The Beautiful Game thread, season 2018/19

Welcome to the Digital Sportspage forum.

Moderators: Bill_Abner, ScoopBrady

Post Reply
User avatar
pk500
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 33750
Joined: Sun Aug 11, 2002 3:00 am
Location: Syracuse, N.Y.
Contact:

Re: The Beautiful Game thread, season 2018/19

Post by pk500 »

Love me some Max Bretos. He was pure gold calling the Argentine League games back in the early 2000s on Sunday nights on FOX Sports World!
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles

"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature

XBL Gamertag: pk4425

User avatar
10spro
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 13886
Joined: Mon Dec 02, 2002 4:00 am

Re: The Beautiful Game thread, season 2018/19

Post by 10spro »

pk500 wrote:Love me some Max Bretos. He was pure gold calling the Argentine League games back in the early 2000s on Sunday nights on FOX Sports World!
Miss him dearly man, so now he’s an LA fan? 8)

User avatar
wco81
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 9556
Joined: Tue Aug 19, 2003 3:00 am
Location: San Jose
Contact:

Re: The Beautiful Game thread, season 2018/19

Post by wco81 »

Did the Dream Team celebrate a lot when they beat Angola by 70?

User avatar
RobVarak
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 8681
Joined: Thu Apr 24, 2003 3:00 am
Location: Naperville, IL
Contact:

Re: The Beautiful Game thread, season 2018/19

Post by RobVarak »

Thailand notwithstanding, the pace of technical and tactical improvement in the women's game is pretty freaking amazing. One can see the improvement even since the last WC. The women have long been fast and physical, but technique sometimes lagged behind the effort among the rank and file. No longer. The skill level has improved exponentially, and it's great to watch. I think the last frontier is goalkeeping. Still far too many routine errors there, but I expect that will improve as well.
XBL Gamertag: RobVarak

"Ok I'm an elitist, but I have a healthy respect for people who don't measure up." --Aaron Sorkin

User avatar
Jimmydeicide
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 4565
Joined: Fri Jun 11, 2004 3:00 am
Location: Ellesmere Port..Errr California
Contact:

Re: The Beautiful Game thread, season 2018/19

Post by Jimmydeicide »

RobVarak wrote:I've very much enjoyed the debate that has sprung up around this. All my teams should be surrounded by kerfuffles over nuclear-sized blowouts and too much celebrating.

There are two distinct issues. The first is the scoreline. This was what everyone objected to in the immediate aftermath, before being so thoroughly out-shouted in the public square that they had to move on to issue 2. It's the finals of a worldwide tournament at the highest level of the sport. Everyone involved qualified and goal difference matters. Sweden could, and should, put up a crazy number against Thailand if they can. It's a competition that is judged by goals and results. Goal difference matters. This entire line of argument was a non-starter. Toss in the fact that treating this tournament and your opponents as if this was an AYSO U10 event is insulting to everyone involved.

Issue 2 was the celebrations. This is certainly more a matter of opinion without the hard facts of the scoreline debate. I can see how some people thought it excessive. On the other hand, I personally see a group of women who were thrilled at scoring in the event to which they have aspired for their entire lives. Those goals count on their career records. Their families, their supporters, and (not at all incidentally) their sponsors, want to see them celebrate joyfully. This may be the only, last, or best goal they score in a WC finals. From where I sit, I say they should go nuts. Bringing on the jeers of the world is the price they will pay, but the world needs heels too.
Im ok with issue 1 but issue 2 you can f*** right off. No way should you be celebrating the 13th goal like it was your first at a world cup, have some respect for your opponents on a professional level, score all you want but just go line up again and kick off, it was an AYSO game so act like it.

Just like the twat who scored 9 in the under 20's wc game some one4 should of had the balls to take that f***er out , show disrespect heed the consequences, same in the womens game.

User avatar
Zlax45
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 1981
Joined: Sun Jul 10, 2005 3:00 am

Re: The Beautiful Game thread, season 2018/19

Post by Zlax45 »

10spro wrote:Take a guess. In a World Cup event where you’re one of the favorites to win it all, the game is way over after 45 minutes of play and you continue to over celebrate goal after goal against a much weaker team. Nothing wrong with the scoring, but I have a problem with over the top choreographed and orchestrated celebrations when the game is way out of reach.
I am with you 100 percent. The sad part is Chile who is their next opponent is rated worse than Thailand in the Fifa World Rankings.
My xbox live name is "The Zlax45"

User avatar
XXXIV
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 17337
Joined: Mon Dec 01, 2003 4:00 am
Location: United States

Re: The Beautiful Game thread, season 2018/19

Post by XXXIV »

Zlax45 wrote:
10spro wrote:Take a guess. In a World Cup event where you’re one of the favorites to win it all, the game is way over after 45 minutes of play and you continue to over celebrate goal after goal against a much weaker team. Nothing wrong with the scoring, but I have a problem with over the top choreographed and orchestrated celebrations when the game is way out of reach.
I am with you 100 percent. The sad part is Chile who is their next opponent is rated worse than Thailand in the Fifa World Rankings.
So there will be more cowbell?

