***Official Soccer Discussion Thread*** (1 Viewer)

[The Z Machine]

Casillas would have won it if RM made the CL Finals.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Bradley is starting for Roma today againd Rapid Vienna (Boyd's team)

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Rapid Vienna has always overshadowed their cross-town rivals, Languid Vienna.

 

[El Floppo]

Rapid Vienna has always overshadowed their cross-town rivals, Languid Vienna.

:slowclap:

 

[NewlyRetired]

Vancouver's trade of Le Toux has further clarity now.

They signed Scotland captain, and Cardiff City player Kenny Miller as a DP.

 

[El Floppo]

Vancouver's trade of Le Toux has further clarity now.

They signed Scotland captain, and Cardiff City player Kenny Miller as a DP.

ok- that does make sense for Vancouver. Miller is still a hell of a player, even if he's at the latter part of his career.Now- is there more clarity on the NY side of things, because I'm still head-scratching about it.

 

[Sinn Fein]

Anyone think that someone other than Messi will win the Golden Ball? Casillas have a shot?

CR7 based on RM > Barca this year

So far, in 2012, the clubs are exactly even against each other in terms of record and goals. They also each have one trophy.Casillas still makes the most sense to me.

Tough for a goalie to win imo. Casillas winning the Euro has to help though.

 

[Senor Schmutzig]

Bradley is starting for Roma today againd Rapid Vienna (Boyd's team)

Boyd's goal.

 

[Slapdash]

Anyone think that someone other than Messi will win the Golden Ball? Casillas have a shot?

CR7 based on RM > Barca this year

So far, in 2012, the clubs are exactly even against each other in terms of record and goals. They also each have one trophy.Casillas still makes the most sense to me.

Tough for a goalie to win imo. Casillas winning the Euro has to help though.

Tough for anyone who isn't a prolific goal scorer. I was sure Sneijder or Xavi would win the 2010 award. Both had stellar seasons for club and country.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Bradley is starting for Roma today againd Rapid Vienna (Boyd's team)

Boyd's goal.

I had some trouble with your link. Might just be an iPad issue for me though. The gorgeous goal from Boyd is on YouTube.

 

[Christo]

Interesting article about Henry in the NYTimes today... here's a bit of it (the bolded touches on what I keep talking about relative to soccer "culture" here in the US):

Henry is similarly blunt when discussing his impact on soccer in the United States. Unlike other international players who have come here, Henry makes no grand statements about imminent transformations in the sport’s popularity. Yes, he would like to help grow the game. And yes, he would like desperately to lead the Red Bulls to their first league title. “Winning is always first with me,” he said. “Always.”

But he remains realistic. Overcoming the popularity of the N.F.L. or Major League Baseball is something that even a transplanted New Yorker like Henry knows is virtually impossible. After all, he plays in a market where one night earlier this season the Red Bulls played a game on the same night that the Yankees, Mets, Knicks and Rangers all had games on television, too.

“There were five New York teams on television at the same time — what can you do about that?” Henry said. “How do you compete with 100 years of history in these other sports? In the other sports, people can say, ‘Do you remember that series from years ago? That big hit?’ What can they say about M.L.S.? Do you remember yesterday?”

Still, he seems pleased with the progress. Henry said that the quality of play in M.L.S. was improving immensely and that the increase in soccer-specific stadiums was a critical development. Henry would not reveal how many more years he wanted to play, but he made it clear that he was very content that the final chapter of his career was taking place in New York.

At one point, he was asked if he ever worried that people would view his legacy negatively, focusing on the hand ball against Ireland or the way he bolted Europe for the United States.

Unruffled, Henry sounded like a New Yorker with his response. “Sure, they will remember those things,” he said. “But I think they’ll remember the 300 goals, too, don’t you?”

Finally read the entire article. He really is living the dream. Still receiving obscene amounts of money to play the game he loves at a fairly high level. And can live a somewhat normal life in one of the best cities in the world. Rather than Beckham, he just might be the person who changes how European players view MLS as an option.

 

[El Floppo]

Bradley is starting for Roma today againd Rapid Vienna (Boyd's team)

Boyd's goal.

WHOA.thanks for linking that... how about a little D, Bradley?

 

[The Z Machine]

Bradley is starting for Roma today againd Rapid Vienna (Boyd's team)

Boyd's goal.

WHOA.thanks for linking that... how about a little D, Bradley?

