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***Official Soccer Discussion Thread*** (2 Viewers)

Here is the compiled TV information for the upcoming US games from Big Soccer. Hopefully, Arlo White gets the nod for the NBC game.

The US WCQing away games are not yet settled. US Soccer is still negotiating with ESPN and Univision. It is complicated.

USA upcoming matches:

Saturday, May 26th,2012:

8:00pm ET USA v Scotland (Int'l Friendly/Ft.Lauderdale, FL)

.....USA-TV: NBC Sports

Wednesday, May 30th, 2012:

8:00pm ET USA v Brazil (Int'l Friendly/Landover, MD)

.....USA-TV: ESPN2, espn3.com, Univision

Friday, June 8th, 2012:

7:00pm ET USA v Antigua & Barbuda (WCQ/Tampa, FL)

.....USA-TV: ESPN, espn3.com

Tuesday, June 12th, 2012:

TBA Guatemala v USA (WCQ)

.....USA-TV: ESPN2, espn3.com, Univision (all to be confirmed)

Friday, September 7th, 2012:

TBA Jamaica v USA (WCQ)

.....USA-TV: TBA

Tuesday, September 11th, 2012:

8:00pm ET USA v Jamaica (WCQ/Columbus, OH)

.....USA-TV: ESPN2, espn3.com, Univision

 
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All non US and Mexico Concacaf WCQing games will be available via PPV (spelled "stream"), and will be shown on Gol TV no earlier than 48 hours later

 
Tuesday, June 12th, 2012:TBA Guatemala v USA (WCQ).....USA-TV: ESPN2, espn3.com, Univision (all to be confirmed)Friday, September 7th, 2012:TBA Jamaica v USA (WCQ).....USA-TV: TBA
Nice to get these two out of the way early in the group. Would hate to have a fluke result early and have to go to one of these places needing a result in the last game.
 
Tuesday, June 12th, 2012:TBA Guatemala v USA (WCQ).....USA-TV: ESPN2, espn3.com, Univision (all to be confirmed)Friday, September 7th, 2012:TBA Jamaica v USA (WCQ).....USA-TV: TBA
Nice to get these two out of the way early in the group. Would hate to have a fluke result early and have to go to one of these places needing a result in the last game.
So true. Not looking forward to watching the game in Guat.
 
Sacha Kljestan helped Anderlecht to the Begium title today which if I understand the UEFA system correctly, puts them into the 3rd round of Champions League Qualifying.

Jozy played 66 minutes and had an assist on the only goal of the game in AZ's win. AZ ended the season in 4th place which puts them I think in the Europa League next season.

 
Messi has scored an astounding 72 goals this season in all competitions and holds the Barca record for most goals in club history. One of the many amazing things about his accomplishments is how young he started playing first team football at Barca. His first appearance for the senior team came in 2004 when he was only 18.

In 2005-2006, he received more regular minutes in what has to be one of the most talented squads ever assembled. Look at the roster below (the year they won both La Liga and the Champions League). In many ways it was the intersection of two different dynastic Barca generations sharing the same pitch. Of course they all didnt get regular minutes in the same matches, but it sure must have been fun watching practice at the Nou Camp in the middle of the week! I dug up some stats where to supplement my poor (not to mention incomplete) memory:

2005-2006 Barcelona Squad:

Forwards: Youve got to be kidding me!

FW Ronaldinho (best player in the world at the time)

FW Samuel Eto'o (along with Henry, one the most dangerous strikers in Europe - 34 goals in 48 appearances!)

FW Lionel Messi (8 goals in 25 appearances and missed time due to an injury. I remember the broadcasters speaking about his 'legend' even in those days)

FW Henrik Larsson (Well past his prime at this point but it was fun to see him on the pitch in Spain with these guys after years in Scotland)

Playmaking Midfielders: An embarrassment of riches!

MF Deco (the peak of his prowess - a remarkable playmarker during these years)

MF Xavi (played only ~20 games that year as Deco's understudy)

MF Andrés Iniesta (already part of the regular rotation with ~50 appearances in all competitions)

Holding Midfielders: Someone needs to play defense!

