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

[boubucarow]

Yeah the 3-5-2 does wonders for them. Really like their shape/attitude.

I agree. The positive attacking style is fun to watch. None of the ten million passes between defenders as they normally do.

Juventus used this formation this year in an undefeated league season. Originally, the entire back 3 would have been Juventus players until Barzagli was hurt. Rossi would have taken Vidal's place alongside Pirlo and Marchisio but instead he replaced Barzagli and Thiago is in the XI. Giaacherini is also from Juventus and was the find that helped them tremendously this year. When you add in Buffon, 6 players are from the club. The strikers are not.

 

[Tremendous Upside]

Nowak was suppose to coach the MLS All Star team against Chelsea. Guess that won't happen now

MLS should hire AVB

 

[NewlyRetired]

Nowak was suppose to coach the MLS All Star team against Chelsea. Guess that won't happen now

MLS should hire AVB

That would be humorous for a one game deal. I was thinking Pep would be a fun choice. He is in NY now.

 

[The Z Machine]

Thanks for all the replies..digesting all the info now, doing some more research.. I'm just finding it to be a really fun sport to watch.

The best sport for TV. No commercials, constant movement, and emotion that's unmatched.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Only change for Spain is replacing Fabregas with Torres at striker. Not enthused about them sticking with their conventional 4-2-3-1 and keeping Llorente benched.

 

[Spartans Rule]

The best way to get into soccer for Americans is through the World Cup. Once you get that national team bug, it's amazing to get into the games, even for countries you barely recognize. After that, I'd highly recommend you watch EURO2012 which is going on right now. You'll see all the European stars there. Assuming you're a US fan, pay attention to their qualification games for WC2014. That will allow you to get to know the players from the US and what roles they play.After that, you should move into club watching. The most accessible is the English Prem. League, as those games are on Fox Soccer and ESPN. Follow the big teams (Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Tottenham) and see if one team catches your eye for the way they play. Once you pick a team (doesn't have to be one of the big ones...) try to watch as many games as you can to familiarize yourself with the roster and what positions each player plays. You may also want to branch out to watching Spanish la liga, German Bundesliga, or Serie A to see if any of those teams catch your fancy.

We have picked up new fans in this thread along the way. Some of you guys should chime in and let Outlawassassins know how you went about stepping into the mine field so to speak to become fans of the sport.

I had always been a World Cup only fan, but I really started getting into club soccer through the Champions League. I'd recommend it as a good starting spot for anyone.Outlawassassins - the Champions League is a tournament featuring the best teams from all the top leagues in Europe. Teams qualify based on how high they finished in the previous year's standings in their regular league - for example, the top 4 teams in the English Premier League make next season's Champions League. Weaker leagues may only get 1 or 2 teams. It's a good way to get a broad exposure to the best of Europe and see which teams/leagues you might want to follow. It's also fun to see the crazy fans from some of the lesser leagues - my first CL game was Manchester United playing away against Besiktas, a team from Istanbul, and I was just blown away by how nuts the Turkish fans were.

 

[NewlyRetired]

I had always been a World Cup only fan, but I really started getting into club soccer through the Champions League. I'd recommend it as a good starting spot for anyone.Outlawassassins - the Champions League is a tournament featuring the best teams from all the top leagues in Europe. Teams qualify based on how high they finished in the previous year's standings in their regular league - for example, the top 4 teams in the English Premier League make next season's Champions League. Weaker leagues may only get 1 or 2 teams. It's a good way to get a broad exposure to the best of Europe and see which teams/leagues you might want to follow. It's also fun to see the crazy fans from some of the lesser leagues - my first CL game was Manchester United playing away against Besiktas, a team from Istanbul, and I was just blown away by how nuts the Turkish fans were.

Outlawassassins, the Champions League is shown on Fox Soccer, channel 619 on Direct TV.

 

[The Z Machine]

Only change for Spain is replacing Fabregas with Torres at striker. Not enthused about them sticking with their conventional 4-2-3-1 and keeping Llorente benched.

I don't think it's a terrible choice. Torres has seen these tournaments before, Llorente has not. Torres basically has one game to secure his place though, so he better make a meal of IRE. Look, I like Llorente, but I'm not sure his style fits in with the Spanish team.

