The Real Football Thread

[Maaaaaaaarten]

Yeah I haven't watched their games too closely, I was going purely by the individual qualities of their players. With a good coach who manages to get the team to function well, they would be in the Brazil/Spain/Germany tier. But I agree they are in the Argentina/France/Belgium tier now; i.e. teams who have the talent to compete for the win, but are struggling so far to reach their potential.

I guess compared to some of the other big countries Argentina are lacking a bit in every department except attack though and Belgium could really use some better backs. As I said, I didn't really see much of their games, but I imagine things can get a bit congested with Hazard and Mertens as wingers, if you don't have good backs going forward to provide width. With Lukaku doing quite well and Mertens playing as a CF for Napoli very successfully these days, it might be better to play De Bruyne as a RAM so he can also use his excellent cross to create chances for Lukaku, who is definitely dependent on other players creating chances for him, while Mertens could play in a more central role as something of a second striker.

 

[The Hitch]

Re:

"As long as we don't have a good tactical system, we will struggle against teams like Mexico" - Kevin de Bruyne. Going unbeaten in qualifying means very little as the likelihood of you facing another decent team is low. Belgium had the weakest of the second place finishers in Greece. Lukaku is wildly overrated as a player (great finisher though) and while the talent is obviously there (they have some of the best names out of anyone) their problem two years ago was that they play as individuals, not as a team. It seems the same now, so I don't think they can warrant the 'favourites' tag. Definitely strong outsiders, but not favourites.

Belgium have some sort of luck in that they always draw the weakest group. Not just for this qualifying but also for the last world cup -Algeria, Russia, South Korea - an then US in the last 16. An amalgamation of the 4 teams they faced on the way to the quarter finals would not have made it out of the group stages.
In Euro 2016 they got Italy and of course got crushed by the 1 remotely decent team they have faced in years.
They then got Hungar - pfff, and Wales, and somehow managed to lose to Wales as well

 

[Breh]

Most overhyped team of the previous years. It's incredible how lucky they have been with their draws just because of this dumb FIFA ranking (How do you end up #1 when you've never beaten a top15 country? Wheres the logic in that?). They'll probably walk through the groupstage again and then lose to the first decent team they face. However, in 2016 they lost to Wales...

They don't even appear in the top20 of highest average ELO rating in the 2010s.
They would've never been in pot1 in any of the past three tournaments based on ELO.

 

[jsem94]

Belgium are wasting their golden generation with Martinez as a coach. Radja should play every minute. Martinez defense was atrocious after a while at Everton and there are glaring problems now. They will be relying on the genius of a few players to solve the situation. They have players capable of that, but with a proper coach it'd be even better.

 

[Gigs_98]

The problem is that Belgium is playing better than you would normally expect a Belgium team to play, therefore many people don't notice that they still don't use their full potential due to a meh coach.

 

[jsem94]

With the players and squad they have they are on paper one of the top 5 nations in the world atm.

Also, fully expected Spurs to beat Arsenal. Now a few more PL games, then the Rome derby and then the Madrid derby and Napoli hosing AC Milan. Great day of football. Great day to be sick and staying at home doing nothing.

 

[BullsFan22]

Re:

With the players and squad they have they are on paper one of the top 5 nations in the world atm.

Also, fully expected Spurs to beat Arsenal. Now a few more PL games, then the Rome derby and then the Madrid derby and Napoli hosing AC Milan. Great day of football. Great day to be sick and staying at home doing nothing.

Well I was hoping Spurs would be the Gunners but alas, they choked in a big game, again. They played quite well against Real recently, but kind of buckled today.

Liverpool is on the rise. I think they are getting their groove back and if their defense continues to do well and even improve, they could go far in both the league and Europe. Of course, they are my team, so I have to be positive and looking forward!!!

Wonder what sort of impact Italy not making the WC will have on that league. I know the top clubs have good international mix, but the Italian players could be affected.

 

[jsem94]

Didn't make much of a difference for the club sides today at least. I'd say everyone is equally affected. Napoli beat Milan quite convincingly after all, even though the score sheet said 2-1 by the end. Roma deserved the win against Lazio too. Radja was a monster in the game, as was Kolarov.

 

[GraftPunk]

Re: Re:

With the players and squad they have they are on paper one of the top 5 nations in the world atm.

Also, fully expected Spurs to beat Arsenal. Now a few more PL games, then the Rome derby and then the Madrid derby and Napoli hosing AC Milan. Great day of football. Great day to be sick and staying at home doing nothing.

Well I was hoping Spurs would be the Gunners but alas, they choked in a big game, again. They played quite well against Real recently, but kind of buckled today.

Liverpool is on the rise. I think they are getting their groove back and if their defense continues to do well and even improve, they could go far in both the league and Europe. Of course, they are my team, so I have to be positive and looking forward!!!

Wonder what sort of impact Italy not making the WC will have on that league. I know the top clubs have good international mix, but the Italian players could be affected.

