***Official Soccer Discussion Thread*** (5 Viewers)

[gianmarco]

Oof. Italy should be up 4-1 now.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Great take by Ozil, fwiw.

 

[NewlyRetired]

German keeper is awesome entertainment

 

[ffldrew]

Euro 2000 ?

 

[NewlyRetired]

Do not sit back against Spain. Italy can win this whole thing.

 

[NewlyRetired]

By far the best game of the dreadful knock out round.

 

[Eephus]

Manipulating a 2-2 draw with Croatia in the group finale would have been the shark move for Spain

 

[Zow]

That game>>>>>>>>>>yesterday's flop exhibition

 

[NewlyRetired]

That game>>>>>>>>>>yesterday's flop exhibition

Yesterday was the worst game I have seen in a long time.

 

[Christo]

Pirlo - what touch and weight on his passes - it's awesome.

Needs to bring his game to the EPL

 

[Zow]

That game>>>>>>>>>>yesterday's flop exhibition

Yesterday was the worse game I have seen in a long time.

Glad to hear that supported so quickly. As a simple casual fan, it was such a letdown watching what was hyped to be a great game play out so poorly and full of embellished dives/injuries. Was hoping there wasn't some "purity of the sport" argument (i.e. like a 2-1 pitching gem with 2 sac bunts that baseball purists appreciate but may bore the casual fan).

 

[NewlyRetired]

That game>>>>>>>>>>yesterday's flop exhibition

Yesterday was the worst game I have seen in a long time.

Glad to hear that supported so quickly. As a simple casual fan, it was such a letdown watching what was hyped to be a great game play out so poorly and full of embellished dives/injuries. Was hoping there wasn't some "purity of the sport" argument (i.e. like a 2-1 pitching gem with 2 sac bunts that baseball purists appreciate but may bore the casual fan).

It pretty much sucked from start to finish. The knockout round games in general have been disappointing. Today was fun though. Hopefully Italy won't play scared against Spain and make the final entertaining.

 

[NewlyRetired]

I am sure this has happened before but I am blanking.

When was the last time a field player Pirlo's age won a player of the tournament type award?

 

[Spartans Rule]

That game>>>>>>>>>>yesterday's flop exhibition

Yesterday was the worse game I have seen in a long time.

Glad to hear that supported so quickly. As a simple casual fan, it was such a letdown watching what was hyped to be a great game play out so poorly and full of embellished dives/injuries. Was hoping there wasn't some "purity of the sport" argument (i.e. like a 2-1 pitching gem with 2 sac bunts that baseball purists appreciate but may bore the casual fan).

When Spain wins 1-0 with 70% possession and protects its lead by playing keep away, some soccer purists will love it even if the casual fan doesn't.But yesterday's game was just a sloppy, foul-filled mess that didn't appeal to anybody.

 

[prefontaine]

I am sure this has happened before but I am blanking. When was the last time a field player Pirlo's age won a player of the tournament type award?

2006?

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Spain just doesn't have a legit. striker at this point. I'd actually like to see them use something like a 4-4-2 or a 4-4-1-1 and use two strikers.

Something like: Casillas; Alba, Ramos, Pique, Arbeola; Busquets, Xavi/Xabi, Iniesta, Navas/Silva; Torres, Llorente.

 

[Spartans Rule]

Spain just doesn't have a legit. striker at this point. I'd actually like to see them use something like a 4-4-2 or a 4-4-1-1 and use two strikers.Something like: Casillas; Alba, Ramos, Pique, Arbeola; Busquets, Xavi/Xabi, Iniesta, Navas/Silva; Torres, Llorente.

In that formation you'd be better off with Cesc over Torres as the supporting forward, which essentially makes it a 4-5-1 again.I would like to see what Llorente could do out there though.

 

[Sebowski]

How much heat is Loew going to get for benching Gomez after a great showing in group stage?

ETA: Just read Gomez actually started today. I missed the first 60mins

 

[Mjolnirs]

Once again Germany proves that they are a Group Stage team and can't finish in the knockout rounds.