 

[Moe.]

Hey, we've been dominating this game. Instead of continuing to do what we've been doing, let's change it up and try to sit on this lead. Ready, break.

 

[Spartans Rule]

Hey, we've been dominating this game. Instead of continuing to do what we've been doing, let's change it up and try to sit on this lead. Ready, break.

That's Italy for ya.

 

[El Floppo]

Nowak was suppose to coach the MLS All Star team against Chelsea. Guess that won't happen now

MLS should hire AVB

That would be humorous for a one game deal. I was thinking Pep would be a fun choice. He is in NY now.

It's not Pep, but my very GB just texted me a photo of his family with Joulie Foudy. (more for how she played than her looks)

 

[NewlyRetired]

Hey, we've been dominating this game. Instead of continuing to do what we've been doing, let's change it up and try to sit on this lead. Ready, break.

From the first minute of the second half the game changed. Almost a 180 turn from first half.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Nowak was suppose to coach the MLS All Star team against Chelsea. Guess that won't happen now

MLS should hire AVB

That would be humorous for a one game deal. I was thinking Pep would be a fun choice. He is in NY now.

It's not Pep, but my very GB just texted me a photo of his family with Joulie Foudy. (more for how she played than her looks)

Not a bad looking lady either especially for a 41 year old mom. But what does this have to do with an MLS All Star game coach?

 

[El Floppo]

I'm not getting to watch much of these games- too busy. But what I've seen, Thomas Muller is the divingest embellishingest mo-fo in the tournament.

 

[El Floppo]

Nowak was suppose to coach the MLS All Star team against Chelsea. Guess that won't happen now

MLS should hire AVB

That would be humorous for a one game deal. I was thinking Pep would be a fun choice. He is in NY now.

It's not Pep, but my very GB just texted me a photo of his family with Joulie Foudy. (more for how she played than her looks)

Not a bad looking lady either especially for a 41 year old mom. But what does this have to do with an MLS All Star game coach?

Oh- sorry. Foudy and my GB are here in NYC along with Pep.

 

[NewlyRetired]

This pic reminds me of my high school locker room back in the 80's

 

[Sinn Fein]

I have been a long-time fan of the game, playing though Division III in college, but only recently became a bigger fan of the international game.

I have always followed the USMNT (and USWNT), but a few years ago joined the FBGs EPL fantasy league - that was the first chance to follow and really get to know some of the players in that league. I never did pick a team to follow, instead keeping up with US players, and players on my team. I found the fantasy route to be a pretty easy way to identify key players and I was pretty active on the transfer market so I kept up with a lot of players.

This past year, I ventured out into the Champions League fantasy game - and that brought more major teams and players from other leagues into my window. I don't know that I would follow any of the other leagues deeply - but I have always been fascinated with the Barcelona area, and have followed Barca for a number of years, but it was not until this year that I started to pay attention to Real (I only notice Atletico because of Z). I probably prefer the style of play from the top teams in Spain - but I don't know that I will ever care enough to pay attention to the full table. Ditto for the bundesliga - never paid attention until this year, and still only noticed the top teams. (That may change with the current Germany-US pipeline).

I have never gotten into MLS - I just have never given it a shot, and don't live close enough to a team to care and follow.

Euro is a great way to find great players, and then start to follow their progress on their club teams. Champions League is another great way to identify top clubs in Europe. Obviously some great players in South America and Africa - but the club level teams in these areas get a lot less publicity here. Some of the top players from those countries though play in Europe. (I love watching Brazil play - Barca and Real seem to play the style closest to Brazil)

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Only change for Spain is replacing Fabregas with Torres at striker. Not enthused about them sticking with their conventional 4-2-3-1 and keeping Llorente benched.

I don't think it's a terrible choice. Torres has seen these tournaments before, Llorente has not. Torres basically has one game to secure his place though, so he better make a meal of IRE. Look, I like Llorente, but I'm not sure his style fits in with the Spanish team.