Cheers were abundent in my gooner household

 

[jsem94]

The lack of goal line technology in La Liga is shocking. Still an amazing game between Valencia and Barcelona. Valencia were heading the completely wrong way but Marcelino has turned the club's fortunes around in a very short amount of time.

 

[Robert5091]

https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...olombias-football-federation-discussed-bribes

The former president of Colombia’s football federation told a New York City courtroom on Monday that he was approached over potential bribe payments to back Qatar’s bid to host the 2022 World Cup.

Luis Bedoya, who has pled guilty to corruption charges filed as part of a sprawling US government investigation into Fifa, the sport’s governing body, said that he and two other senior South American football officials discussed potential bribes during a conversation with an intermediary in Madrid in 2010.

Bedoya, a former member of the Fifa executive committee, was handed a lifetime ban in 2016 and is now testifying as a key government witness in the trial of three former South American football officials who have pled not guilty to multiple corruption charges.

The Colombian national told the court through a translator that he had travelled to Madrid in May 2010 to watch the final of the Champions League and was approached at a hotel by an unnamed “important person from Qatari television” and the Argentine businessman Mariano Jinkis, the owner of the sports marketing company Full Play.

Jinkis, Bedoya told the court, wanted to introduce the Qatari official to Bedoya and his two colleagues, Juan Angel Napout, the former head of football in Paraguay, and Luis Chiriboga, his counterpart in Ecuador, as the unnamed Qatari “wanted to know if South America was willing to support them” in their bid for the World Cup.

Bedoya characterized the introduction as short but added that after the Qatari official left the conversation Jinkis moved the discussion on to potential bribes. The marketing executive, who along with his father Hugo Jinkis has also been charged on multiple counts of corruption by US prosecutors but has so far avoided extradition to the US, suggested to the trio that Qatar’s bid for the tournament could be “important … for business”.

 

[jsem94]

KDB is the best player in the world right now on current form. CR7 has fallen off the wayside this autumn. Only Messi can contest him. He was miles ahead of anyone on the pitch against Spurs. Most tackles/interceptions as well as all of those key passes and that goal. He is quite simply a joy to watch now. Not in the flashy way of a Neymar or the technical way of a Messi, but just the way he works in the midfield. Taking up the right positions, bursting away from players and placing pinpoint passes, his pressing, his reading of the game. Pep has spent money, but he has also drastically improved many of the players in his squad. HE is making them better, as he has done with all his teams in the past. It's not just the case of inheriting a great squad. Last year they had far from the best squad. Now look at the likes of Otamendi, Delph, Sané, Sterling.

In other news: Hamsik equals Maradona's Napoli goal tally. Maybe he can finally let loose now and start playing near his best again. Inter lost to Udinese at home in a shocking performance (the writing was on the wall for several weeks though) and Napoli is in a strong position for the Scudetto. Juve are still not at their very best though and will be very difficult to crack in spring. Inter and Roma will battle it out for the 3rd spot probably.

 

[BullsFan22]

Re:

KDB is the best player in the world right now on current form. CR7 has fallen off the wayside this autumn. Only Messi can contest him. He was miles ahead of anyone on the pitch against Spurs. Most tackles/interceptions as well as all of those key passes and that goal. He is quite simply a joy to watch now. Not in the flashy way of a Neymar or the technical way of a Messi, but just the way he works in the midfield. Taking up the right positions, bursting away from players and placing pinpoint passes, his pressing, his reading of the game. Pep has spent money, but he has also drastically improved many of the players in his squad. HE is making them better, as he has done with all his teams in the past. It's not just the case of inheriting a great squad. Last year they had far from the best squad. Now look at the likes of Otamendi, Delph, Sané, Sterling.

In other news: Hamsik equals Maradona's Napoli goal tally. Maybe he can finally let loose now and start playing near his best again. Inter lost to Udinese at home in a shocking performance (the writing was on the wall for several weeks though) and Napoli is in a strong position for the Scudetto. Juve are still not at their very best though and will be very difficult to crack in spring. Inter and Roma will battle it out for the 3rd spot probably.

If Mo Salah continues on his current form....he could be giving KDB a run for his money, if he isn't already. That said, I am an LFC fan, so I do have a bit of a bias. The man is on very good form though, we have to admit!

I think Ronaldo will slide in form from here on out. He's 32 and while he hasn't had major injury problems or massive drops of form or any niggling issues, he's slowly losing his step, which is quite normal at this stage for any player. Messi could be there soon as well, he's only 2 years younger than him.

 

[Brullnux]

Re:

KDB is the best player in the world right now on current form. CR7 has fallen off the wayside this autumn. Only Messi can contest him. He was miles ahead of anyone on the pitch against Spurs. Most tackles/interceptions as well as all of those key passes and that goal. He is quite simply a joy to watch now. Not in the flashy way of a Neymar or the technical way of a Messi, but just the way he works in the midfield. Taking up the right positions, bursting away from players and placing pinpoint passes, his pressing, his reading of the game. Pep has spent money, but he has also drastically improved many of the players in his squad. HE is making them better, as he has done with all his teams in the past. It's not just the case of inheriting a great squad. Last year they had far from the best squad. Now look at the likes of Otamendi, Delph, Sané, Sterling.