Ball watching as usual. Guy has no motor.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Stoke City and Major League Soccer have made enough progress on their negotiations for Geoff Cameron that the U.S. national team center back has been allowed to begin negotiating a deal with the English Premier League club, the Houston Chronicle has learned.Cameron, a two-time All-Star who has been with the team since 2008, has been courted by Stoke City for almost a month.“Both sides have worked very, very hard over the last few days to come much closer to a transfer agreement,” said Dynamo president Chris Canetti. “There is apparent light at the end of the tunnel for a deal to be done. However there is still work to be done, but nothing is 100 percent complete at this stage.”

 

[The Z Machine]

I still think it's strange that the MLS gets to decide the value of their players, and not the actual clubs.

 

[NewlyRetired]

I still think it's strange that the MLS gets to decide the value of their players, and not the actual clubs.

MLS pays all the salaries up to the salary cap for each team. Each local owner is responsible for sending 33% of all gate receipts to the league.Local owners are then responsible for money over the cap (like DP's).MLS does not make any decisions in a vacuum as they work closely with the local owners before accepting or rejecting any offer. MLS will never sell a player that a team does not want sold. Notice where the quote came from in the story, it was not from MLS headquarters, it was from the Dynamo front office.A % of the money MLS makes from selling players goes back to the team that player came from in the form of allocation money.It is a pretty complicated league but some of these safe guards in are in place to make sure the league survived the harsh times and does not end up with the incredible debt load that plagues much of European soccer right now. They are constantly tweaking the rules as the league continues to grow.

 

[Eephus]

I still think it's strange that the MLS gets to decide the value of their players, and not the actual clubs.

MLS pays all the salaries up to the salary cap for each team. Each local owner is responsible for sending 33% of all gate receipts to the league.Local owners are then responsible for money over the cap (like DP's).MLS does not make any decisions in a vacuum as they work closely with the local owners before accepting or rejecting any offer. MLS will never sell a player that a team does not want sold. Notice where the quote came from in the story, it was not from MLS headquarters, it was from the Dynamo front office.A % of the money MLS makes from selling players goes back to the team that player came from in the form of allocation money.It is a pretty complicated league but some of these safe guards in are in place to make sure the league survived the harsh times. They are constantly tweaking the rules as the league continues to grow.

I was skeptical when the initial plans for MLS were announced nearly 20 years ago. There were a lot of things about it that seemed gimmicky and not set up for the long haul. They've succeeded beyond my wildest expectations.

 

[GoFishTN]

I still think it's strange that the MLS gets to decide the value of their players, and not the actual clubs.

MLS pays all the salaries up to the salary cap for each team. Each local owner is responsible for sending 33% of all gate receipts to the league.Local owners are then responsible for money over the cap (like DP's).MLS does not make any decisions in a vacuum as they work closely with the local owners before accepting or rejecting any offer. MLS will never sell a player that a team does not want sold. Notice where the quote came from in the story, it was not from MLS headquarters, it was from the Dynamo front office.A % of the money MLS makes from selling players goes back to the team that player came from in the form of allocation money.It is a pretty complicated league but some of these safe guards in are in place to make sure the league survived the harsh times. They are constantly tweaking the rules as the league continues to grow.

I was skeptical when the initial plans for MLS were announced nearly 20 years ago. There were a lot of things about it that seemed gimmicky and not set up for the long haul. They've succeeded beyond my wildest expectations.

Does anyone know if FIFA gets money directly from the leagues? I'm not sure how that works. If so, they were really blind for picking Qatar. No league has the potential to be bigger than MLS.

 

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

I was wondering if I was the only one who thinks Ibrahimovic looks like 'Coach' from Survivor. Turns out I'm not.

 

[NewlyRetired]

I still think it's strange that the MLS gets to decide the value of their players, and not the actual clubs.

MLS pays all the salaries up to the salary cap for each team. Each local owner is responsible for sending 33% of all gate receipts to the league.Local owners are then responsible for money over the cap (like DP's).MLS does not make any decisions in a vacuum as they work closely with the local owners before accepting or rejecting any offer. MLS will never sell a player that a team does not want sold. Notice where the quote came from in the story, it was not from MLS headquarters, it was from the Dynamo front office.A % of the money MLS makes from selling players goes back to the team that player came from in the form of allocation money.It is a pretty complicated league but some of these safe guards in are in place to make sure the league survived the harsh times. They are constantly tweaking the rules as the league continues to grow.

