The Football Thread
 

Fuck me! USA have just brilliantly & unexpectedly reached the final of the Confederations Cup, beating world ranked #1, unbeaten in 31 matches, current European champions, Spain, in the semeye final :o

& not a peep from you Merkins.:eh:

USA - All The Way :thumbsup:

Football season is months away dogpet.

It is an incredible feat, especially after needing a miracle to even get to this game.

Spain was actually unbeaten in 35 games, and going for the record of 36. In addition, they had won their last 15 games, and had not conceded a goal yet in this competition.

Now, if the USA could just repeat something like this when it really counts (2010), I would be that much more impressed.

It really counts now nkb, you are a hard man. Will you be supporting USA or zee faterland if both qualify? The winners of this get a free pass.

Winners of the Confederations Cup qualify for 2010? That's the first time I've heard that. Are you sure?

Growing up, the US national team, for all intents and purposes, didn't exist, so I've always been a Germany fan.

I support both, but when they meet (like they did in the 2002 quarterfinals), I am with the Vaterland. Can't help it, it's probably all the childhood indoctrination.;)

You're right, dogpet, I should probably be a little less cynical, and give credit where it's due.

The US team beat the top-ranked team in the world, in a legitimate competition, and it's not like Spain were playing their scrubs (based on their lineup, they had most of their big guns like Villa, Torres, etc in there).

No I'm talking shite, must have misheard because of all those bloody trumpets. :blush:

I'll support the Boche if they meet Engerland.

:lol: I haven't checked, how is Scotland doing in qualifying?

I don't think the winners qualify for the World Cup (which surprisingly does include the whole world).
It's more of a warm-up runaround for the six regional championship winners - plus the current world champs and the upcoming host nation.
I'm trying to wangle time off work next year to go to the real cup.
Sad bastard.


Edit - Dogpet is now officially a Jock Twat, and his opinions on football should be ridiculed. :bird:

They certainly did, & this is a top FIFA supported tournament now.

Not good, might scrape into the playoffs useless cunts.

Perhaps he does know his stuff after all.

Good luck on that Smelly, I'll think of you during the penalty shoot out.

I keep having awful flashbacks of Southgate, Pearce & Grassgroin.





Not much Merkin comment on their splendid wupping of a full strength Brother Spaniard is there?!

Most people here don't give a shit about the real football. In fact, I may be the only Merkin here who follows it, mainly because I grew up outside of the influence of American football.

Brazil vs USA. Who do you think will win? I can't imagine Brazil stumbling against the US team, but then I didn't expect Spain to lose either.

so it's real football we are talking about then- not that wimp's excuse for rugby that you yanks call football?

No fucking way in hell will they win w/ stats like these against Brazil:



http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t...n/realityo.jpg

Yeh we know the Merkins like stats, but there's only one stat that matters. & that's what's so good about the beautiful game. Anything can happen :)

Having said that, Brazil will piss it obviously.

why do the Merkins like stats? altho- thinking about the baseball game I went to once I kind of understand- it was sooooo boring they must have to find something to do other than sing that silly song at whatever 'innings' it was

Yes, we're not talking about the aptly named American football, where the ball is played with the foot about 0.003% of the time.

Middle of the 7th inning, "Take Me Out To The Ballgame".

If stats weren't recorded for baseball, the sport would have died on its ass 100 years ago.

Spain was too arrogant. All the players were talking about the final during the pre-match interview. It was unbelievable. I remember I was thinking: you'd better not have to eat some humble pie.

Can't remember Gazza taking one? Now Goldenballs in Euro 2004 was a crying shame.
The ball wobbled, sniff :|

Here we go! This could be the USA's greatest sporting moment,,,,,,,Ever!

What's the coverage like? Can all Merkins watch the game live?

Incredibly USA have taken the lead :o

Fuck me! 2-0

45 minutes from immortality & no-one cares :(

2-1, game on.

2-2, with another perfectly good Brazil goal disallowed.

2-3 the dream is fading.

It's all over. Stick to handball losers.

I'm surprised it was that close. I had a feeling that Brazil was going to win, as soon as they scored the first goal so soon after the start of the 2nd half.

Slight bit of consolation: my boy Lucio (Bayern Munich player) scored the winning goal.

Anybody following the Champion's League draw? I'm not sure which of the groups could be classified as the Group of Death (maybe Group C, with AC Milan and Real Madrid?).

I know which one is the easiest draw, though: Group H. Did Arsenal pay someone off? Alkmaar, Piraeus and Liege? Give me a break!

Some interesting story lines in the group stage: Eto'o and Ibrahimovic facing their old clubs, and Kaka facing AC Milan after the big transfer.