In the last 4 tournaments ('08, '12 Euro; '06, '10 WC) Germany has gone 10-0-2 in group stages scoring 22:7.

In the knockouts they've actually looked good right up until they run into Italy or Spain. During the same four tournaments they are 7-1-2 21:8 in knockouts until Italy or Spain. Against Italy and Spain they are 0-4 1:6. At least they can win 3rd place matches.

Yep, I'm dwelling on it a bit.

 

[Christo]

Once again Germany proves that they are a Group Stage team and can't finish in the knockout rounds.In the last 4 tournaments ('08, '12 Euro; '06, '10 WC) Germany has gone 10-0-2 in group stages scoring 22:7.In the knockouts they've actually looked good right up until they run into Italy or Spain. During the same four tournaments they are 7-1-2 21:8 in knockouts until Italy or Spain. Against Italy and Spain they are 0-4 1:6. At least they can win 3rd place matches.Yep, I'm dwelling on it a bit.

The Buffalo Bills of international soccer?

 

[GoFishTN]

I didn't see this posted yet:

Gareth Bale has signed a new four-year contract with Tottenham, tying him to the London club until 2016.

http://espn.go.com/sports/soccer/story/_/id/8101488/winger-gareth-bale-signs-4-year-deal-tottenham

I'm surprised he did this with the management and stadium situations unsettled

The rumor is the players already know that AVB has been hired, but he can't be announced until July 1st because of a clause in his compensation with Chelsea.

I'm still surprised in that case

Maybe not so surprised if today's rumor of him signing for £115,000 per week is true. If so, Spurs are looking to throw in with the big boys, as they had an internal salary cap of £70,000 per week previously.

 

[Eephus]

I didn't see this posted yet:

Gareth Bale has signed a new four-year contract with Tottenham, tying him to the London club until 2016.

http://espn.go.com/sports/soccer/story/_/id/8101488/winger-gareth-bale-signs-4-year-deal-tottenham

I'm surprised he did this with the management and stadium situations unsettled

The rumor is the players already know that AVB has been hired, but he can't be announced until July 1st because of a clause in his compensation with Chelsea.

I'm still surprised in that case

Maybe not so surprised if today's rumor of him signing for £115,000 per week is true. If so, Spurs are looking to throw in with the big boys, as they had an internal salary cap of £70,000 per week previously.

That's a lot of money for a club with a small stadium now and some uncertain level of future debt from the Northumberland development. It also makes it hard for Spurs to cry poor mouth with VdV and Adebayor.

 

[GoFishTN]

I didn't see this posted yet:

Gareth Bale has signed a new four-year contract with Tottenham, tying him to the London club until 2016.

http://espn.go.com/sports/soccer/story/_/id/8101488/winger-gareth-bale-signs-4-year-deal-tottenham

I'm surprised he did this with the management and stadium situations unsettled

The rumor is the players already know that AVB has been hired, but he can't be announced until July 1st because of a clause in his compensation with Chelsea.

I'm still surprised in that case

Maybe not so surprised if today's rumor of him signing for £115,000 per week is true. If so, Spurs are looking to throw in with the big boys, as they had an internal salary cap of £70,000 per week previously.

That's a lot of money for a club with a small stadium now and some uncertain level of future debt from the Northumberland development. It also makes it hard for Spurs to cry poor mouth with VdV and Adebayor.

Completely agree.

 

[Eephus]

I didn't see this posted yet:

Gareth Bale has signed a new four-year contract with Tottenham, tying him to the London club until 2016.

http://espn.go.com/sports/soccer/story/_/id/8101488/winger-gareth-bale-signs-4-year-deal-tottenham

I'm surprised he did this with the management and stadium situations unsettled

The rumor is the players already know that AVB has been hired, but he can't be announced until July 1st because of a clause in his compensation with Chelsea.

I'm still surprised in that case

Maybe not so surprised if today's rumor of him signing for £115,000 per week is true. If so, Spurs are looking to throw in with the big boys, as they had an internal salary cap of £70,000 per week previously.