I was skeptical when the initial plans for MLS were announced nearly 20 years ago. There were a lot of things about it that seemed gimmicky and not set up for the long haul. They've succeeded beyond my wildest expectations.

Some of the stuff in the beginning was a mess. The shoot out, the clock going in the wrong direction, the cartoonish team names like The Wiz, The Clash, The Burn etc. They had good intentions but really were flying blind. When Don Garber took over as commissioner from Doug Logan things started to change. He took the tough stance of folding Miami and Tampa, and saw the league through the incredible low point of the very early 2000's and started to focus on soccer fans instead of the general sports fan. From that point it has literally been nothing but a slow growth for 12 years now. The league is almost indistinguishable from even a decade ago. When you look at the mess much of Europe is in, culminating in disasters like Rangers, you have to give MLS credit for doing it responsibly.

 

[NewlyRetired]

I still think it's strange that the MLS gets to decide the value of their players, and not the actual clubs.

MLS pays all the salaries up to the salary cap for each team. Each local owner is responsible for sending 33% of all gate receipts to the league.Local owners are then responsible for money over the cap (like DP's).MLS does not make any decisions in a vacuum as they work closely with the local owners before accepting or rejecting any offer. MLS will never sell a player that a team does not want sold. Notice where the quote came from in the story, it was not from MLS headquarters, it was from the Dynamo front office.A % of the money MLS makes from selling players goes back to the team that player came from in the form of allocation money.It is a pretty complicated league but some of these safe guards in are in place to make sure the league survived the harsh times. They are constantly tweaking the rules as the league continues to grow.

I was skeptical when the initial plans for MLS were announced nearly 20 years ago. There were a lot of things about it that seemed gimmicky and not set up for the long haul. They've succeeded beyond my wildest expectations.

Does anyone know if FIFA gets money directly from the leagues? I'm not sure how that works. If so, they were really blind for picking Qatar. No league has the potential to be bigger than MLS.

No I don't think they get anything directly from the leagues. I think FIFA deals directly with the local FA's. The local FA's then in turn deal with their own domestic leagues. There is also a confederation layer in there as well.

 

[NewlyRetired]

I was wondering if I was the only one who thinks Ibrahimovic looks like 'Coach' from Survivor. Turns out I'm not.

Lol. I knew that sounded familiarhttp://forums.footballguys.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=305522&st=35300&p=14108399entry14108399

 

[CletiusMaximus]

I'm sure everyone is eagerly anticipating an exciting opportunity to see the European Champions in action tomorrow night for he first time since the thrilling and well-deserved triumph in Munich last May. While several of the Champions have not yet joined the team on its US tour (Mata, Torres, Romeu, Meireles, Malouda, Cole, Bertrand, JT and Daniel Sturridge all MIA), we'll likely get to see several of the youngsters such as Lukaku, de Bruyne and Piazon and the newcomers / future Champions, Eden Hazard and Marko Marin. Hopefully, Oscar will be joining the team by the end of the tour.

Here's the full roster:

GK- Cech, Hilario, Turnbull, Blackman

D- Ivan, Luiz, Paulo, Cahill, Hutch, Kane and Nate

M- Ess, Ram, Lamps, Mikel, Hazard, Marin, Yossi, Josh, Saville

F- Lukaku, Kakuta, KDB, Bamford, Piazon

 

[CletiusMaximus]

a couple random notes from Seattle:

 

[NewlyRetired]

I'm sure everyone is eagerly anticipating an exciting opportunity to see the European Champions in action tomorrow night for he first time since the thrilling and well-deserved triumph in Munich last May. While several of the Champions have not yet joined the team on its US tour (Mata, Torres, Romeu, Meireles, Malouda, Cole, Bertrand, JT and Daniel Sturridge all MIA), we'll likely get to see several of the youngsters such as Lukaku, de Bruyne and Piazon and the newcomers / future Champions, Eden Hazard and Marko Marin. Hopefully, Oscar will be joining the team by the end of the tour.Here's the full roster:GK- Cech, Hilario, Turnbull, BlackmanD- Ivan, Luiz, Paulo, Cahill, Hutch, Kane and NateM- Ess, Ram, Lamps, Mikel, Hazard, Marin, Yossi, Josh, SavilleF- Lukaku, Kakuta, KDB, Bamford, Piazon

In case people don't know. Chelsea is playing Seattle tomorrow night on ESPN2 at 9:30pmIn the past Seattle has chosen to rest players and play the reserves and have gotten plastered. They are expected to play most of the first team tomorrow night for some of the game as they don't have another game until the 28th.