But from everything I know about Ireland, which isn't much, they're going to be sitting back pretty far. Is Torres suited for this type of game? It seems like he's more adept at attempting to make runs in behind a team's back line. Which normally would be a good fit, given the players who are going to be serving him, but the back line in question is going to be way, way back, correct?Not to mention Torres looked pretty crummy against Italy. But I hope you're right.

 

[outlawassassins]

I had always been a World Cup only fan, but I really started getting into club soccer through the Champions League. I'd recommend it as a good starting spot for anyone.Outlawassassins - the Champions League is a tournament featuring the best teams from all the top leagues in Europe. Teams qualify based on how high they finished in the previous year's standings in their regular league - for example, the top 4 teams in the English Premier League make next season's Champions League. Weaker leagues may only get 1 or 2 teams. It's a good way to get a broad exposure to the best of Europe and see which teams/leagues you might want to follow. It's also fun to see the crazy fans from some of the lesser leagues - my first CL game was Manchester United playing away against Besiktas, a team from Istanbul, and I was just blown away by how nuts the Turkish fans were.

Outlawassassins, the Champions League is shown on Fox Soccer, channel 619 on Direct TV.

when does the champions league start? I have directv thanks for the channel info

 

[Sebowski]

This group might come down to who beats Ireland the worst.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

I had always been a World Cup only fan, but I really started getting into club soccer through the Champions League. I'd recommend it as a good starting spot for anyone.Outlawassassins - the Champions League is a tournament featuring the best teams from all the top leagues in Europe. Teams qualify based on how high they finished in the previous year's standings in their regular league - for example, the top 4 teams in the English Premier League make next season's Champions League. Weaker leagues may only get 1 or 2 teams. It's a good way to get a broad exposure to the best of Europe and see which teams/leagues you might want to follow. It's also fun to see the crazy fans from some of the lesser leagues - my first CL game was Manchester United playing away against Besiktas, a team from Istanbul, and I was just blown away by how nuts the Turkish fans were.

Outlawassassins, the Champions League is shown on Fox Soccer, channel 619 on Direct TV.

when does the champions league start? I have directv thanks for the channel info

Late August.Also, read www.zonalmarking.net.

 

[Sinn Fein]

This group might come down to who beats Ireland the worst.

Sad, but true :(

 

[Native]

I had always been a World Cup only fan, but I really started getting into club soccer through the Champions League. I'd recommend it as a good starting spot for anyone.Outlawassassins - the Champions League is a tournament featuring the best teams from all the top leagues in Europe. Teams qualify based on how high they finished in the previous year's standings in their regular league - for example, the top 4 teams in the English Premier League make next season's Champions League. Weaker leagues may only get 1 or 2 teams. It's a good way to get a broad exposure to the best of Europe and see which teams/leagues you might want to follow. It's also fun to see the crazy fans from some of the lesser leagues - my first CL game was Manchester United playing away against Besiktas, a team from Istanbul, and I was just blown away by how nuts the Turkish fans were.

Outlawassassins, the Champions League is shown on Fox Soccer, channel 619 on Direct TV.

when does the champions league start? I have directv thanks for the channel info

You just missed the final - took place 2-3 weeks ago.Qualifying starts in August and games occur periodically throughout the year.

 

[Spartans Rule]

I had always been a World Cup only fan, but I really started getting into club soccer through the Champions League. I'd recommend it as a good starting spot for anyone.Outlawassassins - the Champions League is a tournament featuring the best teams from all the top leagues in Europe. Teams qualify based on how high they finished in the previous year's standings in their regular league - for example, the top 4 teams in the English Premier League make next season's Champions League. Weaker leagues may only get 1 or 2 teams. It's a good way to get a broad exposure to the best of Europe and see which teams/leagues you might want to follow. It's also fun to see the crazy fans from some of the lesser leagues - my first CL game was Manchester United playing away against Besiktas, a team from Istanbul, and I was just blown away by how nuts the Turkish fans were.

Outlawassassins, the Champions League is shown on Fox Soccer, channel 619 on Direct TV.

when does the champions league start? I have directv thanks for the channel info

There's some qualifying games in July and August, group stage from September through December, knockout stages from February until May.Games are on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons. That works nicely with my evening work schedule, but they rebroadcast the games in the evening for normal people and of course there's always DVR, too.

