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***Official Soccer Discussion Thread*** (3 Viewers)
- Thread starter jpeace121
- Start date
The Kansas Comet
Footballguy
Congrats to Inter - amazing season. It was nice to see Eto'o get another Champions League title. Hope Jose gets crushed by the weight of his massive ego or run over by the bank truck Real Madrid will give to him to manage that side.
Bayern had a few chances, especially the one at the opening of the second half. That should have been put away. But by and large, they lacked creativity and precision in the final third. Milito was excellent. He had two chances and he was ruthless with them.
Bayern had a few chances, especially the one at the opening of the second half. That should have been put away. But by and large, they lacked creativity and precision in the final third. Milito was excellent. He had two chances and he was ruthless with them.
El Floppo
Footballguy
THought both teams played exactly how we all expect their countries to play. Germans were controlled, knocked the ball around and lacked any and all imagination. Italians defended with ease and countered. Outside of Sneijder and Robben, nothing much else was going to happen. Outside of Milito's brilliance on the day, nobody was going to score. Not exactly scintillating soccer for the neutral fan, but as a biased fan- I'll take it.
Steve Tasker
Footballguy
Bayern desperately needed Ribery. I posted it during the game, and I still think so now.Not sure if it would've changed the outcome, but Bayern were woeful in the final 3rd. Ribery changes the complexion of the game completely, IMO.
PIK95
Footballguy
No. They are solid with alot of GREAT players.
The Z Machine
Footballguy
Finally back from my honeymoon in Maui.
I think I summed it up best when I said to my wife, "this honeymoon is better than any World Cup."
I honestly didn't think I would say that afterwards. I have no regrets and wanted to thank the guys in the soccer thread for steering me the right way on this one.
Oh, and PIK95, your last set of stickers will be going out this early this week. Do you want the other album or just the stickers?
I think I summed it up best when I said to my wife, "this honeymoon is better than any World Cup."
I honestly didn't think I would say that afterwards. I have no regrets and wanted to thank the guys in the soccer thread for steering me the right way on this one.
Oh, and PIK95, your last set of stickers will be going out this early this week. Do you want the other album or just the stickers?
Mjolnirs
Footballguy
Wow.If they are average this year having gone 32-11-9 (112:49) in all competitions, won the domestic double in Germany, made it to the CL final, placed 7 players on the German World Cup team, and have several players that will be playing in the World Cup for their countries; I can't wait to see how average they are with another year of Van Gaal's leadership.Offa said:
El Floppo
Footballguy
Forgot all about this with teh CL championship game, but the Redstars- in the midst of a 3 game losing streak- are playing Juventus right now... and up 2-0 in the 70th minute. I just turned the game on, so no idea how it's been played. Lots of empty seats though :unfortunate:
Awfully early for Juve to be playing pre-season games.
Awfully early for Juve to be playing pre-season games.
Offa
Footballguy
OK, I should rephrase. Bayern are a good team, but distinctly average when compared to sides like Inter. Bundesiga isn't a top European league (this was the first time a German team got past the quarter finals of the CL in 8 years), and their run in Europe wasn't impressive at all. They scraped out of a group with Bordeaux, Juventus and Maccabai Haifa, should have been knocked out by Fiorentina but for a terrible refereeing decision, beat a 10-man Man Utd and then Lyon before being destroyed in the final. Bayern's problem is that they're a one-dimensional attacking threat; isolate their wingers and they have no plan B. No creativity in midfield (Schweinsteiger did nothing with the ball in the final), and a very shakey defence (two mistakes from Demichelis and Van Buyten lead to the goals in the final).
As for internationals, my club Spurs have 6 players in the English world cup squad. I don't think we're a top European side.
Mjolnirs
Footballguy
I can agree with some of this. Van Gaal himself said this week "I don't think we are among the best teams in Europe. Inter, Chelsea, Barcelona and Manchester United are the best teams around in Europe, not Bayern. We are kind of lucky to have made it to the Champions League final. We have reached the final because of some refereeing mistakes that were in our favour."The Bundesliga does struggle to be in the elite of Europe, but they don't have the big name clubs to do it. Granted they nearly unseated Italy in the coefficient battle this year. If Hamburg could have held on against Fulham in the Europa Semis Germany would have overtaken Italy regardless of the CL outcome. When you think of England you have the big 4, Spain you have Barca and Real and with Italy you think Juve, Inter and AC. With Germany most people have a hard time coming up with another team's name after Bayern. This is why I pull for all German sides in European competitions. The better the other teams do the better for Bayern.