 

[Mjolnirs]

I was wondering if I was the only one who thinks Ibrahimovic looks like 'Coach' from Survivor. Turns out I'm not.

Lol. I knew that sounded familiarhttp://forums.footballguys.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=305522&st=35300&p=14108399entry14108399

Pointed him out to my wife during the Euros and she agreed he looked like coach.

 

[SmoovySmoov]

since the thrilling and well-deserved triumph in Munich

Agree to disagree.

 

[Mjolnirs]

since the thrilling and well-deserved triumph in Munich

Agree to disagree.

 

[NewlyRetired]

couple quotes from DiMateo re MLS:

“I tend to watch a bit more MLS games now sometimes because of the players that are involved.” ... “They have some very good players," he said. "We obviously know Eddie Johnson a bit better than the others, but you know, [Mauro] Rosales, [Álvaro] Fernández – they’ve got some good players and it’ll be interesting to play them.”

http://www.decano.com/decanocms/breves/8261-otro-bolso-que-viaja-a-cali.htmlDeportivo Cali has tweeted that they signed Fernandez. Seattle has not yet confirmed. He has one year left on his contract as a DP with Seattle.

If true this would be a huge loss for Seattle getting ready for the CCL soon, although it also opens up a large amount of cap room as well to replace him.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

since the thrilling and well-deserved triumph in Munich

Agree to disagree.

Yeah, I'm just being an *** as usual. Its the first time for me, so I'd appreciate some slack. Next year I'll act like I've been there before.

 

[GoFishTN]

Dempsey has joined Liverpool. Wait, no he hasn't.

Fulham deny Dempsey reports

Fulham have denied receiving any offers for Clint Dempsey after a website report appeared to claim that the United States international had moved to Liverpool.

In an article linked from Liverpool owner Fenway Sports Group's website and published on NESN.com, it was reported that the Reds had "added Clint Dempsey to a team that game (sic) within a game of winning the FA Cup" and he would join the club on their North American tour. Any mention of Dempsey on the webpage was later removed.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Dempsey has joined Liverpool. Wait, no he hasn't.

Fulham deny Dempsey reports

Fulham have denied receiving any offers for Clint Dempsey after a website report appeared to claim that the United States international had moved to Liverpool.

In an article linked from Liverpool owner Fenway Sports Group's website and published on NESN.com, it was reported that the Reds had "added Clint Dempsey to a team that game (sic) within a game of winning the FA Cup" and he would join the club on their North American tour. Any mention of Dempsey on the webpage was later removed.

yeah, this is getting old. Every day its "yes" followed by "well almost"Liverpool still appears to be the only team Dempsey is linked with at least from what the media is reporting.

 

[Steve Tasker]

Dempsey has joined Liverpool. Wait, no he hasn't.

Fulham deny Dempsey reports

Fulham have denied receiving any offers for Clint Dempsey after a website report appeared to claim that the United States international had moved to Liverpool.

In an article linked from Liverpool owner Fenway Sports Group's website and published on NESN.com, it was reported that the Reds had "added Clint Dempsey to a team that game (sic) within a game of winning the FA Cup" and he would join the club on their North American tour. Any mention of Dempsey on the webpage was later removed.

yeah, this is getting old. Every day its "yes" followed by "well almost"Liverpool still appears to be the only team Dempsey is linked with at least from what the media is reporting.

It's really a shame that no matter which team he ends up with, he's pretty much destined to play out his career in England for a mid-table team. Imagine if he were to go to a top club like Spurs or Everton....

 

[Steve Tasker]

Just browsing Wikipedia, it appears that Reading's captain played internationally for Jamaica (albeit only once) before retiring from international play. He also used to play for Wimbledon (Eephus>hi). He was actually born in England though.

That raised the question....what other CONCACAF internationals have captained a team in the EPL? Brian McBride (Fulham) and Tim Howard (Everton) have done it. Who else? Doesn't look like Brad Friedel or Dwight Yorke ever did. There has to be some more. I don't have an actual answer to this, just tossing out the question.

 

[Sebowski]

Dempsey has joined Liverpool. Wait, no he hasn't.

Fulham deny Dempsey reports

Fulham have denied receiving any offers for Clint Dempsey after a website report appeared to claim that the United States international had moved to Liverpool.

