- also owned by sheiks.
Spain: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid (little sister to the big two). Real v Barca is the best rivalry in all of soccer IMO.
Germany: Bayern Munich (well run club with great history -- but it's a one-team league).
Italy: historically Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan. But none of them are elite clubs right now and Italian soccer is floundering a little bit in general.
Other clubs of note: Ajax Amsterdam (great city, great history, often compete with much bigger clubs by developing insane amounts of young talent), Leeds (heavy American presence there right now, but always prone to sudden changes).
- Generally the 2nd or 3rd best team in Germany.
- Have been the entry point to top level soccer for some extremely talented players in the past few years: Haaland, Bellingham, Sancho, Pulisic, etc.
- Roster is chock full of familiar names from a wide variety of World Cup teams
- Generally play entertaining, relatively high scoring games
- You get to see what the big deal about Gio Reyna is
gianmarco
Footballguy
Here's my advice and how I REALLY got into it.
Do one year of fantasy footie. There's a league that's run by the regulars here. Pretty straightforward. It'll force you to learn players and clubs, watch matches, especially matches you wouldn't otherwise care about (hey, I got to watch Burnley vs Southampton at 1pm on Monday to see if I can get 4 points).
After that, you'll learn who you like, who you don't, but most importantly, you'll almost certainly find yourself wanting to watch more and getting a much better understanding of what goes on between every 4 years.