If the labeling of them as being average is in relation to the elite clubs this year, I can see that. But, they are still one of the elite clubs. I'm hoping this unimpressive and lucky run to the championship match will be built on. When they were the club to beat in the mid 70s I was just a kid and soccer, let alone European Football, didn't even exist in my world. So, I would love to see them become that team again.
you must have been watching a different game than i was. i would hardly say they were destroyed.
Ted Lange as your Bartender
Footballguy
Anyone see what the overnight ratings were for the CL final yet? I really want Fox to keep this on the main network in future years.
PIK95
Footballguy
PIK95
Footballguy
Whatever you want to do with the album is fine. Hey, I got a 00 sticker and its pretty cool. My son and I went to the soccer store today to grab him a USA jersey and we picked up some card packs made by the same company as the stickers. Did you ever see those? Any idea if they sell the stickers in Guatemala? I have connections there if so and Ill get more. Happy to hear you had a good time on your trip.
Offa
Footballguy
The Bundesliga's advantage is that the structure of the league means it's very competitive, teams are on a more even footing. You have something like 10 clubs challenging for Champions League qualification each season. This translates into good performances in the Europa League (since there are a lot of quite good teams), but the strength of the league is very diluted, so there aren't any oustanding teams that can really compete in the Champions League. But I think German football is on the up, if Van Gaal can build on what he currently has at Bayern then they could be getting past the quarter finals regularly, and take the 3rd UEFA coefficient spot from Italy in a couple of seasons. What German football really needs to compete is a changing of the league rules to allow more TV money and/or wealthy owners, in order to compete with the superwealthy clubs of England, Spain and Italy.
How many chances did Bayern have all game, one and a half? They had something like 65% of the possession and created less than Inter did with 35%. Apart from the first 5 minutes of each half, Bayern didn't do anything except what Inter let them do.
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Sebowski
Footballguy
You are selling Bayern short here. Ribery plays in that game and you might be talking about the European Champions. They also took out Man United who despite what you are saying were only a man down for 40mins of the 180+ minutes they played each other. If Bayern were as average as you say they are Man U would have crushed them.
El Floppo
Footballguy
I agree Ribery changes the complexion of the game. But Bayern... damn- like I said before, dictionary definition of teutonic soccer. They had no imagination or ideas in terms of how to break down a team they've had almost weeks to prepare for. Again- Robben was the only guy who looked interested or capable of creating anything for BM (but also again, Ribery would've helped a whole lot there).Don't think they got "crushed" by any means, but they looked the less likely to win. But if Inter had gone down a goal, I guarantee that they would've brought more creativity to bear in breaking down the BM defense (such as it is)- definitely would've made for a better game. Inter going up a goal means catenaccio until the final whistle, and lets face it- without Milito's brilliant 2nd goal, there wasn't much to look at on their side of things.
El Floppo
Footballguy
I'm guessing your first sentence pretty much sums it up.At this point, I don't think we're going to be seeing much in terms of entertainment from the US- for us fans, the only enjoyment will be about them getting results. The friendlies will only be about seeing if they can find a forward to pair with Jozy and if the back line can hold up. I personally don't care too much about the results in the friendlies as long as they're building towards resolution for both of those.
LHUCKS
Footballguy
I think these friendlies are going to be terribly interesting...how much does Gooch have? Who will get paired with jozy? Is Buddle a fluke? I can't wait for every one of them.
andy_b
Footballguy
I may need to figure out what is wrong with me but I think I am actually in agreement with Lhucks here, at least about looking forward to the US game.Their are a bunch of questions I am most interested in1) Who gets paired with Bradley in the middle2) How does Gooch look 3) Who plays left back4) And obviously the big one, who makes the most of the pairing with JozyI have not looked this forward to a friendly in the longest time.I think these friendlies are going to be terribly interesting...how much does Gooch have? Who will get paired with jozy? Is Buddle a fluke? I can't wait for every one of them.I'm guessing your first sentence pretty much sums it up.At this point, I don't think we're going to be seeing much in terms of entertainment from the US- for us fans, the only enjoyment will be about them getting results. The friendlies will only be about seeing if they can find a forward to pair with Jozy and if the back line can hold up. I personally don't care too much about the results in the friendlies as long as they're building towards resolution for both of those.