In an article linked from Liverpool owner Fenway Sports Group's website and published on NESN.com, it was reported that the Reds had "added Clint Dempsey to a team that game (sic) within a game of winning the FA Cup" and he would join the club on their North American tour. Any mention of Dempsey on the webpage was later removed.

yeah, this is getting old. Every day its "yes" followed by "well almost"Liverpool still appears to be the only team Dempsey is linked with at least from what the media is reporting.

It's really a shame that no matter which team he ends up with, he's pretty much destined to play out his career in England for a mid-table team. Imagine if he were to go to a top club like Spurs or Everton....

The worst part is that Liverpool isn't even that much of an upgrade from Fulham. I'd much rather see him stay put and cement his legacy at Fulham. I'd understand if he want to a contender, but Liverpool? What's the point?

 

[Moe.]

Dempsey has joined Liverpool. Wait, no he hasn't.

Fulham deny Dempsey reports

Fulham have denied receiving any offers for Clint Dempsey after a website report appeared to claim that the United States international had moved to Liverpool.

In an article linked from Liverpool owner Fenway Sports Group's website and published on NESN.com, it was reported that the Reds had "added Clint Dempsey to a team that game (sic) within a game of winning the FA Cup" and he would join the club on their North American tour. Any mention of Dempsey on the webpage was later removed.

yeah, this is getting old. Every day its "yes" followed by "well almost"Liverpool still appears to be the only team Dempsey is linked with at least from what the media is reporting.

It's really a shame that no matter which team he ends up with, he's pretty much destined to play out his career in England for a mid-table team. Imagine if he were to go to a top club like Spurs or Everton....

The worst part is that Liverpool isn't even that much of an upgrade from Fulham. I'd much rather see him stay put and cement his legacy at Fulham. I'd understand if he want to a contender, but Liverpool? What's the point?

More money.

 

[El Floppo]

I enjoy busting Liverpool's balls as much as anybody else, but it IS an upgrade from Fulham. It would be nice to see Dempsey play in Europe, yeah, but it would also be nice to see him not battle it out every year just to stay in the EPL. Liverpool's top 10 placement is pretty much a guarantee, while Fulham is almost always teetering on the edge of relegation.

 

[El Floppo]

I somehow missed Milan cutting Seedorf, one of my all-time favorite players.

Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease come to NY. even at 36, I'd take him for two years over just about anybody I can think of.

 

[Sebowski]

I enjoy busting Liverpool's balls as much as anybody else, but it IS an upgrade from Fulham. It would be nice to see Dempsey play in Europe, yeah, but it would also be nice to see him not battle it out every year just to stay in the EPL. Liverpool's top 10 placement is pretty much a guarantee, while Fulham is almost always teetering on the edge of relegation.

But at least he is heading up that battle at Fulham. He would lose minutes at Liverpool just to play for a team that might finish a couple spots higher and still out of Champions League. He'll get Europa and FA Cup/Carling action, but that isn't enough to turn his back on Fulham, imo. Just looked it up and Liverpool finished with the same points as Fulham last year! This is not an upgrade.

 

[El Floppo]

Hope he keeps his job, but that's not so good...

Egypt, coached by the former United States coach Bob Bradley, has failed to qualify for its second successive Africa Cup of Nations after a 1-1 draw at the Central African Republic ensured that Egypt missed out, 4-3 on aggregate.After a 3-2 win in Egypt, Central African Republic scored first Saturday in Bangui on Foxi Kethevoama’s 23rd-minute header at the back post. That left Egypt needing three goals to advance to the final round of qualifying for next year’s tournament in South Africa.Bradley was hired after Egypt failed to make this year’s finals.

 

[El Floppo]

I enjoy busting Liverpool's balls as much as anybody else, but it IS an upgrade from Fulham. It would be nice to see Dempsey play in Europe, yeah, but it would also be nice to see him not battle it out every year just to stay in the EPL. Liverpool's top 10 placement is pretty much a guarantee, while Fulham is almost always teetering on the edge of relegation.

But at least he is heading up that battle at Fulham. He would lose minutes at Liverpool just to play for a team that might finish a couple spots higher and still out of Champions League. He'll get Europa and FA Cup/Carling action, but that isn't enough to turn his back on Fulham, imo. Just looked it up and Liverpool finished with the same points as Fulham last year! This is not an upgrade.