That's a lot of money for a club with a small stadium now and some uncertain level of future debt from the Northumberland development. It also makes it hard for Spurs to cry poor mouth with VdV and Adebayor.

Completely agree.

Leeds U-ni-ted clap clap clapclapclap

 

[Steve Tasker]

F

O

R

Z

A

 

[Steve Tasker]

God, I feel like I'm going to have a heart attack. Edge of my seat for the the entire game.

That was a top-of-the-line Italian performance. I don't know if any team on the planet would've beaten them today.....frankly, I didn't know they had it in them. I hope they've still got some gas in the tank for the final.

Buffon was just fantastic. Pirlo was a joy to watch, as expected. I thought Montolivo was great, dogging the German defense, a little disappointed he was taken off so soon, but he looked gassed. While I like Motta, I thought Montolivo should've been been starting from the first match (I think I said something to this effect before their QF match as well). One of my favorites....and what a ball on that 2nd Balotelli goal.

The one real crucial strategy (executed perfectly) from the Italians was to take Ozil out of the game. He was absolutely invisible. De Rossi looked to be shadowing him around the field in the first half, and Balzaretti spent much of the second half doing it. Balzaretti could be a sneaky MOTM candidate with the way he helped neutralize Ozil in the 2nd half.

 

[The Z Machine]

Pissed I missed this game. Stupid work got in the way. Turned it on in the 78th after my wife was going crazy on IM to turn the game on. Missed both of Italy's goals. Germany seemed outclassed today, which is saying something as they've been the class of the tournament thus far. EUROs are like that though since there are a lot of teams in the upper and mid-upper echelons playing.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Let's all pray to the Gods of the Round Ball that we get a better game today than we saw yesterday. I may have doomed us, having just placed a small bet on over 2.5 goals at +140.

I know some one who liked the pk call

 

[gianmarco]

God, I feel like I'm going to have a heart attack. Edge of my seat for the the entire game.That was a top-of-the-line Italian performance. I don't know if any team on the planet would've beaten them today.....frankly, I didn't know they had it in them. I hope they've still got some gas in the tank for the final.Buffon was just fantastic. Pirlo was a joy to watch, as expected. I thought Montolivo was great, dogging the German defense, a little disappointed he was taken off so soon, but he looked gassed. While I like Motta, I thought Montolivo should've been been starting from the first match (I think I said something to this effect before their QF match as well). One of my favorites....and what a ball on that 2nd Balotelli goal.The one real crucial strategy (executed perfectly) from the Italians was to take Ozil out of the game. He was absolutely invisible. De Rossi looked to be shadowing him around the field in the first half, and Balzaretti spent much of the second half doing it. Balzaretti could be a sneaky MOTM candidate with the way he helped neutralize Ozil in the 2nd half.

Well, they started off a little shaky to me. Germany was really pressing the passing lanes and Italy couldn't hold possession for long at first while Germany was able to do it moreso. Then, Italy really relaxed, was able to hold the ball longer, got a couple more long chances and then the goal changed their entire complexion. They seemed to really open up, started challenging a lot more and Germany didn't respond well at all to the pressure. That, and Italy really swarmed to the ball any time Germany got in striking distance and really left them no room to work with.I think overall Italy was easily the better team but they did have a couple serious lapses that they're fortunate didn't turn into goals for Germany. At the same time, they blew a couple BIG opportunities like they did against England and should have had a 3-4 goal lead, minimum. I know that's bound to happen in any game, but Di Natale? Wtf? If that was Balotelli, that breakaway was a guaranteed 3 goal lead. Agreed on Montolivo and, while I didn't notice, you're absolutely right that Ozil was virtually nonexistent.

 

[Sebowski]

God, I feel like I'm going to have a heart attack. Edge of my seat for the the entire game.

That was a top-of-the-line Italian performance. I don't know if any team on the planet would've beaten them today.....frankly, I didn't know they had it in them. I hope they've still got some gas in the tank for the final.

