Discussion The Football/Soccer Thread

[thsv]

Zenit sure is surprising with a victory in the Supercup over United. I'm not currently watching matches (non-football vacations :P) but I read they played very well and bought Danny for some impressive 30M€. I wasnt expecting that transfer between rival teams. He's on a roll and a new asset for the portuguese squad.
Still Î couldnt bet on them on a group with the super favorites Real Madrid and the former colossal Juve. I can actually see Juve on the latest stages of the CL as one of the favorites. One thing's for sure, it'll be the toughest group and the best to watch. I doubt BATE Borisov will even manage a single point in this group. Better luck for them next year...

The transfer market is off and Porto eventually sold Quaresma at the last minutes, by 18M€ (can reach 26M€ in 2 years from now I think) and we got ourselves their portuguese under 21 defensive midfielder, Pélé. Its a player I really enjoy and his talent and potential is huge. Lets see if he lives up to his expectations. He's replacing one of our best defensive midfielders ever, Paulo Assunção so its not an easy task. We ended not reinforcing the winger position that Quaresma left open... Lets see if the youngsters for that spot can shine. I dont see Porto stronger than last year. I think its about the same. Our most influent player, Quaresma, left, but we hired Christian Rodriguez for that position (former rival Benfica's best player last season xD) and so far he's being brilliant. Pele's on for Assunçao and the new striker, Hulk, is interesting. The side backs changed and I think we're weaker without Jose Bosingwa (Chelsea) at the right side.

Anyways... can someone tell me watta hell is City's new boss thinking? I heard the guy has 10 times the money Abramovic has, and he's willing to spend it all on his team in order to hire a team like those you only see in football managing games for pc... I only heard he spoke of Cristiano Ronaldo, Fabregas and Torres to join Robinho in January and he was convinced of it! Each of these player's transfer would mean a record transfer but the guy seem determined to build the strongest team of the world from almost scratch... and City already has a very good team

He's taking the populist approach. Manchester City fans have been known to be very vocal if they don't like the board of directors (you should have heard some of the things said when they moved from their old ground at Maine Road) so what better way of getting them onside by making it clear, not only is there money for new signings, but just how much money there is.

I didn't think we'd get £30 million for Berbatov from Manchester United, but we did. He went up to Manchester to attend a medical despite not receiving permission to do so. I would have loved for Man Utd to have failed to meet the asking price because they'd have been in so much trouble it wouldn't have been funny.

 

[Whitey]

Cool!Now that Man City got the financial power like Chelsea and also a good manager in Hughes, maybe the Manchester rivalry will become like the Madrid and Milan rivalry?I foresee a good prospect in the future for City if there more players of the calibre of Robinho...with a mix of local born players like Johnson,Richards and also quality foreigners such as the Brazilian trio(Elano,Jo and Robinho)..City will give the top four a real challenge( i hope not like Spurs,Villa..these clubs aren' consistently good lol)

 

[Lohnt]

Why is Milan so tragically bad? They can't win at all in their first two games?

Something going on with Kaka and Ronaldhino?

Also I'm not really impressed by City's news, even if they do get another superstar they won't get far if they don't focus on players with substance to make a better team.

 

[Saintz0r]

Why is Milan so tragically bad? They can't win at all in their first two games?

Something going on with Kaka and Ronaldhino?

Also I'm not really impressed by City's news, even if they do get another superstar they won't get far if they don't focus on players with substance to make a better team.

I didn't see the second game of Milan, but Kaka is returning from a injury and Ronaldinho... well he's fat, slow, he just stays into one part of the field and he doesn't seem eager to play anymore. I guess he fullfiled his dream of being the best in the world and now doesn't know what to do.

As for City, I think they made a mistake hiring Robinho... He stopped playing 'till Santos sold him to Real Madrid and now he said he wouldn't play happily (wtf?) if they didn't sell him, so next year it's very possible that he'll do the same thing to go for another club.