DM Edmílson (played important role as teams organizer and holding MF)

DM Mark van Bommel (looked very out of place on this team but logged some important minutes in what was his only year at Barca)

MF Thiago Motta (no recollection - wikipedia says he was a backup)

Defenders: Not bad, even for Barca!

DF Giovanni van Bronckhorst (a staple of this teams back-line for years; they probably never shouldve let him go)

CB Rafael Márquez (piece of ####)

CB Carles Puyol - (Captain even back then)

DF Sylvinho

GK Víctor Valdés (another guy thats been on the senior squad forever - dating back to 2002)

Others - not bad for the end of the bench!

FW Maxi Lopez (no recollection of him on this team)

RW Ludovic Giuly (Giuly actually played a lot in 2005-6 although he didnt show the same class as he did during his days in France)

DF Juliano Belletti (played a key role for this team and scored the winner against Arsenal in the CL Final)

RB Oleguer Pressas (started a load of games for the team and even captained the squad at one point

Can anyone come up with a more impressive roster - top to bottom - for any team in a single year?

 
'Steve Tasker said:
So....anyone playing this summer?Our season starts tomorrow, and I think we're in trouble. We've only had 1 practice so far, which consisted of 6 of us playing pickup with random guys in the park. This is our second season in the "league one" of our local soccer pyramid. We tied for 11th out of 14 last year after being promoted after the summer 2010 season. We finished above relegation, but due to some major shakeups, the competition looks a lot stiffer this year. The teams who finished 10th and 13th folded altogether, and 14th was sent down. One team dropped all the way from the premier league into our league after a winless season last year. We play them tomorrow night, and I have a feeling it might be a bloodbath.
Yeah, we lost 8-0. Totally outclassed. Our work rate was good but they were just at another level, and we were sloppy and nervous on the ball. Probably got outpossessed 67%-33% when all was said and done. While I know it's going to be a struggle and we'll probably be in the relegation discussion again this year, that team should not be playing in our league. I fully expect a top 4 finish and a potential championship for them; they're probably the best team I've played against in my 4 years with the club.
 
Also, :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: at hovering the cursor over a thread that Christo has started and seeing a picture of Crouchy doing the robot pop up as his personal pic.

 
Messi has scored an astounding 72 goals this season in all competitions and holds the Barca record for most goals in club history. One of the many amazing things about his accomplishments is how young he started playing first team football at Barca. His first appearance for the senior team came in 2004 when he was only 18.

In 2005-2006, he received more regular minutes in what has to be one of the most talented squads ever assembled. Look at the roster below (the year they won both La Liga and the Champions League). In many ways it was the intersection of two different dynastic Barca generations sharing the same pitch. Of course they all didnt get regular minutes in the same matches, but it sure must have been fun watching practice at the Nou Camp in the middle of the week! I dug up some stats where to supplement my poor (not to mention incomplete) memory:

2005-2006 Barcelona Squad:

Forwards: Youve got to be kidding me!

FW Ronaldinho (best player in the world at the time)

FW Samuel Eto'o (along with Henry, one the most dangerous strikers in Europe - 34 goals in 48 appearances!)

FW Lionel Messi (8 goals in 25 appearances and missed time due to an injury. I remember the broadcasters speaking about his 'legend' even in those days)

FW Henrik Larsson (Well past his prime at this point but it was fun to see him on the pitch in Spain with these guys after years in Scotland)

Playmaking Midfielders: An embarrassment of riches!

MF Deco (the peak of his prowess - a remarkable playmarker during these years)

MF Xavi (played only ~20 games that year as Deco's understudy)

MF Andrés Iniesta (already part of the regular rotation with ~50 appearances in all competitions)

Holding Midfielders: Someone needs to play defense!

DM Edmílson (played important role as teams organizer and holding MF)

DM Mark van Bommel (looked very out of place on this team but logged some important minutes in what was his only year at Barca)

MF Thiago Motta (no recollection - wikipedia says he was a backup)

Defenders: Not bad, even for Barca!

DF Giovanni van Bronckhorst (a staple of this teams back-line for years; they probably never shouldve let him go)

CB Rafael Márquez (piece of ####)

CB Carles Puyol - (Captain even back then)

DF Sylvinho

GK Víctor Valdés (another guy thats been on the senior squad forever - dating back to 2002)

Others - not bad for the end of the bench!