Buffon was just fantastic. Pirlo was a joy to watch, as expected. I thought Montolivo was great, dogging the German defense, a little disappointed he was taken off so soon, but he looked gassed. While I like Motta, I thought Montolivo should've been been starting from the first match (I think I said something to this effect before their QF match as well). One of my favorites....and what a ball on that 2nd Balotelli goal.

The one real crucial strategy (executed perfectly) from the Italians was to take Ozil out of the game. He was absolutely invisible. De Rossi looked to be shadowing him around the field in the first half, and Balzaretti spent much of the second half doing it. Balzaretti could be a sneaky MOTM candidate with the way he helped neutralize Ozil in the 2nd half.

Well, they started off a little shaky to me. Germany was really pressing the passing lanes and Italy couldn't hold possession for long at first while Germany was able to do it moreso. Then, Italy really relaxed, was able to hold the ball longer, got a couple more long chances and then the goal changed their entire complexion. They seemed to really open up, started challenging a lot more and Germany didn't respond well at all to the pressure. That, and Italy really swarmed to the ball any time Germany got in striking distance and really left them no room to work with.I think overall Italy was easily the better team but they did have a couple serious lapses that they're fortunate didn't turn into goals for Germany. At the same time, they blew a couple BIG opportunities like they did against England and should have had a 3-4 goal lead, minimum. I know that's bound to happen in any game, but Di Natale? Wtf? If that was Balotelli, that breakaway was a guaranteed 3 goal lead.

Agreed on Montolivo and, while I didn't notice, you're absolutely right that Ozil was virtually nonexistent.

The only thing guaranteed with Balotelli is crazy

 

[jonessed]

I didn't see this posted yet:

Gareth Bale has signed a new four-year contract with Tottenham, tying him to the London club until 2016.

http://espn.go.com/sports/soccer/story/_/id/8101488/winger-gareth-bale-signs-4-year-deal-tottenham

I'm surprised he did this with the management and stadium situations unsettled

The rumor is the players already know that AVB has been hired, but he can't be announced until July 1st because of a clause in his compensation with Chelsea.

I'm still surprised in that case

Maybe not so surprised if today's rumor of him signing for £115,000 per week is true. If so, Spurs are looking to throw in with the big boys, as they had an internal salary cap of £70,000 per week previously.

That's a lot of money for a club with a small stadium now and some uncertain level of future debt from the Northumberland development. It also makes it hard for Spurs to cry poor mouth with VdV and Adebayor.

Completely agree.

VdV isn't worth that anymore and I don't believe they have any intention of keeping Adebayor.

 

[honky kong]

I didn't see this posted yet:

Gareth Bale has signed a new four-year contract with Tottenham, tying him to the London club until 2016.

http://espn.go.com/sports/soccer/story/_/id/8101488/winger-gareth-bale-signs-4-year-deal-tottenham

I'm surprised he did this with the management and stadium situations unsettled

The rumor is the players already know that AVB has been hired, but he can't be announced until July 1st because of a clause in his compensation with Chelsea.

I'm still surprised in that case

Maybe not so surprised if today's rumor of him signing for £115,000 per week is true. If so, Spurs are looking to throw in with the big boys, as they had an internal salary cap of £70,000 per week previously.

That's a lot of money for a club with a small stadium now and some uncertain level of future debt from the Northumberland development. It also makes it hard for Spurs to cry poor mouth with VdV and Adebayor.

Completely agree.

VdV isn't worth that anymore and I don't believe they have any intention of keeping Adebayor.

I think they'd love to keep Adebayor at the right price but I think Man City has a different idea as to what the right price is.

 

[jonessed]

I didn't see this posted yet:

Gareth Bale has signed a new four-year contract with Tottenham, tying him to the London club until 2016.

http://espn.go.com/sports/soccer/story/_/id/8101488/winger-gareth-bale-signs-4-year-deal-tottenham

I'm surprised he did this with the management and stadium situations unsettled

The rumor is the players already know that AVB has been hired, but he can't be announced until July 1st because of a clause in his compensation with Chelsea.