 

[Moe.]

I had always been a World Cup only fan, but I really started getting into club soccer through the Champions League. I'd recommend it as a good starting spot for anyone.

Outlawassassins - the Champions League is a tournament featuring the best teams from all the top leagues in Europe. Teams qualify based on how high they finished in the previous year's standings in their regular league - for example, the top 4 teams in the English Premier League make next season's Champions League. Weaker leagues may only get 1 or 2 teams.

It's a good way to get a broad exposure to the best of Europe and see which teams/leagues you might want to follow. It's also fun to see the crazy fans from some of the lesser leagues - my first CL game was Manchester United playing away against Besiktas, a team from Istanbul, and I was just blown away by how nuts the Turkish fans were.

Outlawassassins, the Champions League is shown on Fox Soccer, channel 619 on Direct TV.

when does the champions league start? I have directv thanks for the channel info

Late August.Also, read www.zonalmarking.net.

Hadn't seen this site until someone posted a link a few days ago. The match recaps are stellar. Love the "Cristiano Ronaldo - Passes intercepted" graphic from yesterday. It's just a picture of an empty field. He was awful yesterday.

 

[Native]

Did Torres, and Spain, ever need that strike.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Also, read www.zonalmarking.net.

Hadn't seen this site until someone posted a link a few days ago. The match recaps are stellar. Love the "Cristiano Ronaldo - Passes intercepted" graphic from yesterday. It's just a picture of an empty field. He was awful yesterday.

I love this site as well. Do they cover any club football or do they just do international tournaments?

 

[ffldrew]

Abromavich is wondering where that kind of strike has been

 

[NewlyRetired]

Did Torres, and Spain, ever need that strike.

This has to be a mistake on who scored. The player who scored looked confident and did not hesitate.

 

[NewlyRetired]

If Spain smell GD issues, this could be 5-0.

 

[Native]

Did Torres, and Spain, ever need that strike.

This has to be a mistake on who scored. The player who scored looked confident and did not hesitate.

That was a class goal. Trying not to get my hoped up to high though...

 

[Native]

Didnt see this posted anywhere - Chelsea officially extend coach Roberto Di Matteo for two more years. Great news IMO. Truthfully, I have no idea why Chelsea was hesitant to get this done.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/18437738

Roberto Di Matteo named as permanent Chelsea manager

Chelsea have named Roberto Di Matteo as their permanent manager on a two-year contract.

Di Matteo won the Champions League and FA Cup as interim coach following the sacking of Andre Villas-Boas in March.

But despite his success there were doubts over whether he'd get the job full-time with Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich keen to bring in ex-Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola.

It's a big turn-around for Di Matteo, who was sacked by West Brom last year.

Di Matteo said: "We all achieved incredible success last season that made history for this great club.

"Our aim is to continue building on that and I'm already looking forward to the squad's return for pre-season."

The former West Brom and MK Dons manager lost just three of his 21 matches in charge as he led the club to a Champions League final success over Bayern Munich and FA Cup final defeat of Liverpool.

Several of his club's senior players voiced their support for him to be given the role, and Blues chief executive Ron Gourlay believes the Italian is the man to lead the club forward.

Gourlay also revealed Di Matteo had been involved in the decision to make recent signings with the club having already made the big-money capture of Eden Hazard.

"Roberto's quality was clear for all to see when he galvanised the squad last season and helped the club make history, and the owner and board are very pleased he will be continuing his good work," he said.

"We all believed he was a young coach with much to offer when we first asked him to take charge of team affairs in March and the manner in which he worked with us, the players and all the staff, and the success that followed, made him the clear choice when it came to selecting the person to take us forward in the seasons to come.

"Although he has set the bar very high in the short time he has been in charge, we know that Roberto is the right man to lead Chelsea onto further success.

"We are already looking forward to the 2012-13 season which kicks off when Roberto, his staff and players return for pre-season."

Click for less

 

[CletiusMaximus]

Not a fan of Spanish football but I'm very happy for El Nino right now and would love to see him get his mojo back.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Didnt see this posted anywhere - Chelsea officially extend coach Roberto Di Matteo for two more years.