Europa Cup for my lot - 2nd leg of the qualifier tonight - we're 0-1 down to Rapid Vienna.
I can feel you yanks trembling with excitement!!

If you fancy a punt this year I would go for chelsea. should have nailed Barca but for some bad refereeing last year and were the only team capable of outplaying them. Will be just as strong this year and probably not as unlucky.

The special one takes flak for stating the obvious.

mourinho-under-fire-from-islamic-leader-over-ramadan

"Muntari would have had to play games in searing temperatures without adequate hydration. Experts claim sportsmen and women can suffer if they do not receive good hydration during hard physical exertion."

What idiot would think that fasting wouldn't effect his /her ability in top level sport. Should have his wages docked.

Better than what?

Better than a pilchard definately.

Arjen Robben comes to Bayern Munich! Outstanding. If he can stay healthy, this should make Bayern a strong contender in the Champion's League.

Must be preparing to lose Frenchie then

Why would you say that? It's a common reaction from people, but I don't see why they wouldn't want to keep both.

Ribery was supposed to play centrally this year, and even if he stays on the left wing, Robben plays right wing, so, no conflict.

Well I have a feeling Real have done a similar thing to what they did with Ronaldo and let him stay a while whilst having first dibs maybe next year , or even January. Logical thing for Bayern would be to recruit an attacking winger/midfielder for any flank. The thing is you wont replace the quality , like Man U figured out after losing Ronaldo.

Not a chance in hell (wherever that may be) - I wouldn't wager much against Man Utd doing the biz - especially after last season's balls up.

Bayern made the quarterfinals last year (and essentially lost the series to Barcelona with 5 key players missing), and have added some significant pieces.

I think ManU, without Ronaldo and Tevez, and missing their GK for 2 months, aren't going to get anywhere close to the title.

My money would be on Barca or Chelsea, with Real Madrid also a contender if they can mesh all their new stars into a cohesive unit (that's a big "if").

Despite Bayern's weak start, I think they stand as good a chance as any of the other top teams. You have to keep in mind that they added some new players, and have a new coach with a new system. It will take some time, but I think they will be strong. Their biggest issue seems to be in goal.

I don't know whether to be happy or not with the draw. We got what could be called an easy one with Sevilla, Stuttgard & the unknown quantity of Unirea Urziceni of Romania, but the problem is we are almost as likely to finish bottom against that lot as we would be in a more glamorous draw. With expectations of doing well the disappointment will then be harder to bear than if we achieved our usual spirited defeats when given no chance against the big boys.

However, on the bright side, with 600k euro win bonuses the draw gives us the best chance of bolstering our dwindling coffers & believe me that's a big deal for us in these times.

Mind you, we almost won the UEFA cup last year on spirit alone, so perhaps I should set my pessimism aside at least until after the first game. ;)

I agree to a point. Madrid will be awesome or disasterous. Barca certainly were heads and shoulders over most ( certainly utd lol). Bayern though. Ribery is off at some point soon bar catastrophic injury or a miracle lol and they haven't fired for some time. maybe this will be a kickstart. I liken geman football to the Dutch at the moment. Too much history and not enough going on now.

Oops, I meant 2 years ago, it still bites like yesterday :mad:

They don't even take on water! It's true you don't need brains to be a footballer. Or a muslim.

Come on most footballers are not afraid of water. certainly the non rabid ones anyway.

Are ramadama-lama-ding-dong observing footballers allowed to swallow rainwater. Do they need a dry magic sponge for a cut lip? How can we tell which WAGs are pictured in Hello mag? Complications abound.

Muslim wags wear curtains instaed of Burkhas

I agree.
Van Gaal is an excellent coach but also extremely arrogant. He has made video-analyse the real modern weapen like in all other sports. He is respected by a lot of people and hated by more. His diplomatic skill resembles a sumo wrestler's technique. He has managed to make the press hate him everywhere he has worked.
"Are you so stupid, or am I so smart?!" That was his answer to one journalist when he thought the journalist's question was too negative and suggestive.
So when he wins, the press will leave him alone. When he loses, the press will kill him. Lucky for him, he has managed to win more often than to lose.
The special one was his translator when he was working in Barca. You can say he is the more diplomatic version of Van Gaal.
And I have never understood why Chelsea has let Robben go. Even though Robben's glas legs are more often broken than not, he was still the most exiting player in Chelsea.

If Bayern play like they did this Saturday against the reigning Bundesliga champion, Wolfsburg, they will be in the mix for the title in all the competitions they are in.