 

[Lohnt]

I think he would play for Chelsey to be honest.. if only to show he's better than Christiano.

by the way the Mangahelpers league is officially created on UEFA.com (ch league)

 

[Mendes]

I think he would play for Chelsey to be honest.. if only to show he's better than Christiano.

by the way the Mangahelpers league is officially created on UEFA.com (ch league)

That's right! Any person who was in the former league will join the league, as long as they renew it in the 'leagues' menu. For those who want to join, the activation code is 72128-14258
For those who dont know watta hell we're talking about, its the UEFA Champions league fantasy league. Its a league where you're given a limited virtual amount of cash and you hire players to build a team. Your players will gain points depending on their real performances on the champions league this season. Scoring goals, assists, clean sheets, cards and many other things can influence the player's score on every matchday. The registration is free and you may gain prizes if you miraculously win the general league. Our MangaHelpersLeague is a particular league and we only play for beans here...

 

[Lohnt]

Ok, so I went to the only sports bar in the city which is way out of the way to watch ch league last night.. we sat by 3 tv's showing Juve-Zenit, Arsenal and Celtic...

What the #$@... I was so pissed, worst matches ever. Aside from the scores which were unfair and garbage in general, I was pissed.
I wasn't really watching the Celtic match but ffs, I saw Samaras miss like 5 good chances at a goal.
Zenit was playing like they're Roma (sorry Roma fans)
And Arsenal was.. pathetic if it wasn't for that last second goal. I wish they had the Porto match, but apparently the satellite didn't get that channel, go figure.

We got like 3 pitchers of beer in hopes the games would be better.. but nope.. then as we were walking out we noticed all these good looking women in the bar across the street. But we were too tired/wasted to care. Waste of a night =/

 

[Mendes]

Haha! You'd have more luck tuesday :P Also, be grateful they didnt show the Man Utd vs Vilarreal game. Seriously, United's got to start winning games, and the next week's match vs Chelsea isnt favoring this. Well, Ronaldo entered the match at the last minutes. He is 'recovering' from his injury too soon. He was supposed to be back in about 2 weeks... I wonder if he's really apt or if he's being played coz of United's lack of positive results and tough schedule.

I enjoyed Porto vs Fenerbahce. Porto had the 1st 25 minutes with insane amounts of opportunities. We only scored 2 goals within that time, and we relaxed. Fenerbahce started playing and the game was generally equilibrated. Lucho scored a beauty there!

 

[Imperium]

I think i joined the league but it seems i cant log in again

I didn't think we'd get £30 million for Berbatov from Manchester United, but we did. He went up to Manchester to attend a medical despite not receiving permission to do so. I would have loved for Man Utd to have failed to meet the asking price because they'd have been in so much trouble it wouldn't have been funny.

It would have been better for them to sell him before the season began, spurs might have gotten less money but at least a good replacement would have been found. Now they have to make do with campbell...And its not helping them from looks of the league table :

And Arsenal was.. pathetic if it wasn't for that last second goal. I wish they had the Porto match, but apparently the satellite didn't get that channel, go figure.

Yea, we were rubbish. But atleast we got the point.We played a very defensive 4-5-1, and we ended up playing not so well. >.> Anyway we got three today against bolton, which puts us comfortably at the top of the table. And we will stay there if chelsea dont win tomorrow, so heres to a united victory (i thought id never say that) or a draw (my preference).

 

[Lohnt]

Well I guess that depends on Christiano's health, because without him.. I can't really see it happening.
Then again Bremen dropped 5 on Bayern, which is also something I didn't expect, so you never know! (crazy match, but the German league has a problem with defense.. makes me wonder why Otto plays so much defense ^^)

And don't get me wrong, I know Arsenal will get their stuff together, unless there is a problem internally, Fabregas is one of my favorite players, hopefully he can become a leader like he was last year. And there's always Walcott (lucky 19 yr old =[ ) but.. as it to be expected he isn't as consistent as you would like in a starting player.

Oh by the way Mendes, any chance of Lino starting next ch. league match? >.< (fantasy has gotten me addicted again, hate it so much, can't even use the players I want due to crazy pricing price: 9 for schweinsteiger pfffft).