I'm still surprised in that case

Maybe not so surprised if today's rumor of him signing for £115,000 per week is true. If so, Spurs are looking to throw in with the big boys, as they had an internal salary cap of £70,000 per week previously.

That's a lot of money for a club with a small stadium now and some uncertain level of future debt from the Northumberland development. It also makes it hard for Spurs to cry poor mouth with VdV and Adebayor.

Completely agree.

VdV isn't worth that anymore and I don't believe they have any intention of keeping Adebayor.

I think they'd love to keep Adebayor at the right price but I think Man City has a different idea as to what the right price is.

Man City would dump him cheap if they could. They don't want to pay $175K+/week to someone they don't even put on the bench. Noone is going to pick up those wages though and Adebayor seems content waiting out his contract on loan.I'm not convinced Bale signed for $115K/week anyway. There doesn't seem to be any credible sources confirming it yet.

 

[LHUCKS]

Italy 2 Spain 1

 

[gianmarco]

Italy 2 Spain 1

Jesus, did you have to put the kiss of death on them? Take it back. Now.

 

[LHUCKS]

Italy 2 Spain 1

Jesus, did you have to put the kiss of death on them? Take it back. Now.

I called the Italy/Germany game...son.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

God, I feel like I'm going to have a heart attack. Edge of my seat for the the entire game.That was a top-of-the-line Italian performance. I don't know if any team on the planet would've beaten them today.....frankly, I didn't know they had it in them. I hope they've still got some gas in the tank for the final.Buffon was just fantastic. Pirlo was a joy to watch, as expected. I thought Montolivo was great, dogging the German defense, a little disappointed he was taken off so soon, but he looked gassed. While I like Motta, I thought Montolivo should've been been starting from the first match (I think I said something to this effect before their QF match as well). One of my favorites....and what a ball on that 2nd Balotelli goal.The one real crucial strategy (executed perfectly) from the Italians was to take Ozil out of the game. He was absolutely invisible. De Rossi looked to be shadowing him around the field in the first half, and Balzaretti spent much of the second half doing it. Balzaretti could be a sneaky MOTM candidate with the way he helped neutralize Ozil in the 2nd half.

Congrats to all fans of the Azzurri today - what a great performance from front to back by that team. I thought the centerbacks looked great, very calm and cool on the ball all night. Pirlo seems to be playing like he's got something to prove to the world. I'm really looking forward to watching him on Sunday.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

Let's all pray to the Gods of the Round Ball that we get a better game today than we saw yesterday. I may have doomed us, having just placed a small bet on over 2.5 goals at +140.

I know some one who liked the pk call

I'll admit the wager crossed my mind when Oezil scored the pen, but it was a small consolation for me yesterday.

 

[boubucarow]

God, I feel like I'm going to have a heart attack. Edge of my seat for the the entire game.That was a top-of-the-line Italian performance. I don't know if any team on the planet would've beaten them today.....frankly, I didn't know they had it in them. I hope they've still got some gas in the tank for the final.Buffon was just fantastic. Pirlo was a joy to watch, as expected. I thought Montolivo was great, dogging the German defense, a little disappointed he was taken off so soon, but he looked gassed. While I like Motta, I thought Montolivo should've been been starting from the first match (I think I said something to this effect before their QF match as well). One of my favorites....and what a ball on that 2nd Balotelli goal.The one real crucial strategy (executed perfectly) from the Italians was to take Ozil out of the game. He was absolutely invisible. De Rossi looked to be shadowing him around the field in the first half, and Balzaretti spent much of the second half doing it. Balzaretti could be a sneaky MOTM candidate with the way he helped neutralize Ozil in the 2nd half.