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TLEF316
Footballguy
1) I'd pick Edu.
2) i'm not optimistic. i kinda have a feeling that Gooch is gonna take a really bad foul against Rooney in the opener giving England a goal (or at least a very good chance)
3) I'd go with Bocanegra with DeMerit in the middle. i think its gonna be ugly no matter what.
3) i have no idea who the other forward is going to be (if it were my choice, i'd pick Dempsey
2) i'm not optimistic. i kinda have a feeling that Gooch is gonna take a really bad foul against Rooney in the opener giving England a goal (or at least a very good chance)
3) I'd go with Bocanegra with DeMerit in the middle. i think its gonna be ugly no matter what.
3) i have no idea who the other forward is going to be (if it were my choice, i'd pick Dempsey
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LHUCKS
Footballguy
why? when healthy our defense has had moments of greatness.
TLEF316
Footballguy
I'm just talking about LB. I don't think we have a player (including Boca) that isn't a liability at that spot. And i have a lot less confidence in Spector than i did a year ago. I know its not all his fault, but he's part of some VERY bad moments this year in the EPL. Wouldn't be surprised if Cherundolo sends him to the bench.
Any healthy 2 of Gooch, Demerit and Boca in the middle would be fine. But i'm not convinced Gooch is healthy enough to be the absolute rock we need to him to be.
LHUCKS
Footballguy
Oh, okay. Fair enough...I think if we have a healthy Boca/demerit/Gooch trio we should be formidable. Spector is kind of a wildcard IMHO...so I kind of agree there.
Howard is a rock though...if he comes up big we can play with anyone when we're firing on all cylinders.
[/homer]
If they hadn't have played so tentatively they would have been.
TLEF316
Footballguy
Agree that Howard could have a huge tournament. Other than the obvious names (casillas, Cesar,maybe one or 2 others than I'm forgetting) i wouldn't trade Howard for any keeper in the tournament.
But unfortunately, soccer isn't hockey. There are certain shots that a goalie just can't stop. And i have a feeling that our D is gonna give up a few of those chances against England.
I still think we'll advance if the offense doesn't totally implode. But we'll need a tremendous match up to get into the quarters.
But unfortunately, soccer isn't hockey. There are certain shots that a goalie just can't stop. And i have a feeling that our D is gonna give up a few of those chances against England.
I still think we'll advance if the offense doesn't totally implode. But we'll need a tremendous match up to get into the quarters.
Steve Tasker
Footballguy
US will probably play well early on against England, give up a late first half goal, maybe 35', then flail at attacking later. England just plays comfortable defense, the US doesn't really muster too much offense in the final 3rd, and the English add another clincher maybe in the 70th. The US will have moments of brilliance, but in the end....they're not England.
Hope it's not true, but that's how I see it playing out at the moment.
Anything is better than the 2006 opener.
Hope it's not true, but that's how I see it playing out at the moment.
Anything is better than the 2006 opener.
LHUCKS
Footballguy
hard for me to see our offense imploding with veterans like Dempsey and Donovan in their prime. Sure they may get shut down vs. England, but they should be fine against the lesser teams...too much quality international experience to implode IMHO.
LHUCKS
Footballguy
I think it depends on Gooch and if we can find a quality option to replace Davies...with a healthy Davies this team could have attacked England.US will probably play well early on against England, give up a late first half goal, maybe 35', then flail at attacking later. England just plays comfortable defense, the US doesn't really muster too much offense in the final 3rd, and the English add another clincher maybe in the 70th. The US will have moments of brilliance, but in the end....they're not England.Hope it's not true, but that's how I see it playing out at the moment.Anything is better than the 2006 opener.
Steve Tasker
Footballguy
Hard for me to really get excited about that prospect. I know we're American soccer fans and we have to temper our expectations greatly, but it hurts to agree that "they should be ok against Algeria and Slovenia but will struggle against real competition".I mean, I'm excited to watch the games, and I'll hope for the best, but it's disappointing that I agree with your comment...