FW Maxi Lopez (no recollection of him on this team)

RW Ludovic Giuly (Giuly actually played a lot in 2005-6 although he didnt show the same class as he did during his days in France)

DF Juliano Belletti (played a key role for this team and scored the winner against Arsenal in the CL Final)

RB Oleguer Pressas (started a load of games for the team and even captained the squad at one point

Can anyone come up with a more impressive roster - top to bottom - for any team in a single year?
2002-03 RMGK Casillas

RB Salgado

CB Hierro

CB Helguera

LB Roberto Carlos

DM Makelele

CM Guti

AM Figo

AM Zidane

SS Raul

ST Ronaldo

Steve McManaman

Esteban Cambiasso

Fernando Morientes

Javier Portillo

Santiago Solari

Flávio da Conceição

Ajax and Bayern had some killer teams in the 70's as well. How many of us can really go back that far though? You would really have had to live in another country to have great exposure to international soccer pre-2000 and even then you really would have had to work at it.

 
Also, :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: at hovering the cursor over a thread that Christo has started and seeing a picture of Crouchy doing the robot pop up as his personal pic.
You have to admit it's pretty damn awesome. I can't think of a more original and entertaining celebration. That clip is flat out hilarious.
 
It will be interesting to see what Barca looks like in a couple years, with Messi still around, Jean-Marie Dongou probably on the first team (I think he came from Eto'o's soccer camp, and was promoted to Barca B this year), and possibly Neymar. I think Barca's going to try and get Neymar, knowing he may or may not work out, but also knowing that they'd be able to sell him in a couple years for close to what they paid for him, and most importantly of all, keeping him away from RM.

 
Tuesday, June 12th, 2012:TBA Guatemala v USA (WCQ).....USA-TV: ESPN2, espn3.com, Univision (all to be confirmed)Friday, September 7th, 2012:TBA Jamaica v USA (WCQ).....USA-TV: TBA
Nice to get these two out of the way early in the group. Would hate to have a fluke result early and have to go to one of these places needing a result in the last game.
:goodposting: Away non-results aren't flukes, even these days IMO. But yeah- I like having these away games earlier too. And both of those spots are pretty nasty away locations with rabid, disruptive fans.
 
From Soccer America, Americans Abroad

Belgium (Jupiler League)

Sacha Kljestan (73 minutes), Anderlecht, 1-1 vs. Club Brugge

Denmark (Superligaen)

Clarence Goodson (90 minutes), Broendby, 0-1 at AaB Aalborg

Conor O'Brien (90 minutes), Sonderjyske, vs. FC Midtjylland (Monday)

Michael Parkhurst (90 minutes), FC Nordsjaelland, 2-0 vs. Lyngby

Brad Rusin (90 minutes), Koge, 1-3 vs. AGH Aarhus

England (Premier League)

Clint Dempsey (90 minutes, 1 goal), Fulham, 2-1 vs. Sunderland

Brad Friedel (90 minutes), Tottenham, 1-1 at Aston Villa

Tim Howard (90 minutes), Everton, 0-0 at Wolves

Eric Lichaj (90 minutes), Aston Villa, 1-1 vs. Tottenham

Tim Ream (90 minutes), Bolton Wanderers, 2-2 vs. West Bromwich

England (League Championship, Promotion Playoffs)

Jonathan Spector (sub: 16 minutes), Birmingham City, 0-1 at Blackpool

Finland (Veikkausliiga)

Daniel Antunez (90 minutes), Inter Turku, 1-2 at JHK

Mason Trafford (90 minutes), Mariehamn, 2-1 at VPS

France (Ligue 1)

Charlies Davies, Sochaux, vs. Nancy (Monday)

Germany (Bundesliga 1)

Steven Cherundolo (90 minutes), Hannover 96, 2-1 vs. Kaiserslautern

Fabian Johnson (90 minutes), Hoffenheim, 1-3 at Hertha Berlin

Jermaine Jones (90 minutes), Schalke 04, 3-2 at Werder Bremen

Andrew Wooten (sub: 22 minutes), Kaiserslautern, 1-2 at Hannover 96

Mexico (Primera Division, Torneo Clausura Playoffs)