The Italians have 3 players that need to see the ball with space to create opportunities. Pirlo and Montolivo seemed to have all the space in the world for large stretches. What seemed to happen is that Pirlo was checked initially but when the ball was passed back to him in the deeper center, no one closed the gap. The first goal started this way with a long ball down the left to a wide open Chiellini. As for Montolivo, he seemed to be all over the place. The 3rd player as presently constructed is Cassano and he was tremendous creating that first goal. And as unpredictable as he can be, Balotelli can't be left in as much space in front of goal. That is his sole job on this team. It seemed like the Germans ignored the threat of the Italians and thought they would be in control. Their problem with the ball is that all of their attacks funneled toward the center where the Italian MF could assist the defenders in clogging up everything. A couple of the real German chances on goal were when they attacked from wide.Side note: I haven't seen much of Montolivo but it seems that he screws up 3 or 4 simple passes and then comes back with one of the most beautiful passes imaginable.

 

[honky kong]

I think they'd love to keep Adebayor at the right price but I think Man City has a different idea as to what the right price is.

Man City would dump him cheap if they could. They don't want to pay $175K+/week to someone they don't even put on the bench. Noone is going to pick up those wages though and Adebayor seems content waiting out his contract on loan.I'm not convinced Bale signed for $115K/week anyway. There doesn't seem to be any credible sources confirming it yet.

I agree that they would rather not pay that money for a guy they won't use but they aren't in the business of letting guys walk for an amount below what they perceive their value to be, and certainly not to a team near the top of the table. They let Tevez sit for a large chunk of the season when it looked like he'd never play for them again and they weren't ready to send him out at the first offer.

 

[gianmarco]

Ok, so open to suggestions here.

Growing up, with my father being from Italy, he actually had a satellite dish 20-30 yrs ago just so he could watch Italian TV and the various league games on Sunday that I'd watch with him. Now, whenever the World Cup is on or any other major tournament like Euro 2012 right now, I watch religiously and truly enjoy watching soccer. But, aside from that, I barely watch nor do I follow along. For the most part, that's mainly been that coverage has never been that good and just never got into it. Now with internet streaming as well as overall better coverage and channel availability, I want to try and get into watching it on a regular basis.

So, here are some questions:

1) Which league or leagues do I want to follow? EPL? Italian league? MLS? Other?

2) When do most of these run? In other words, when do the "seasons" take place?

3) How do you watch these? I have DirecTV....is there a channel or way to follow along that's included in certain packages?

I'm not looking at dishing out more money and I'm not a huge fan of streaming, but if there's a certain channel or way to watch easily, I'm game. A big part of why I haven't gotten into it lately is that, without knowing much about the leagues and when things would take place, I'd never know about games on TV unless I lucked into it without actively searching it out.

So, teach me......

 

[Eephus]

Ok, so open to suggestions here. Growing up, with my father being from Italy, he actually had a satellite dish 20-30 yrs ago just so he could watch Italian TV and the various league games on Sunday that I'd watch with him. Now, whenever the World Cup is on or any other major tournament like Euro 2012 right now, I watch religiously and truly enjoy watching soccer. But, aside from that, I barely watch nor do I follow along. For the most part, that's mainly been that coverage has never been that good and just never got into it. Now with internet streaming as well as overall better coverage and channel availability, I want to try and get into watching it on a regular basis.

Do you speak any Italian?

 

[Mjolnirs]

So, here are some questions:1) Which league or leagues do I want to follow? EPL? Italian league? MLS? Other?2) When do most of these run? In other words, when do the "seasons" take place?3) How do you watch these? I have DirecTV....is there a channel or way to follow along that's included in certain packages?

The German Bundesliga leads the major leagues of Europe in average attendance and goals per match.The season starts the weekend of August 25th and runs through May 18th with winter break from mid December to mid January.They play 34 matches during the season.Currently Gol TV shows Bundesliga matches. Usually one on Friday and Saturday. Every now and then they may have two on Saturday and one on Sunday too. Gol also has a weekly update show called Bundesliga Magazine.