User avatar
RobVarak
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 8681
Joined: Thu Apr 24, 2003 3:00 am
Location: Naperville, IL
Contact:

Re: The Beautiful Game thread, season 2018/19

Post by RobVarak »

RobVarak wrote:Thailand notwithstanding, the pace of technical and tactical improvement in the women's game is pretty freaking amazing. One can see the improvement even since the last WC. The women have long been fast and physical, but technique sometimes lagged behind the effort among the rank and file. No longer. The skill level has improved exponentially, and it's great to watch. I think the last frontier is goalkeeping. Still far too many routine errors there, but I expect that will improve as well.
I'm going to call myself out for getting this loud-wrong. That Chilean GK was a total monster yesterday! She's still an outlier, but there may be more depth in goal than I anticipated.
XBL Gamertag: RobVarak

"Ok I'm an elitist, but I have a healthy respect for people who don't measure up." --Aaron Sorkin

User avatar
Jimmydeicide
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 4565
Joined: Fri Jun 11, 2004 3:00 am
Location: Ellesmere Port..Errr California
Contact:

Re: The Beautiful Game thread, season 2018/19

Post by Jimmydeicide »

She was immense i agree. that one save off the header was insane.

User avatar
RobVarak
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 8681
Joined: Thu Apr 24, 2003 3:00 am
Location: Naperville, IL
Contact:

Re: The Beautiful Game thread, season 2018/19

Post by RobVarak »

Quite a fun day of footy yesterday. The women did what the women do. The men showed that there may be some green shoots in the talent pool but Berhalter may not have the tactical chops to get the job done.
XBL Gamertag: RobVarak

"Ok I'm an elitist, but I have a healthy respect for people who don't measure up." --Aaron Sorkin

User avatar
10spro
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 13886
Joined: Mon Dec 02, 2002 4:00 am

Re: The Beautiful Game thread, season 2018/19

Post by 10spro »

Got to admit I enjoyed the finals. The gap between the Europeans has closed and we’ll be seeing much more challenging matches four years down the road. VAR was applied very well in the tournament and erased any possible doubts. But it shouldn’t be the star of the show, I am a traditionalist and still believe in human errors to add that extra unexpected result.

Unless is in the box, VAR should be limited in its use. It just slows down the play when you got to review every single dubitative decision by the rule makers.

I was busy watching the Copa America for most of last month. It concluded with the home team Brazil winning it all yesterday. Not a surprise. Don’t get me wrong, they were the deepest team from the Americas but Conmebol needs to seriously know when and how to use VAR.

During the semis Brazil vs Argentina, they were two clear infractions in the box that were not deemed reviewable, one of which resulted in the home team sealing the victory in the counterattack. It was a brutal non call, a painful decision which made L. Messi furious and complained publicly the corruption with Conmebol favoring the home team to win it all.

Those harsh words and criticisms came to hunt him during the match for third place vs Chile when he was shown the red card in a heated match. Watch the video, how’s that a red card? Even the Brazilian crowd was full of insults towards the zebra when a yellow would have suffice for both players. Did Conmebol instruct anything to the ref for those harsh words? We’ll never know. Sadly.

Brazil won 3-1 vs Perú. They were the better team but VAR was suspiciously absent in key matches where it should have counted.


[youtube] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXEIyb73tX0[/youtube]

User avatar
dbdynsty25
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 21550
Joined: Mon Aug 19, 2002 3:00 am
Location: Thousand Oaks, CA
Contact:

Re: The Beautiful Game thread, season 2018/19

Post by dbdynsty25 »

Gonna hurt to lose Alisson for the season. Def looked like Achilles - just ask Kevin Durant. Same motion, same result.

User avatar
RobVarak
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 8681
Joined: Thu Apr 24, 2003 3:00 am
Location: Naperville, IL
Contact:

Re: The Beautiful Game thread, season 2018/19

Post by RobVarak »

dbdynsty25 wrote:Gonna hurt to lose Alisson for the season. Def looked like Achilles - just ask Kevin Durant. Same motion, same result.
100% Totally deflating.
XBL Gamertag: RobVarak

"Ok I'm an elitist, but I have a healthy respect for people who don't measure up." --Aaron Sorkin

User avatar
Jimmydeicide
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 4565
Joined: Fri Jun 11, 2004 3:00 am
Location: Ellesmere Port..Errr California
Contact:

Re: The Beautiful Game thread, season 2018/19

Post by Jimmydeicide »

6 weeks, not so bad. Still could be enough to lose the title race if Adrian doesn't step up.

User avatar
XXXIV
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 17337
Joined: Mon Dec 01, 2003 4:00 am
Location: United States

Re: The Beautiful Game thread, season 2018/19

Post by XXXIV »

Jimmydeicide wrote:6 weeks, not so bad. Still could be enough to lose the title race if Adrian doesn't step up.
Yeah its not great but is MUCH better than the season.

I couldnt find anything about an achilles or about him being out for a year.