I mentioned it briefly here. Thanks for the article!http://forums.footballguys.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=305522&view=findpost&p=14462310

 

[Native]

Didnt see this posted anywhere - Chelsea officially extend coach Roberto Di Matteo for two more years.

I mentioned it briefly here. Thanks for the article!http://forums.footballguys.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=305522&view=findpost&p=14462310

Sorry - way too much soccer news going on right now!

 

[CletiusMaximus]

Also, read www.zonalmarking.net.

Hadn't seen this site until someone posted a link a few days ago. The match recaps are stellar. Love the "Cristiano Ronaldo - Passes intercepted" graphic from yesterday. It's just a picture of an empty field. He was awful yesterday.

I love this site as well. Do they cover any club football or do they just do international tournaments?

He analyzes games from all major leagues and tournaments pretty much year-round. Also has some great articles on tactics, player spotlights and the like.

 

[Slapdash]

Zona Marking is a great site.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

And for those interested in the business /finances of euro football: swissramble.blogspot.com

And for transfers, player value and related info: transfermarkt.co.uk

 

[GoFishTN]

Didnt see this posted anywhere - Chelsea officially extend coach Roberto Di Matteo for two more years.

I mentioned it briefly here. Thanks for the article!http://forums.footballguys.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=305522&view=findpost&p=14462310

I wouldn't bother buying a house there if I was Roberto.

 

[Native]

Spain is becoming too unselfish for their own good. Too many passes - sometimes they just need someone to shoot.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Also, read www.zonalmarking.net.

Hadn't seen this site until someone posted a link a few days ago. The match recaps are stellar. Love the "Cristiano Ronaldo - Passes intercepted" graphic from yesterday. It's just a picture of an empty field. He was awful yesterday.

I love this site as well. Do they cover any club football or do they just do international tournaments?

He analyzes games from all major leagues and tournaments pretty much year-round. Also has some great articles on tactics, player spotlights and the like.

"He"?Is it just a single guy operation? Holy hell that is impressive.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

Spain is becoming too unselfish for their own good. Too many passes - sometimes they just need someone to shoot.

It seems to me that, in the current brand of Spanish football, maintaining possession and stringing multiple pretty passes together is far more important than scoring goals.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Ireland need a new bus. This one is overflowing with players. Surprised Trapattoni is not in the box with them

 

[Native]

Spain is becoming too unselfish for their own good. Too many passes - sometimes they just need someone to shoot.

It seems to me that, in the current brand of Spanish football, maintaining possession and stringing multiple pretty passes together is far more important than scoring goals.

I dont know why they only play with six midfielders last match- they couldve easily fit another 1-2 out there.

 

[JaxBill]

After 45 mins of complete and total domination, it's still somehow only 1-nil

Don't think Ireland has come close to a serious scoring opportunity.

 

[JaxBill]

After that kind of a goal, is this where Ireland gets run out of the building?

 

[Sinn Fein]

Given has to save a shot like that

 

[NewlyRetired]

Given has to save a shot like that

He had three defenders in front of him and the shot went through one of defenders legs. Very hard to see it I think from his perspective.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Also, read www.zonalmarking.net.

Hadn't seen this site until someone posted a link a few days ago. The match recaps are stellar. Love the "Cristiano Ronaldo - Passes intercepted" graphic from yesterday. It's just a picture of an empty field. He was awful yesterday.

I love this site as well. Do they cover any club football or do they just do international tournaments?

He analyzes games from all major leagues and tournaments pretty much year-round. Also has some great articles on tactics, player spotlights and the like.

"He"?Is it just a single guy operation? Holy hell that is impressive.

Michael Cox. He's also around the web a bit. And Twitter, of course.Nice to see Torres to get one, I still would like to see Llorente get some burn, but glad they got them unlocked quickly.

CR7 never really seems motivated in int'l play to me. Too tough without a Top 3 club around you, I guess.

 

[Sinn Fein]

Given has to save a shot like that

He had three defenders in front of him and the shot went through one of defenders legs. Very hard to see it I think from his perspective.

Yeah, but it was a (relatively) slow roller to the corner. Not an easy shot to save, but if you want to play with the big boys, you have to come up with those types of saves.