 

[gianmarco]

Ok, so open to suggestions here. Growing up, with my father being from Italy, he actually had a satellite dish 20-30 yrs ago just so he could watch Italian TV and the various league games on Sunday that I'd watch with him. Now, whenever the World Cup is on or any other major tournament like Euro 2012 right now, I watch religiously and truly enjoy watching soccer. But, aside from that, I barely watch nor do I follow along. For the most part, that's mainly been that coverage has never been that good and just never got into it. Now with internet streaming as well as overall better coverage and channel availability, I want to try and get into watching it on a regular basis.

Do you speak any Italian?

Enough. I was actually born there and lived there for 5 yrs but moved to the US and have been here since. At the time, I was fluent in both but never used it anymore and completely forgot it. Went back after high school and spent a couple months with family after studying it for one year in college and had gotten pretty good with it again but once again just don't ever use it so it's not great. I can understand a good bit, moreso after I've been around it for a few days and can speak enough to get me around.

 

[Sebowski]

Ok, so open to suggestions here. Growing up, with my father being from Italy, he actually had a satellite dish 20-30 yrs ago just so he could watch Italian TV and the various league games on Sunday that I'd watch with him. Now, whenever the World Cup is on or any other major tournament like Euro 2012 right now, I watch religiously and truly enjoy watching soccer. But, aside from that, I barely watch nor do I follow along. For the most part, that's mainly been that coverage has never been that good and just never got into it. Now with internet streaming as well as overall better coverage and channel availability, I want to try and get into watching it on a regular basis. So, here are some questions:1) Which league or leagues do I want to follow? EPL? Italian league? MLS? Other?2) When do most of these run? In other words, when do the "seasons" take place?3) How do you watch these? I have DirecTV....is there a channel or way to follow along that's included in certain packages?I'm not looking at dishing out more money and I'm not a huge fan of streaming, but if there's a certain channel or way to watch easily, I'm game. A big part of why I haven't gotten into it lately is that, without knowing much about the leagues and when things would take place, I'd never know about games on TV unless I lucked into it without actively searching it out.So, teach me......

I'm assuming you follow the Italian team more than any other? Do you have any favorite players? If you do try to check them at the club level. If you love Balotelli, start watching Man City games. When Champions League starts up, don't miss a Juventus match. Try to catch their Serie A games too. Also, we should have a link to all the answers to these questions in this thread. This is the third one since this tournament started. Isn't the poster's fault. I don't blame anyone for not combing through this giant thread. Might be easier for everyone to link those though. Sounds like something up Andy's alley. Someone who isn't on ignore suggest it to him.

 

[Eephus]

Ok, so open to suggestions here. Growing up, with my father being from Italy, he actually had a satellite dish 20-30 yrs ago just so he could watch Italian TV and the various league games on Sunday that I'd watch with him. Now, whenever the World Cup is on or any other major tournament like Euro 2012 right now, I watch religiously and truly enjoy watching soccer. But, aside from that, I barely watch nor do I follow along. For the most part, that's mainly been that coverage has never been that good and just never got into it. Now with internet streaming as well as overall better coverage and channel availability, I want to try and get into watching it on a regular basis.

Do you speak any Italian?

Enough. I was actually born there and lived there for 5 yrs but moved to the US and have been here since. At the time, I was fluent in both but never used it anymore and completely forgot it. Went back after high school and spent a couple months with family after studying it for one year in college and had gotten pretty good with it again but once again just don't ever use it so it's not great. I can understand a good bit, moreso after I've been around it for a few days and can speak enough to get me around.

If you have Italian allegiances, Serie A is a logical choice. The biggest question is what's going to happen with their US television package. Al Jazeera outbid Fox for the rights starting in 2012-13. I have no idea whether Al Jazeera has launched here or how you'd go about watching the games. English language web coverage of Italian football isn't as readily available as it is for the Premiership or Bundesliga. And then there's the whole corruption thing...

 

[CletiusMaximus]

The euro leagues run more or less from late August through mid-May, in some cases with a winter break. If you like Italian football I would suggest you follow the Serie A, which is televised on FSC (although that might change this coming season). I think just about every Italian national team player other than Balotelli plays in Italy. I had my dvr set to record Serie A games last season and I think I was getting 2-3 games per week. Much more than I could watch anyway.