They thoroughly outplayed Wolfsburg, and should have led by more than 1-0 at halftime. Then they brought on Robben, and a little while later, Ribery. Two goals by Robben put the game away.
Man, is that an entertaining duo to watch playing together. Speed, skill and vision. If they can stay healthy, they will be deadly.

As far as Van Gaal goes, he comes across as kind of arrogant, even though he hasn't really done anything yet to piss anyone off. But, from the stories I've read, I don't think he will be with Bayern for very long. Something is bound to blow up.

NKB your Bayern faith is baginning to sound like a believable story. I agree they look a strong force and maybe a black horse so to speak. My mind still says Chelsea will win it. All I want is for Real to get hammered just to see how they handle wasting their money lol. How naughty.

starter

:lol: OK, I'm convinced, he's a prick. But, if he gets Bayern to the promised land, I won't care.

I didn't realize he was already pulling this kind of stuff in Munich.

What do you know, we finally agree on something. What I wouldn't give to see Real fall flat on their faces after all that money spent.

just questions,
I forgot to mention this, but, as undiplomatic as Van Gaal was in the press conference, he was right about the reporter: it was an incredibly stupid question, as it was well known that Toni was hurt and not available, so it wasn't Van Gaal's "decision" to not play him.

Yes, very often he does have a strong case to call the reporter stupid, when he barks at the reporter. Only he does it so often that people do not pay attention to what the reporter has said, but to the fact he is throwing a big tantrum again.

Religious rubbish apart, it must be incredibly difficult for the best footballer who ever lived, when he knows if he were still playing he would have won that match almost single handed.

It is rare for a superstar athlete (in any sport) to be a good coach, and I don't know why. If a former player is a successful coach, they were usually average to above average during their playing days.
Maybe it's a case of not being able to relate to players that don't see the game at their own level.

Even Wayne Gretzky has learned this the hard way. The best player to ever play hockey hasn't done anything as a coach. I bet Michael Jordan would suck at coaching too.

Pele (you would have some disagreement on who is the best footballer ever) was smart enough never to try coaching (managing, for you Brits).

That's very true, most of the great managers were journeyman pro's.

It's also true that most great players are either mad, bad, or barely able to string a sentence together.

Pele was a great player, but he never played in a European league, so was largely untested, (also a limp dick).
Maradona single handedly took an unfancied Napoli to extreme glory, & short of GBH it was impossible to get the ball off him while in Spain. He could put any round object of kickable size on the end of a string, & has character as outragous as his talent.

Also the Engerlish hate him, what more do you want? :)

It's tough for me to compare, since I am not old enough to have watched Pele in his prime. I have to go by the old footage of Pele, and compare it to what I saw of Maradona when I was growing up.

They were both amazing and electrifying players, but they played in different eras, so that makes a comparison more difficult.
Pele was obviously a much classier superstar.

I disagree that Maradona singlehandedly took Napoli to glory. The owners spent a fair amount of money on players when they got him, so it's not like he was playing with a bunch of scrubs. However, he was instrumental in the team's dominance.

By the way, what does GBH mean?

I'd also like to add that Maradona only won one World Cup, even though he played with some pretty good players.

Granted, Brazil almost always fielded a team of all-stars, but Pele has three titles (although one was extremely cheesy).

Grievous bodily harm.

Obviously single handed is a figure of speech in a team game, but I'll bet anyone who played with him would say he was peerlessly abled.

Any natural ball player is a joy to watch.

It didn't make sense in the context of your sentence, but the only thing I could come up with for GBH was Goal By Hand. ;)
I thought you were trying to piss the Limeys off.

Go on you beauty :rock: The Teddy Bears earned a magnificent draw against the mighty Stuttgart. Watched it on a German stream, I thought we deserved a win by the end.

£300k in the bank, mission accomplished. Sevilla will be quaking in their boots.

We are not amused.:shhh:

I see Pele is dissing Maradona by employing false modesty to boost De Stefano. :rolleyes: So fucking obvious ploy. Also hinting Maradona is possessed by satan because he only needed his left foot. Pele is down to third behind De stefano!

Pele is responding to Maradona's remarks about him, in which the pudgy bastard said he was better than Pele, because the Brazilian never played in Europe.

What's worse, false modesty, or praising yourself?

The classiest move would have been to just smile and dismiss Maradona's comments, but I'll take Pele's approach over Maradona's.

But he didn't just smile, he bit. Pele might imagine he could have been the best had he played in Europe, others might think he could have fallen on his arse.

It's a bit like Teofilo Stevenson claiming he would have flattened Ali.

Does anyone actually doubt that Pele would have been a star in Europe? I don't.