 

[Mendes]

Its Cristiano, not Christiano :P And the game ended with a 1-1 (lucky you, Imperium). The Bayern 2 - 5 Bremen was a totally unexpected result, and Bayern was loosing 5-0 at their own stadium. Curious that Borowski, former Bremen player, scored twice for Bayern.

As for Lino, the odds that he'll play in the CL are very very thin. He scored last match, but he got in as a replacement and even with that satus, he'll be very unlikely to play. Porto's starting side backs are Fucile/Sapunaru and Benítez. Since Fucile can play both sides, Lino's almost doomed to be the 3rd choice...

 

[Lohnt]

How do you think they'll do against Arsenal? Arsenal seems to still be seeking themselves in CH.L. but are doing fine in the Premier League.

 

[Imperium]

How do you think they'll do against Arsenal? Arsenal seems to still be seeking themselves in CH.L. but are doing fine in the Premier League.

We have good home form in the CL (5th season undefeated at home), its usually the away legs that we end up messing up in xD.So i dont think we will lose it. Porto are having a slow start to the league, but they have simple opposition in the weekend which means some players might be rested. And its best we get some points of the table because two of our CL Fixtures are in the same week we play United/Chelsea.

And there's always Walcott (lucky 19 yr old =[ ) but.. as it to be expected he isn't as consistent as you would like in a starting player.

I agree he was inconsistent before zagreb. The beginning of the season he was blowing hot and cold, man of the match one day, anonymous the next. But ever since Zagreb he has been amazing, he started the rout against blackburn, assisted in the goal against Kiev, he was rested against bolton but when he came off the bench, he destroyed boltons defence and in a couple of minutes and it soon became 3-1 (and if it wasnt for a good save by the keeper, he would have got a goal to make it four). But i just hope its actual development and not just a run of good form.

Oh god, I love ma Carling cup. Arsenal sent out their youngest team in their history with an average age of 18 years and 6 months. And they beat championship side Sheffield United, who former international Gary speed and james beattie 6-0!!!! xDDDD

Line-up: Lukasz Fabianksi (23).

Gavin Hoyte (18); Alexandre Song (21); Johan Djourou (21); Kieran Gibbs (18).

Jack Wilshere (16); Aaron Ramsey (17); Mark Randall (18); Fran Merida (18).

Nicklas Bendtner (20); Carlos Vela (19).

Five british teenagers, all but one came through the academy. Our future sure is bright xD

 

[Mendes]

I'm usually a faithful supporter, but this year I dont believe Porto can score points at Highbury. Porto is weaker than last year. Quaresma isnt there to deal with the games when we're less inspired, Paulo Assunçao was supreme in our defensive maneuver, and none of the 5 other options available are near his level. Bosingwa is still the player I miss both. One of the best offensive side backs I know, extremely useful in supporting the wingers on our 4-3-3.
Arsenal isnt any weaker than last season, so I dont expect Porto to get a result there. Porto's last game was so poor... the difference is too great.

Still, Imperium, since too many years from now I feel like Arsenal's got a huge future, sine you always manage to attract and evolve young talents. But future is always that remains every season ever since you won the premier league with a much more experienced team. Dont you think adding more experience than youth in a team would be the only way for Arsenal to succeed? Look at chelsea and united. Their base is made from experienced players, where they progressively add youngsters to fill in the older ones. Its not like Arsenal play worse than their direct opponents, but the results are made from more than that, and I cant help but feel like Arsenal's 'future' will take more time than the demanded from the club's reputation and financial power. So far gunners are running the league, but last year they just faded when the time to win came or when some injuries came up.

 

[Imperium]

Still, Imperium, since too many years from now I feel like Arsenal's got a huge future, sine you always manage to attract and evolve young talents. But future is always that remains every season ever since you won the premier league with a much more experienced team. Dont you think adding more experience than youth in a team would be the only way for Arsenal to succeed? Look at chelsea and united. Their base is made from experienced players, where they progressively add youngsters to fill in the older ones. Its not like Arsenal play worse than their direct opponents, but the results are made from more than that, and I cant help but feel like Arsenal's 'future' will take more time than the demanded from the club's reputation and financial power. So far gunners are running the league, but last year they just faded when the time to win came or when some injuries came up.