Edgar Castillo (90 minutes), Tijuana, 2-2 at Monterrey (3-4 on aggregate)

Joe Corona (70 minutes), Tijuana, 2-2 at Monterrey (3-4 on aggregate)

Herculez Gomez (sub: 23 minutes), Santos, 2-1 vs. Jaguares (6-4 on aggregate)

Jose Torres (90 minutes), Pachuca, 1-0 at Club America (2-3 on aggregate)

Netherlands (Eredivisie)

Jozy Altidore (66 minutes, 1 assist), AZ, 1-0 vs. FC Groningen

Norway (Tippeligaen)

Steve Clark (90 minutes), Honefoss, 0-1 at Sandnes

Ricardo Clark (90 minutes), Stabaek, 1-3 at Rosenborg

Sean Cunningham (90 minutes), Stabaek, 1-3 at Rosenborg

Josh Gatt (sub: 34 minutes), Molde, 2-1 vs. Aalesund

Portugal (Liga Zon Sagres)

Arturo Alvarez (sub: 14 minutes, 1 goal), Pacos de Ferreira, 2-2 vs. Rio Ave

Oguchi Onyewu (67 minutes, 1 red card), Sporting, 0-2 at Porto

Portugal (Liga Orangina)

Caleb Patterson-Sewell (90 minutes), Atletico CP, 1-1 vs. Uniao

Tony Taylor (68 minutes), Estoril, 1-0 at Leixoes

Scotland (Premier League)

Alejandro Bedoya (sub: 24 minutes), Rangers, 0-0 at Motherwell

Carlos Bocanegra (90 minutes), Rangers, 0-0 at Motherwell

Maurice Edu (90 minutes), Rangers, 0-0 at Motherwell

 
Messi has scored an astounding 72 goals this season in all competitions and holds the Barca record for most goals in club history. One of the many amazing things about his accomplishments is how young he started playing first team football at Barca. His first appearance for the senior team came in 2004 when he was only 18.

In 2005-2006, he received more regular minutes in what has to be one of the most talented squads ever assembled. Look at the roster below (the year they won both La Liga and the Champions League). In many ways it was the intersection of two different dynastic Barca generations sharing the same pitch. Of course they all didnt get regular minutes in the same matches, but it sure must have been fun watching practice at the Nou Camp in the middle of the week! I dug up some stats where to supplement my poor (not to mention incomplete) memory:

2005-2006 Barcelona Squad:

Forwards: Youve got to be kidding me!

FW Ronaldinho (best player in the world at the time)

FW Samuel Eto'o (along with Henry, one the most dangerous strikers in Europe - 34 goals in 48 appearances!)

FW Lionel Messi (8 goals in 25 appearances and missed time due to an injury. I remember the broadcasters speaking about his 'legend' even in those days)

FW Henrik Larsson (Well past his prime at this point but it was fun to see him on the pitch in Spain with these guys after years in Scotland)

Playmaking Midfielders: An embarrassment of riches!

MF Deco (the peak of his prowess - a remarkable playmarker during these years)

MF Xavi (played only ~20 games that year as Deco's understudy)

MF Andrés Iniesta (already part of the regular rotation with ~50 appearances in all competitions)

Holding Midfielders: Someone needs to play defense!

DM Edmílson (played important role as teams organizer and holding MF)

DM Mark van Bommel (looked very out of place on this team but logged some important minutes in what was his only year at Barca)

MF Thiago Motta (no recollection - wikipedia says he was a backup)

Defenders: Not bad, even for Barca!

DF Giovanni van Bronckhorst (a staple of this teams back-line for years; they probably never shouldve let him go)

CB Rafael Márquez (piece of ####)

CB Carles Puyol - (Captain even back then)

DF Sylvinho

GK Víctor Valdés (another guy thats been on the senior squad forever - dating back to 2002)

Others - not bad for the end of the bench!