He consistently outplayed the best players in the world of his time in the most important tournament in his sport.

What is your beef with Pele, anyway?

No beef, except; if Pele is the greatest, as the non football media insist, then it makes my opinion wrong.

Faith in Pele's European potential is simply that.

The non-football media? Really, those are the only ones that believe that? The football media, and the football "experts" seem to be pretty evenly split between Pele and Maradona.

However, you don't think that Pele's performances against the world's best, World Cup tournament after World Cup tournament, is a good indication of how he would have done in Europe?

I had the pleasure of watching Pele at Villa Park when Santos paid us a friendly visit - quite a few years ago, during a series of power cuts. His crowd pulling charisma made it perfectly viable for the club to hire a huge generator and switchgear to make sure the game went ahead. I wouldn't waste a used turd to watch the cheating twat of an Argentinian.

I agree. The football media is split, but the non football media is Pele biased through & through through icon worship.

His world cup performances were an indication of potential. Could you have a best in the world at baseball who never played in an American league?

Despite that Smelly, you have to admit he had a lovely touch.

So, why do you care about what the non-football media says?

I think it's humorous that you value performance at World Cups only as indications of potential. That would make sense if it was a youth tournament, or somehow restricted to only certain players (like football in the Olympics is currently), but we're talking about the very best players in the world.

The baseball analogy doesn't work, because there is no equivalent international tournament to the WC (even the recent WBC is a smaller subset of top players). Many great players opt to sit it out, which almost never happens in football.

I don't care what they say, except it disagrees with my opinion. The World Cup is a snapshot. Witness Archie Gemmill's goal v Holland which was voted the best world cup goal ever.
Obviously the Player Of The Tournament has to come from at least the semi-finalists.

I have no idea what you said in the last paragraph. :)

Don't forget - I'm a scabby Englishman - still carrying the 1986 bias gene. :)

Pele edges it due to the fact that the world cup is the pinnacle, and stats dictate 3 -1 in Edsons favour. What Pele said was true. Maradonna was shit in the air, and was a bit one footed. Should he have bit? Whats wrong with goog players saying they are good? False modesty just says the same in a more encrypted manner.

Yes I am about to listen to the coffee table view :rolleyes:. The greatest player ever, cannot be drawn from a pool of 88 players. How many quality players are never in the hunt for your best player at the world cup title due to the shit genetics of their countrymen, yet excel week in week out in the league.

Pele drops to 4th behind Davie Cooper

Mine was in comparison to Diego. The best player ever is more complex. Pele did win 3 world cups though, and that is a very big plus.

And I am not a fucking coffee table.

Now that is a cunning plan.

We used to do that with the jerseys.

Maradona is asking for his buddy in the sky to help him out again.

Apparently, he thinks that God cares about football, and specifically, about Argentine football. What a twat!

Well he uses Gods hand to head goals in world cup quarter finals lol

Wow, what a crazy night of Champion's League action!

6 red cards in 8 matches, Real Madrid takes a loss in the final minutes, and (:cry:) Bayern Munich (recipient of 2 of the aforementioned red cards) lose 1-2 to some fucking Frogs.

My champions league humiliation was the night previous, via a stuttering stream & text updates. 1 - 4 to a jumped up park team :mad:, useless bunch of rejects! Please let us play in the English or an Atlantic league to escape our constraints.

Any of the Jock 'premiere' leaguers would slot nicely into our league 1 - and don't expect us to pay travel expenses!!



What the fuck were you lot up to last night? Every time I switched to the Gooners or the Scousers the park team scored another - shocking!!

Talking about park team, Dida!

Srsly Smelly, I'd take Vauxhall Premier for starters. anything I beg you. Be up the top league in the blink of an eye. One of the largest travelling supports in Britain, wins all round :thumbsup:

Skeleton squad, no money, but huge support, what a waste :( You let the Welsh in! Welsh FFS!

A British League has been explored many times - but for some strange reason, the money grubbing big boys in the Premiere League don't want the Glasgow pair in tow! Strange.
They're more than happy to mix it with the mainland Europe rich clubs - hypocritical bastards.
We only let Cardiff, Swansea & Wrexham in coz they're crap!

Old Firm invite is on the table again this week, proposed by Bolton chairman :rolleyes:.
Also Atlantic league is being touted again, for all the big fish in small ponds, Portugal, Holland etc, I'd go for that, some nice awaydays.
Rangers chairman says they will be out of Scotland within 10 years.

The craziest CL group stage ever. Bayern and Liverpool are almost out, while the village (population 17 thousand) team are still in it! How have they managed to fill the stadium?