I know what your getting at, it is usually the main reason pundits use to try and write our title challenges off. My view on experience on the pitch is simple. On the pitch i believe experience is only vital in central defence and in goal. Positioning and concentration is something honed through playing games. Its why you dont find many world class defenders or goalkeepers able to walk into top league sides at 19 or 20. And our defence is experienced. Almunia and Gallas are 30, Toure is 27, sagna is 25 and clichy 23. While clichy might seem young he has played more game and has more experience in the league than Evra and liverpools left back (Au-something, forgot his name xD).

In other positions while experience may be good is not vital IMO. You can have amazing striker/midfielders/wingers at a young age. Ronaldo won the world player of the year at 20. Messi and Fabregas just turned 21 and their some of the best players in their respective positions. Take United v Chelsea the other day, the midfield was based around Scholes and Mikel. And Scholes with all his considerable experience was vastly out-shown by Mikel. And we have youngsters in those positions in the first team, mainly. But maybe you are speaking about outside of the pitch that experience counts? Well in some ways you can compare our "collapse" in the race for the title last season, to the same one in 02/03 when we were coming into the closing stages of the title race we were 8 points ahead of our nearest rivals and we still didnt win the title. And our team than had experienced players in bucket-loads. So i dont actually think if we had more experienced players in the team we would have won something last season nor win something this season. But then again thats just my opinion

Anyway, the major concern after last season for me was not the experience, but the depth of the squad. While i doubt any of the other top four clubs could have fared any better than us with the injuries we had, it was still a concern. A lot of the squad players last season have developed amazingly, Bendtner started only three times in all competitions this season and has scored four. Denilson is outshining fabregas and is playing ridiculously good, as is song/djourou/walcott. And then there is diaby, nasri, silvestre, eduardo, rosicky all to come back, and they are all great players and will be fighting for a first team place (well maybe not silvestre). And then you have these kids who played in the carling cup, who im confident can rip apart the lower teams in the league. So the depth concern is slowly being dispelled with me, and im quite optimistic this season.

 

[Mendes]

I'm not saying that every experienced team has success. The truth is, Arsenal's recent success at developing young super talents is incredible. If the team can stick together (we never know this, since millionaire people tend to contradicting the market rules... like man city's case) in the following years, they may build a superb team. The thing is, up till then, I only see Arsenal as a team with mid term future. Young players are hired to outshine the most experienced players in most teams. What happens in Arsenal is far different. The young players are hired more to evolve and its rare to find a player who's hired to fight for 1st team football right away in Arsenal. Nasri is exception, as he brought already some reputation with him and he's replacing Flamini. If Arsenal won the league with this super young team, I'd be proven wrong, but the truth is that Arsenal isnt even in the title race on the last matchday of the league and when it is, they loose (CL final against Barça i.e.). I feel like Arsenal's strategy will only produce main titles in 2 or 3 years, if the most influent players (even the young ones) can stay in the team for that time.

Also, I'm kinda o_o with city. I'm not sure how serious their new boss is when he speaks that he'll do the impossible to buy players like Ronaldo, Fabregas and Torres... Now they speak of Aguero, who's clause is 60M€. We know that money can buy anything but victories in football. Do you think this project can build a superstar team like Chelsea, but 10 times more expensive?

 

[Imperium]

I'm not saying that every experienced team has success. The truth is, Arsenal's recent success at developing young super talents is incredible. If the team can stick together (we never know this, since millionaire people tend to contradicting the market rules... like man city's case) in the following years, they may build a superb team. The thing is, up till then, I only see Arsenal as a team with mid term future. Young players are hired to outshine the most experienced players in most teams. What happens in Arsenal is far different. The young players are hired more to evolve and its rare to find a player who's hired to fight for 1st team football right away in Arsenal. Nasri is exception, as he brought already some reputation with him and he's replacing Flamini. If Arsenal won the league with this super young team, I'd be proven wrong, but the truth is that Arsenal isnt even in the title race on the last matchday of the league and when it is, they loose (CL final against Barça i.e.). I feel like Arsenal's strategy will only produce main titles in 2 or 3 years, if the most influent players (even the young ones) can stay in the team for that time.