LHUCKS
Footballguy
I said "may get shutdown", that doesn't mean I'm conceding. Donovan and Dempsey have both proven they can excel at the highest levels. If we can just get a few more players to step up their game on the offensive side of the ball, you just never know. Maybe it will be Buddle, maybe Jozy, maybe Bradley...I think we have a shot to surprise. Bradley and Altidore are young so you never know when they might "Arrive."[/peptalk]
Steve Tasker
Footballguy
Won 2-0 tonight to keep up our unbeaten run of 5 to start the season. 6 points from 4 games in the league (1-3-0), and we have our 2nd round cup game on Wednesday - against a team from our league that we tied a few weeks back.
Bonzai
Footballguy
Nice. Turns out my groin injury is a hip flexor strain. It's annoying, but I can play through it. It's weird, I've never had an injury before. We won last week 5-3, but are stuck with a losing record at 2-3.
Steve Tasker
Footballguy
I had that once. Kept me out a good 2-3 weeks. It's weird, I guess the only real treatment is to not do anything and rest it for awhile. It happened early in a game, I sat out the rest of the game and missed the next 2. I was also like 15 at the time though.It's a real strange feeling, doesn't hurt excruciatingly, but it's impossible to run and kick.
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Sebowski
Footballguy
I don't know. I'm starting to panic. I see England winning 3-0. Good news is that I don't see anything past that. Maybe we can squeak out a draw and a win before losing badly in the first game of the knockout round. Then......
4 more years! 4 more years!
LHucks, snap me out of this. Maybe I should go watch that Spain game again.
4 more years! 4 more years!
LHucks, snap me out of this. Maybe I should go watch that Spain game again.
The Z Machine
Footballguy
I was at that game. It really was vomit inducing. I had neve seen the US squad absolutely dismantled like that so quickly. Usually it takes a bit longer.The Czechs owned us from the opening whistle, and even before that, the Czech fans were straight owning the US fans. It took 3 games for the US fans to get their stride as a singing, chanting group. As a group of fans the US ranks a strong pathetic.BTW, I'm down ehre in LA and handed off my WC ticket vouchers to my buddies that are going to South Africa. They are stoked and take off on their flights in like 17 days.I'm soliciting ideas for WC T-shirts and slogans for them to wear.My best idea is a drawing of George Washington taking a dump on the Union Jack (or whatever their damn flag is called) with the words "Lexington and Concord: Never Forget" on the back.Anything is better than the 2006 opener.
Bonzai
Footballguy
Played around with this all morning:
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-cup/gre...5901&ver=us
I can't get the formation I want, and I disagree with some of the positions players are available in, but still a hoot.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-cup/gre...5901&ver=us
I can't get the formation I want, and I disagree with some of the positions players are available in, but still a hoot.
LHUCKS
Footballguy
Pele and Maradona are locks at forward...but who is the 3rd? Ronaldo?
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Tremendous Upside
Footballguy
Cruyff
El Floppo
Footballguy
Totaly agree that I'm looking forwad to the game and to seeing what shakes out with the US lineup/roster decisions.What I was trying to respond to above was that the game was going to be entertaining outside of that.I may need to figure out what is wrong with me but I think I am actually in agreement with Lhucks here, at least about looking forward to the US game.Their are a bunch of questions I am most interested in1) Who gets paired with Bradley in the middle2) How does Gooch look 3) Who plays left back4) And obviously the big one, who makes the most of the pairing with JozyI have not looked this forward to a friendly in the longest time.I think these friendlies are going to be terribly interesting...how much does Gooch have? Who will get paired with jozy? Is Buddle a fluke? I can't wait for every one of them.
El Floppo
Footballguy
Tremendous Upside
Footballguy
It merely groups players as Defenders, Midfielders or ForwardsMaradona is grouped with the forwards
Bonzai
Footballguy
I'd like to see something like this:.........................Yashin.............................
?????......Beckenbauer........????????........Maldini
.........................Mattaus.....................
.................Platini............Maradonna...........
Best.......................Pele...................Cruyff
andy_b
Footballguy
is this suppose to be the greatest World Cup team of all time or the greatest team of all time? For Best, that would make a huge difference
Tremendous Upside
Footballguy
Yashin's a lock
Would love to get DiStefano on the pitch, but with the position limitations they havem I can't seem to squeeze him on the pitch
Would love to get DiStefano on the pitch, but with the position limitations they havem I can't seem to squeeze him on the pitch
Bonzai
Footballguy
Tremendous Upside
Footballguy
I thin Carlos Alberto has to be thereETA: I'd throw Bobby Moore out there also
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