FW Maxi Lopez (no recollection of him on this team)

RW Ludovic Giuly (Giuly actually played a lot in 2005-6 although he didnt show the same class as he did during his days in France)

DF Juliano Belletti (played a key role for this team and scored the winner against Arsenal in the CL Final)

RB Oleguer Pressas (started a load of games for the team and even captained the squad at one point

Can anyone come up with a more impressive roster - top to bottom - for any team in a single year?
2002-03 RMGK Casillas

RB Salgado

CB Hierro

CB Helguera

LB Roberto Carlos

DM Makelele

CM Guti

AM Figo

AM Zidane

SS Raul

ST Ronaldo

Steve McManaman

Esteban Cambiasso

Fernando Morientes

Javier Portillo

Santiago Solari

Flávio da Conceição

Ajax and Bayern had some killer teams in the 70's as well. How many of us can really go back that far though? You would really have had to live in another country to have great exposure to international soccer pre-2000 and even then you really would have had to work at it.
I got to see that RM team play Roma at the Meadowlands. Un-freaking-believably good. That was the game where I developed my man- :wub: for Zidane after having watched him play on TV for Juve on our local RAI feed. On TV, he alwys looked almost lazy because he was soooooo smooth and calm on the ball and the opposition almost seemed to let him do things (since I was only getting to see what was happening on-screen). Never seen a guy work harder AND do more or more stylishly/entertainingly after all that hard work. LOVE HIM.
 
Leading Scorers in some of the major leagues in Europe

Spain La Liga

Lionel Messi (Barcelona/Argentina) 50

Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid/Portugal) 45

Falcao (Atletico Madrid/Colombia) 23

Gonzalo Higuain (Real Madrid/Argentina) 23

English Premier League

Robin Van Persie (Arsenal/Netherlands) 30

Wayne Rooney (Manchester United/England) 26

Sergio Aguero (Manchester City/Argentina) 22

Clint Dempsey (Fulham/USA) 17

German Bundesliga

Klaas Jan Huntelaar (Schalke 04/Netherlands) 29

Mario Gomez (Bayern Munich/Germany) 26

Robert Lewandowski (Borussia Dortmund/Poland) 22

Claudio Pizarro (Werder Bremen/Peru) 18

Lukas Podolski (FC Cologne/Germany) 18

Marco Reus (Borussia M'Gladbach/Germany) 18.

Italian Serie A

Zlatan Ibrahimovic (AC Milan/Sweden) 28

Edinson Cavani (Napoli/Uruguay) 23

Diego Milito (Inter Milan/Argentina) 23

Antonio Di Natale (Udinese/Italy) 22

Dutch Eredivisie

Bas Dost (Heerenveen/Netherlands) 31

Luuk de Jong (Twente/Netherlands) 25

Sanharib Malki (RODA JC/Syria) 22

Dries Mertens (PSV/Belgium) 19

France Ligue 1

Olivier Giroud (Montpellier/France) 21

Nene (Paris SG/Brazil) 18

Eden Hazard (Lille/Belgium) 17

Lisandro Lopez (Lyon/Argentina) 15

 
Loooooooove seeing Clint up there. :thumbup:

And Jozy can't be too far off that list in Holland either.

Great year for US goal-scorers... even if it hasn't translated at the USMNT level yet.

 
It will be interesting to see what Barca looks like in a couple years, with Messi still around, Jean-Marie Dongou probably on the first team (I think he came from Eto'o's soccer camp, and was promoted to Barca B this year), and possibly Neymar. I think Barca's going to try and get Neymar, knowing he may or may not work out, but also knowing that they'd be able to sell him in a couple years for close to what they paid for him, and most importantly of all, keeping him away from RM.
That's probably the most compelling factor IMO.
 
German Bundesliga

Klaas Jan Huntelaar (Schalke 04/Netherlands) 29
Klaas is having a stellar year with 48 goals in 47 appearences. Very underrated striker, it will be interesting to see if he can play a big role for the Dutch.
I'm not sure there's a spot for him in the starting XI. Too many good attacking MFs, plus RVP up top. Have RVP, JKH, and Robben ever played together in a meaningful game?
 
With many of the European seasons complete, there is an outside chance that Klinsmann will announce the 23 man roster some time this week. Likely it won't be much later than early next week.