Also, I'm kinda o_o with city. I'm not sure how serious their new boss is when he speaks that he'll do the impossible to buy players like Ronaldo, Fabregas and Torres... Now they speak of Aguero, who's clause is 60M€. We know that money can buy anything but victories in football. Do you think this project can build a superstar team like Chelsea, but 10 times more expensive?

The CL we were playing with ten men for most of the match (since 20 minutes), and barcelona only managed to score in a last minute comeback, so not a lot could be done about it. But for the rest, i suppose its your opinion and i cant fault you for it.

Manchester City is the only thing being talked about, but i dont know. As for the premier league clubs, they would rather kill themselves then sell a major player to a new rival. There is no minimum release clause in Britain so the clubs will just keep raising the asking price until it becomes ridiculous. Btw, City won 6-0 against portsmouth and now lost to brighton and hove albion tonight in the carling cup. With a very strong line-up (albeit no robinho). So their squad needs changes if they are to succeed. But it all depends on what their new owners expect. For example Abrahmovich wanted to win everything and spent accordingly, even though he hasnt seen a major return (money terms >.>). Will the arab owners continue to spend even if there is little financial return? Its a mystery which will only be revealed in time, i suppose. Though this whole foreign owners thins is becoming a farce. Only two clubs in the top ten last season were not owned by rich foreigners (Arsenal & Everton). But you see in the long run, in say 7-10 years a i doubt a lot of them will be here, including the new arab owners of City and many will leave the clubs in a bad state. But until then, it will defintely make the league more competitive which can only be a good thing

 

[Mendes]

I guess we'll have to wait to see what City does to money. You say most teams in premiership would rather kill themselves than allowing their biggest stars to leave, but Ronaldo was very close to Real Madrid with a record offer. If City pays the double (apparently they can) I dont think United would think twice and would sell Ronaldo right away. The same applies to every other club. No player is worth 166M€...

In the spanish league, Barça seem to be finding the results again. When messi reaches this kind of form-unstoppable. Last weekend, Barça gave guijon 6-1. The thing is, Real couldnt help but to say 'mine is bigger' and they just gave guijon 7-1. Vaart scored a superb hattrick. 3 beautiful goals. You should check out one of Raul's too. Speaking of beautiful goals, you gotta love Vela's play in his 2nd goal at the carling cup xD

 

[ElUniversal]

I just finished watching Boca Juniors vs. Newell's Old Boys (Argentinian 1st div.)....Boca's young guns are in a great form, they trashed the current Libertadores champion (l.america's CL-like cup) Liga de Quito last Tuesday, and 2 days later they beat the always-hard Newell's team in a match that had been postponed for quite some time.....while the "big ones" Riquelme, Palermo, Palacio, Battaglia, Ibarra, etc are not playing at their usual level, resting or recovering from injuries, guys like Noir, Viatri, Chávez, etc are making a lot of noise....there are already rumours of European clubs scouting them

 

[Lohnt]

Well, from what I know Boca is always being attacked by European clubs as it is a great place to get relatively cheap players before they turn into 20million euro players and step into European soil. But they beat Quito? Wow, good for them, even though I didn't even expect Quito to win the libertadores after all these years (I had an Ecuadorian roomate some years ago in Spain that was a huge Quito fan).

Speaking of Vander's amazing goals
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKiJLvOlXpQ&eurl=http://sport24.gr/html/ent/370/ent.254370.asp
That was sick.

Also, since I brought up Arsenal: Isn't their biggest problem, that despite how good of a young team they create, they ALWAYS sell their star players in a year or two?? This is why they have a young team, not because they're trying to make a team that's been together for.. 4 years, but because they seem more interested in the market and selling off players than anything else.