It's easy to be this short-sighted, but yes- despite finishing even on points for one year- Liverpool is an upgrade.Which team buys players to help them win? Which team sells players to help them stay up?

But I agree- I'd like to see Dempsey play wherever he goes, and not sit for long stretches. We just discussed that it might be good for the US if he does sit a bit, but sitting "a bit" gives the other guy playing his spot a big chance to win the position outright. Dunno really- as long as he doesn't lose his swagger, I'm happy.

 

[AcerFC]

I'm watching the red bulls game and they flashed a French game being played later in the month at red bull stadium. Not a friendly, a real match. That's cool

 

[El Floppo]

I'm watching the red bulls game and they flashed a French game being played later in the month at red bull stadium. Not a friendly, a real match. That's cool

Montpellier v Lyon in the French Supercup (same idea as Community Shield, I think).I would think these types of games would do really well for the leagues' brands if played elsewhere like this. I always got the impression that the Community Shield etc were basically pre-season type of approach for teams, not "real" in the way a cup or league game would be. Anybody else know more?

 

[Sebowski]

I enjoy busting Liverpool's balls as much as anybody else, but it IS an upgrade from Fulham. It would be nice to see Dempsey play in Europe, yeah, but it would also be nice to see him not battle it out every year just to stay in the EPL. Liverpool's top 10 placement is pretty much a guarantee, while Fulham is almost always teetering on the edge of relegation.

But at least he is heading up that battle at Fulham. He would lose minutes at Liverpool just to play for a team that might finish a couple spots higher and still out of Champions League. He'll get Europa and FA Cup/Carling action, but that isn't enough to turn his back on Fulham, imo. Just looked it up and Liverpool finished with the same points as Fulham last year! This is not an upgrade.

It's easy to be this short-sighted, but yes- despite finishing even on points for one year- Liverpool is an upgrade.Which team buys players to help them win? Which team sells players to help them stay up?

But I agree- I'd like to see Dempsey play wherever he goes, and not sit for long stretches. We just discussed that it might be good for the US if he does sit a bit, but sitting "a bit" gives the other guy playing his spot a big chance to win the position outright. Dunno really- as long as he doesn't lose his swagger, I'm happy.

I know I'm being a little hyperbolic here, just frustrated because I personally don't like the move for him. I want him in Champions League or I want him to stay put. I'm surprised we aren't hearing anything from teams outside of England. There's a lot teams Champions League knockout round level clubs that could use him. And Chelsea showed us last year that even a bad team can win the thing if they sneak in the knockouts and play cynical enough

 

[Sebowski]

I'm watching the red bulls game and they flashed a French game being played later in the month at red bull stadium. Not a friendly, a real match. That's cool

Slightly off topic...I'd love to see the MLS take it's show on the road a little. For example, Chivas USA could build their fan base by playing down in San Diego a few times a year.

 

[NewlyRetired]

I somehow missed Milan cutting Seedorf, one of my all-time favorite players.Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease come to NY. even at 36, I'd take him for two years over just about anybody I can think of.

http://forums.footballguys.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=305522&st=42400&p=14518773entry14518773

 

[NewlyRetired]

I'm watching the red bulls game and they flashed a French game being played later in the month at red bull stadium. Not a friendly, a real match. That's cool

Montpellier v Lyon in the French Supercup (same idea as Community Shield, I think).I would think these types of games would do really well for the leagues' brands if played elsewhere like this. I always got the impression that the Community Shield etc were basically pre-season type of approach for teams, not "real" in the way a cup or league game would be. Anybody else know more?

I think in most countries it is treated as a semi serious game. Basically the last strong tune up game. More than a friendly but less than a real league game is how I see the various Super Copa's.By the way, Italy started this way back in 1993 when they played their Supercoppa Italiana at RFK in DC. They have also played at Giants stadium in 2003 and in recent years have played this game in China.

 

[NewlyRetired]

I'm watching the red bulls game

I still don't get the scheduling of this game in the afternoon on a weekday. A player is going to drop dead in this heat. :(

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Haha:

 

[El Floppo]

I'm watching the red bulls game

I still don't get the scheduling of this game in the afternoon on a weekday. A player is going to drop dead in this heat. :(

Steeeeenkin' hot here today. Not a good one for playing pro anything, let alone walking to the store for lunch.Hey andy- that link for the Seedorf post didn't seem to take me to anything Seedorf related. Was there news about this other than him being let go, or were just linking back to the original post about it?