 

[gianmarco]

Ok, so open to suggestions here. Growing up, with my father being from Italy, he actually had a satellite dish 20-30 yrs ago just so he could watch Italian TV and the various league games on Sunday that I'd watch with him. Now, whenever the World Cup is on or any other major tournament like Euro 2012 right now, I watch religiously and truly enjoy watching soccer. But, aside from that, I barely watch nor do I follow along. For the most part, that's mainly been that coverage has never been that good and just never got into it. Now with internet streaming as well as overall better coverage and channel availability, I want to try and get into watching it on a regular basis. So, here are some questions:1) Which league or leagues do I want to follow? EPL? Italian league? MLS? Other?2) When do most of these run? In other words, when do the "seasons" take place?3) How do you watch these? I have DirecTV....is there a channel or way to follow along that's included in certain packages?I'm not looking at dishing out more money and I'm not a huge fan of streaming, but if there's a certain channel or way to watch easily, I'm game. A big part of why I haven't gotten into it lately is that, without knowing much about the leagues and when things would take place, I'd never know about games on TV unless I lucked into it without actively searching it out.So, teach me......

I'm assuming you follow the Italian team more than any other? Do you have any favorite players? If you do try to check them at the club level. If you love Balotelli, start watching Man City games. When Champions League starts up, don't miss a Juventus match. Try to catch their Serie A games too. Also, we should have a link to all the answers to these questions in this thread. This is the third one since this tournament started. Isn't the poster's fault. I don't blame anyone for not combing through this giant thread. Might be easier for everyone to link those though. Sounds like something up Andy's alley. Someone who isn't on ignore suggest it to him.

Yes, they are my primary rooting interest. With my mother being from Argentina, I also follow them. The US is the 3rd team. I honestly haven't had many favorite players aside from those I watched with the national teams but have definitely taken a liking to Balotelli and is actually what partly prompted me to ask about this since I didn't know much about him until recently.How does the Champions League work with the individual leagues like Serie A or La Liga, etc.? Oh, and sorry for asking this if it's been asked previously. If you can give me a vague idea where I can find some of it in this thread, I'll read through it so it doesn't need to be answered again.

 

[gianmarco]

The euro leagues run more or less from late August through mid-May, in some cases with a winter break. If you like Italian football I would suggest you follow the Serie A, which is televised on FSC (although that might change this coming season). I think just about every Italian national team player other than Balotelli plays in Italy. I had my dvr set to record Serie A games last season and I think I was getting 2-3 games per week. Much more than I could watch anyway.

Thanks.Yeah, that's the main issue. While I would definitely prefer to follow Serie A, if it's not going to be easy to get televised games, I don't want to bother.Are these games included in standard programming or do I need to order an additional soccer or sports package? I'll look through DirecTV myself but just curious how you guys follow along....

 

[jonessed]

I think they'd love to keep Adebayor at the right price but I think Man City has a different idea as to what the right price is.

Man City would dump him cheap if they could. They don't want to pay $175K+/week to someone they don't even put on the bench. Noone is going to pick up those wages though and Adebayor seems content waiting out his contract on loan.I'm not convinced Bale signed for $115K/week anyway. There doesn't seem to be any credible sources confirming it yet.

I agree that they would rather not pay that money for a guy they won't use but they aren't in the business of letting guys walk for an amount below what they perceive their value to be, and certainly not to a team near the top of the table. They let Tevez sit for a large chunk of the season when it looked like he'd never play for them again and they weren't ready to send him out at the first offer.

I don't believe the Tevez and Adebayor situations are all that similar. They were trying to prove a point with Tevez. Adebayor simply isn't needed. When the loan/transfer was being discussed early in the season I remember seeing numbers in the range of 5MM-8MM as a possible value, which seems about right. City could make that back by giving him a free transfer and dumping one year's worth of wages.The discussions about Adebayor all revolve around wages. I don't think the transfer fee is really an issue.