 
German Bundesliga

Klaas Jan Huntelaar (Schalke 04/Netherlands) 29
Klaas is having a stellar year with 48 goals in 47 appearences. Very underrated striker, it will be interesting to see if he can play a big role for the Dutch.
I'm not sure there's a spot for him in the starting XI. Too many good attacking MFs, plus RVP up top. Have RVP, JKH, and Robben ever played together in a meaningful game?
I don't think they have really. I know they prefered to bring on Elia for Kuyt back in the World Cup, but I think Huntelaar's form is good enough that they should slot him in over those two for the Euros. Hard to get a better attacking group than RVP, Robben, Klaas, and Sneijder right now.
 
German Bundesliga

Klaas Jan Huntelaar (Schalke 04/Netherlands) 29
Klaas is having a stellar year with 48 goals in 47 appearences. Very underrated striker, it will be interesting to see if he can play a big role for the Dutch.
I'm not sure there's a spot for him in the starting XI. Too many good attacking MFs, plus RVP up top. Have RVP, JKH, and Robben ever played together in a meaningful game?
I thought he was an out an out forward? I remember him playing the lone striker role in England for somebody... Arsenal?Either way, I'm not a fan of his. Not enough style points for my liking- very workmanlike and positionally sound/technically proficient, but not fun for me to watch even if he's scoring goals.

I thought the same thing about that Gomez cat- a German Luca Toni- but he's been growing on me.

 
German Bundesliga

Klaas Jan Huntelaar (Schalke 04/Netherlands) 29
Klaas is having a stellar year with 48 goals in 47 appearences. Very underrated striker, it will be interesting to see if he can play a big role for the Dutch.
I'm not sure there's a spot for him in the starting XI. Too many good attacking MFs, plus RVP up top. Have RVP, JKH, and Robben ever played together in a meaningful game?
I thought he was an out an out forward? I remember him playing the lone striker role in England for somebody... Arsenal?Either way, I'm not a fan of his. Not enough style points for my liking- very workmanlike and positionally sound/technically proficient, but not fun for me to watch even if he's scoring goals.

I thought the same thing about that Gomez cat- a German Luca Toni- but he's been growing on me.
Yeah, you're right. Not the best fit for the normal Dutch shape without displacing RVP.
 
A player like Klaas Jan Huntelaar would likely be the first choice striker for 95% of the countries out there too.

Makes me wonder if Holland has the best depth for their country size of any country in the world.....

I guess Uruguay is on a lower but similar scale of producing some very good players from very small populations.

 
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German Bundesliga

Klaas Jan Huntelaar (Schalke 04/Netherlands) 29
Klaas is having a stellar year with 48 goals in 47 appearences. Very underrated striker, it will be interesting to see if he can play a big role for the Dutch.
I'm not sure there's a spot for him in the starting XI. Too many good attacking MFs, plus RVP up top. Have RVP, JKH, and Robben ever played together in a meaningful game?
I thought he was an out an out forward? I remember him playing the lone striker role in England for somebody... Arsenal?Either way, I'm not a fan of his. Not enough style points for my liking- very workmanlike and positionally sound/technically proficient, but not fun for me to watch even if he's scoring goals.

I thought the same thing about that Gomez cat- a German Luca Toni- but he's been growing on me.
Huntelaar has never played for Arsenal. He was a young star ar Ajax/Heerenveen, didn't make much of an impact at Real Madrid and later Milan, and has really emerged with Schalke. I haven't seen him play for Schalke, though, that I can recall.
 
German Bundesliga

Klaas Jan Huntelaar (Schalke 04/Netherlands) 29
Klaas is having a stellar year with 48 goals in 47 appearences. Very underrated striker, it will be interesting to see if he can play a big role for the Dutch.
I'm not sure there's a spot for him in the starting XI. Too many good attacking MFs, plus RVP up top. Have RVP, JKH, and Robben ever played together in a meaningful game?
I thought he was an out an out forward? I remember him playing the lone striker role in England for somebody... Arsenal?Either way, I'm not a fan of his. Not enough style points for my liking- very workmanlike and positionally sound/technically proficient, but not fun for me to watch even if he's scoring goals.

