The Football/Soccer Thread v2

[xi0]

Wrong, his time in Juve and Inter were more notorious by far (not to mention Ajax).

I JUST WANTED TO SEE HIM PLAY...OKAY?!

[Mr. Prince]

One aspect that's already starting to get on my nerves again this year is that ridiculous suspension rule due to yellow card, especially when combined with the inconsistent and partly even erratic/arbitrary refeering. They really oughtta make some changes to that rule and while they're at it, maybe stop letting guys from Bumfuck, Egypt or some random Banana republic with hardly any real experience officiate these not-so-unimportant matches.

I mean, don't we wanna watch THE best teams of Europe with THE best lineups? Don't get me wrong, I don't want football to be overly physical and rude attacks and actions are unexceptable, but suspending players the first time after 3 yellow cards and a second time after another 2 over the course of 13 matches (in total) is just plain crazy... - Especially in times like these where the game has gotten so fast and tactical fouls have become more and more important. (Plus, like I said, there's just no consistent/uniform refereeing going on right now. A "card player" type of referee can screw your team up for pretty much the whole competition...)

Just looking at Bayern VS. Juve, which is going to be a really close and physical match where both side got to fight for every ball: I'm pretty sure whoever will prevail in the end will have to pay the price for it.
For Bayern we have Martínez missing the next match (3rd yellow card) as well as Lahm & Dante both on the verge of suspension (both @ 2 YC's). Juve is facing an even more precarious situation with Marchisio, Vidal and Lichtsteiner all missing the next match if they see a yellow card in the first leg at Allianz Arena. (Marchisio and Vidal both stand at 2, Lichtsteiner at 4 YC's.)

As if nobody learned anything from last year's competition... that final was a mess, a joke of biblical proportions! Both sides had to cap like, what?, 3 to 4 B Team Players each. This year we get fancy new draws for the semi finals but no modification to that stupid card system rule. Get out! Raise the bar (to 4 and 6 cards) and reset the tables after the group stages or before the QF's. This is supposed to be a top class football competition with the (arguably) finest squads Europe has to offer.

How do you guys see this?

[FrostyMouse]

I JUST WANTED TO SEE HIM PLAY...OKAY?!

lol

His time in Barca was an unmitigated failure because Barca stuck to their tiki-taka and Ibra's a true No. 9, so it was never going to work.

---------- Post added at 01:24 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:21 PM ----------

One aspect that's already starting to get on my nerves again this year is that ridiculous suspension rule due to yellow card, especially when combined with the inconsistent and partly even erratic/arbitrary refeering. They really oughtta make some changes to that rule and while they're at it, maybe stop letting guys from Bumfuck, Egypt or some random Banana republic with hardly any real experience officiate these not-so-unimportant matches.

I mean, don't we wanna watch THE best teams of Europe with THE best lineups? Don't get me wrong, I don't want football to be overly physical and rude attacks and actions are unexceptable, but suspending players the first time after 3 yellow cards and a second time after another 2 over the course of 13 matches (in total) is just plain crazy... - Especially in times like these where the game has gotten so fast and tactical fouls have become more and more important. (Plus, like I said, there's just no consistent/uniform refereeing going on right now. A "card player" type of referee can screw your team up for pretty much the whole competition...)

Just looking at Bayern VS. Juve, which is going to be a really close and physical match where both side got to fight for every ball: I'm pretty sure whoever will prevail in the end will have to pay the price for it.
For Bayern we have Martínez missing the next match (3rd yellow card) as well as Lahm & Dante both on the verge of suspension (both @ 2 YC's). Juve is facing an even more precarious situation with Marchisio, Vidal and Lichtsteiner all missing the next match if they see a yellow card in the first leg at Allianz Arena. (Marchisio and Vidal both stand at 2, Lichtsteiner at 4 YC's.)

As if nobody learned anything from last year's competition... that final was a mess, a joke of biblical proportions! Both sides had to cap like, what?, 3 to 4 B Team Players each. This year we get fancy new draws for the semi finals but no modification to that stupid card system rule. Get out! Raise the bar (to 4 and 6 cards) and reset the tables after the group stages or before the QF's. This is supposed to be a top class football competition with the (arguably) finest squads Europe has to offer.

How do you guys see this?

Oh, I agree.

We were missing Terry (while Sanchez made the most out of it and it wasn't a red card, as it was awarded as a red card, he deserved to be out), but then both sides were missing three players through yellow card suspensions.

Not getting to see the best players is a problem. Look at Wednesday's match. With Schweinsteiger missing out, Bayern lacked the control in the central midfield area that they normally have.

[xi0]

Yeah, I know how that all went down. Plus, I wanted to see him go against Pique for old times sake

lulz

[goldb]

Ibra vs Pique would be an interesting matchup; wonder if Pique could nudge that brick wall because Ibra sometimes just manhandles defenders like they're kids.

Arsenal win to keep the tiny flame alive. Good stuff.

[Imperium]

What are you on about with bumfuck, Egypt and banana republics?

The referees are all from Uefa countries. Uefa referees referee Uefa games. It has always and will always be like that. They do not "hardly" have any experience. They are the elite of the elite. Uefa puts the best referees of every Uefa country into five categories, Elite referees, Elite Development group, First group, Second group and Third group. Getting into the "third group" is hard, imagine the higher groups. These referees are rigorously tested and examined at all times, not only that, Uefa updates the list twice a year to demote or promote referees. These guys are not fuckwits but the best of the best.

The yellow card thing is a joke though, there needs to be some changes, a reset of all cards at the QF stage would be best similar to FIFA does it. But it wont happen soon. Uefa had a meeting with the European Club Association last year before the CL final, to decide on the Champions league rules for the next 3 years, not one club suggested a change to the current system, including Bayern and Chelsea who were going to the final with fewer players. It's a non-issue for the clubs, they just complain once in a while, no one really cares enough to change it.

[Hardy]

I JUST WANTED TO SEE HIM PLAY...OKAY?!

[xi0]

I'd love to meet the guy who decided it was a good idea to schedule WC Qualifiers in Denver... in March

[xi0]

And they stopped the match in the 54th minute with the USA leading Costa Rica 1-0 ................

[BBB Banana]

And Spain has been disappointing in these qualifiers as it had been on euro. I honestly don't see anybody taking this world cup from germany.

[xi0]

This scene is insane. The refs aren't even bothering to talk to the teams...they all want to continue

Now there are rumors that they'll continue it right where they left off tomorrow?

---------- Post added at 11:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:28 PM ----------

Holy shit, they're restarting it now

[Hardy]

And Spain has been disappointing in these qualifiers as it had been on euro. I honestly don't see anybody taking this world cup from germany.

[FrostyMouse]

Amusing.

---------- Post added at 11:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:33 PM ----------

I just turned it on, Gary, and this is hilarious.

[xi0]

It's a good thing the ball is yellow...but they'd be better off with orange

I'm surprised when the ref paused the match that the Costa Rican players were arguing to continue. I'd protest the results of this match if I was them.

[FrostyMouse]

This match should've been stopped already, but before that, it should never have been held.

Then again, FIFA also sold out to Qatari businessmen to allow the 2022 WC to be in Qatar, but because it can apparently reach upwards of 120 F in the summer, now people want to have it played in the previous winter, so it would be the Winter 2021/22 WC.