In other news: Hamsik equals Maradona's Napoli goal tally. Maybe he can finally let loose now and start playing near his best again. Inter lost to Udinese at home in a shocking performance (the writing was on the wall for several weeks though) and Napoli is in a strong position for the Scudetto. Juve are still not at their very best though and will be very difficult to crack in spring. Inter and Roma will battle it out for the 3rd spot probably.

Let's be fair though, Guardiola inherited a team which could (and did) win the league, bought more, struggled, bought some more and now he's way out in front. Guardiola's influence has been great, but frankly anything less than winning the league would've been disappointing. The style has been something else admittedly, and the incredibly dominant feeling is a testament to Pep; but hell, give that team to Montella and they'd still win the league.

 

[jsem94]

Nope. He personally improved a hell of a lot of those players. Montella would struggle with Otamendi and Stones. Would he have made Sane and Sterling grow into the players they are now? A lot of the players in previous league winning campaigns were also phased out or sold. Only a few players from that time start now. Silva, Fernandinho and to a lesser extent Aguero and Kompany are the few who remain. Toure, Zabaleta, Kolarov etc were deemed surplus to requirement.

I do agree that he had to win the league though. But what about Mou? Does he have any excuses? I don't think so.

 

[Brullnux]

I agree with you, so I'll change the statement to: give Montella 2016 man city (and money) and he'd have won the same amount as Pep. He'd have revolutionised less, but won similar (without the style though)

 

[Põhja Konn]

Re:

I agree with you, so I'll change the statement to: give Montella 2016 man city (and money) and he'd have won the same amount as Pep. He'd have revolutionised less, but won similar (without the style though)

You're making a very common mistake when assessing the squad Pep inherited when he came to City. Although those players had won a lot previously, by summer 2016 the team was mainly comprised of over the hill players resting on the laurels of past glory, with big egos having split the dressing room to fractions. This was not the squad to immediately win titles with, it was rather a side in need of a major rebuild.

Part of that rebuilding was done immediately, but some glaring weaknesses remained. And those weaknesses cost them in games against higher quality opposition, and consequently made it impossible to win titles, but the ruthlessness against smaller opponents was already there. The one area were Pep can be blamed is not buying at least one world class full-back (or wingback) immediately in 2016. It is quite strange, given how important part full-backs have played in his teams tactical schemes previously. Maybe he overestimated players he inherited on those positions, but whatever the answer is, this is one area where he is open to criticism.

This summer the rebuilding was completed and results are there for all to see. With the squad Pep inherited, Montella would likely have won as much as Pep himself (i.e. nothing), but the team would certainly not be in a position to start the next season the way current City side have.

I had my doubts about Pep when he went to Bayern straight after Heynkes had won all there was to win. His work there over the next three years confirmed he is the best manager of our time. Concentrating mainly on results when evaluating managers can give half truths at best, specially when talking about knock-out competitions like Champions League.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Ars vs Liv will start in about 10...
Could be classic leading up to eoy.

Neutral and just want to see a blast.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Henderson off, but luckily one of my favorites will come on....

 

[Dazed and Confused]

'pool leads now with 17 to go, first half.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

2-2 with 35 to go..............

 

[Dazed and Confused]

3-2, excellent goal.....

 

[Dazed and Confused]

3-3 with 20 to go.....

 

[Robert5091]

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/22/sports/soccer/fifa-trial.html

Two top international soccer officials were found guilty on Friday for their roles in a web of corruption that extended across several continents and ensnared dozens of men who control the world’s most popular sport.

A jury in federal court in Brooklyn on Friday convicted the men: Juan Ángel Napout of Paraguay, the former top soccer official of South America, who was accused of accepting $10.5 million in bribes since 2010; and José Maria Marin, the former top soccer official of Brazil, who was accused of accepting $6.55 million.

Mr. Marin was found guilty on six counts, of racketeering conspiracy, wire fraud, and money laundering conspiracy. He was found not guilty on one count of money laundering conspiracy.

Mr. Napout was found guilty on three counts, of racketeering conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy. He was found not guilty on two counts of money laundering conspiracy.

The month long trial featured incriminating testimony by former associates, but defense lawyers argued that there was little documentary evidence of money changing hands. Both men were convicted of racketeering conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy, each count of which can carry up to 20 years in prison.
Continue reading the main story

Responding to the verdict, FIFA, world soccer’s governing body, released a statement on Friday seizing on its long-held status as a victim in the case and restating the organization’s intention to reclaim tens of millions of dollars that the United States has ordered the convicted criminals to forfeit.

 

[bassano]

Sorry fo off topic but To Harry Kane: if you are not following Premier League how you can know him, he was not playing Champions and he was not visible in top international football like Euro tournament or world cup. I always was fan of Italian football and football is in my heart hole life and I saw every champions league final in last 20 years and every tournament like world cup and Euro, still striker in not top team like Tottenham is which is barely playing Champions once every 10 year does not going in my mind among best football players maybe I am not so much watching names, I understand that I should know him but it is like that