I thought the same thing about that Gomez cat- a German Luca Toni- but he's been growing on me.
Huntelaar has never played for Arsenal. He was a young star ar Ajax/Heerenveen, didn't make much of an impact at Real Madrid and later Milan, and has really emerged with Schalke. I haven't seen him play for Schalke, though, that I can recall.
Ah- I stand corrected. Stupid, mushy brain.It must have been his Milan time when I watched him. And maybe I'm confusing him with the tall Danish kid at Arsenal (now at Sunderland?). But hell- that's a major resume for somebody who can't crack his country's starting 11.

 
The Euro is going to be awesome as always, even if a bit watered down this year due to two weaker host countries taking auto spots. For me, its the best tournament.

 
'Slapdash said:
'El Floppo said:
'The Z Machine said:
'Slapdash said:
'NewlyRetired said:
German Bundesliga

Klaas Jan Huntelaar (Schalke 04/Netherlands) 29
Klaas is having a stellar year with 48 goals in 47 appearences. Very underrated striker, it will be interesting to see if he can play a big role for the Dutch.
I'm not sure there's a spot for him in the starting XI. Too many good attacking MFs, plus RVP up top. Have RVP, JKH, and Robben ever played together in a meaningful game?
I thought he was an out an out forward? I remember him playing the lone striker role in England for somebody... Arsenal?Either way, I'm not a fan of his. Not enough style points for my liking- very workmanlike and positionally sound/technically proficient, but not fun for me to watch even if he's scoring goals.

I thought the same thing about that Gomez cat- a German Luca Toni- but he's been growing on me.
Yeah, you're right. Not the best fit for the normal Dutch shape without displacing RVP.
Isn't the traditional Dutch formation a 4-3-3? I've seen them play a 4-2-3-1, but Van Persie could fit in either as he actually prefers to play on the left anyway. It's hard to tell how they would line up for friendly line-ups because it's complicated by all of the team agreements on playing time, but I really don't see why playing those three would be a problem at all.
 
'Slapdash said:
'El Floppo said:
'The Z Machine said:
'Slapdash said:
'NewlyRetired said:
German Bundesliga

Klaas Jan Huntelaar (Schalke 04/Netherlands) 29
Klaas is having a stellar year with 48 goals in 47 appearences. Very underrated striker, it will be interesting to see if he can play a big role for the Dutch.
I'm not sure there's a spot for him in the starting XI. Too many good attacking MFs, plus RVP up top. Have RVP, JKH, and Robben ever played together in a meaningful game?
I thought he was an out an out forward? I remember him playing the lone striker role in England for somebody... Arsenal?Either way, I'm not a fan of his. Not enough style points for my liking- very workmanlike and positionally sound/technically proficient, but not fun for me to watch even if he's scoring goals.

I thought the same thing about that Gomez cat- a German Luca Toni- but he's been growing on me.
Yeah, you're right. Not the best fit for the normal Dutch shape without displacing RVP.
Isn't the traditional Dutch formation a 4-3-3? I've seen them play a 4-2-3-1, but Van Persie could fit in either as he actually prefers to play on the left anyway. It's hard to tell how they would line up for friendly line-ups because it's complicated by all of the team agreements on playing time, but I really don't see why playing those three would be a problem at all.
I think the bold is what they played in the WC. Not too sure what they have looked like tactically in qualifying.

 
A neat visual on the relationship between amount of possesion and amount of shots: http://www.zonalmarking.net/2012/05/04/the-relationship-between-possession-and-shots/

I'd like to see possesion vs. goals along with shots vs. goals.
I read an analytics type article a month or two ago that did a break down of possession in terms of winning a game (not specifically scoring goals), and there was almost no correlation between having more possession and winning games (from a very wide sample of games and leagues).If I can find the link I will post it.

 
'CletiusMaximus said:
The Euro is going to be awesome as always, even if a bit watered down this year due to two weaker host countries taking auto spots. For me, its the best tournament.
I believe it is the best tournament by far (ignoring the water down affect you mentioned).Ironically best does not equate to favorite tournament for me. I prefer to watch the WC even if I know the general quality is lower.

 

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