User avatar
RobVarak
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 8681
Joined: Thu Apr 24, 2003 3:00 am
Location: Naperville, IL
Contact:

Re: The Beautiful Game thread, season 2018/19

Post by RobVarak »

Not to be too negative. I'd love for it to be less than the year, but this is the current status:
The Brazilian pulled up after taking a routine goal kick, with reports that the calf problem will keep him out for 4-8 weeks, but the ECHO understands that Liverpool are still waiting to discover the full extent of the injury, with the Reds expected to have an update on Monday.
XBL Gamertag: RobVarak

"Ok I'm an elitist, but I have a healthy respect for people who don't measure up." --Aaron Sorkin

User avatar
wco81
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 9556
Joined: Tue Aug 19, 2003 3:00 am
Location: San Jose
Contact:

Re: The Beautiful Game thread, season 2018/19

Post by wco81 »

How did the latest Great American Hope, er Pulisic, do for Chelsea?

User avatar
pk500
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 33750
Joined: Sun Aug 11, 2002 3:00 am
Location: Syracuse, N.Y.
Contact:

Re: The Beautiful Game thread, season 2018/19

Post by pk500 »

wco81 wrote:How did the latest Great American Hope, er Pulisic, do for Chelsea?
Didn't start. Subbed for Ross Barkley in 58th minute. Largely anonymous in 35 minutes of play.

Still, it's Pulisic's first game in a much different league than the Bundesliga. But he will need to produce soon because he was bought as the eventual successor to Hazard. Unfair? Probably -- Hazard is one of the best midfielders in the world.

But Chelsea fans and owner Abramovich are notoriously impatient. And the European soccer world looks for any reason to tear down American players as inferior.

Tick-tock, Christian. Tick-tock.
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles

"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature

XBL Gamertag: pk4425

User avatar
dbdynsty25
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 21550
Joined: Mon Aug 19, 2002 3:00 am
Location: Thousand Oaks, CA
Contact:

Re: The Beautiful Game thread, season 2018/19

Post by dbdynsty25 »

I don’t get the ultra high expectations for him. He wasn’t even that great in Germany...which is a far inferior league below the top 3/4 to the Premier League. I just think he’s going to get unfairly criticized and he really should have stayed with Dortmund for a while longer to improve his game.

User avatar
pk500
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 33750
Joined: Sun Aug 11, 2002 3:00 am
Location: Syracuse, N.Y.
Contact:

Re: The Beautiful Game thread, season 2018/19

Post by pk500 »

dbdynsty25 wrote:I don’t get the ultra high expectations for him. He wasn’t even that great in Germany...which is a far inferior league below the top 3/4 to the Premier League. I just think he’s going to get unfairly criticized and he really should have stayed with Dortmund for a while longer to improve his game.
Agree. But NBC and NBCSN, along with the American soccer media, yearn for a great American star in the most popular league in the world.

Pulisic has the ability. But the hype surrounding him almost suggests there have been no standout American players in the Premier League, which is silly. McBride, Dempsey, Donovan, Howard, Friedel, Keller, Cameron, Bocanegra and Reyna all had pretty successful stints of varying lengths in the Premier League.

Our Christian will not be the Neil Armstrong of the Premier League if he succeeds. He will the next -- and hopefully best -- in a longer line of American talents in the league than many think.
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles

"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature

XBL Gamertag: pk4425

User avatar
RobVarak
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 8681
Joined: Thu Apr 24, 2003 3:00 am
Location: Naperville, IL
Contact:

Re: The Beautiful Game thread, season 2018/19

Post by RobVarak »

dbdynsty25 wrote:I don’t get the ultra high expectations for him. He wasn’t even that great in Germany...which is a far inferior league below the top 3/4 to the Premier League. I just think he’s going to get unfairly criticized and he really should have stayed with Dortmund for a while longer to improve his game.
He was losing playing time badly at the end of his Dortmund tenure because of Jadon Sancho's emergence. It was the right time to make a move, but I'm afraid he ended up in a bad spot. Sarri never would have played him and I don't see any evidence at all that Lampard is ready for the gig on any level. I respect him, and I may be wrong, but there's not really anything in the record to indicate that he's got the tactical or man-management acumen to do the job.

It's really the worst possible situation for Pulisic. It's a deep team without a tactical identity, a manager who didn't even buy him and is under the most intense scrutiny. He should've ended up at Spurs or one of the down-table teams with a manager wed to a sound, attacking and counter-pressing philosophy like he played in at Dortmund.
XBL Gamertag: RobVarak

"Ok I'm an elitist, but I have a healthy respect for people who don't measure up." --Aaron Sorkin

User avatar
Jimmydeicide
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 4565
Joined: Fri Jun 11, 2004 3:00 am
Location: Ellesmere Port..Errr California
Contact:

Re: The Beautiful Game thread, season 2018/19

Post by Jimmydeicide »

Pulisic had a real good showing in the super cup, i wouldn't worry, hes the real deal.

User avatar
XXXIV
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 17337
Joined: Mon Dec 01, 2003 4:00 am
Location: United States

Re: The Beautiful Game thread, season 2018/19

Post by XXXIV »

Liverpool very good. Machine like.

VAR once again s***. What the point of this charade?

User avatar
dbdynsty25
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 21550
Joined: Mon Aug 19, 2002 3:00 am
Location: Thousand Oaks, CA
Contact:

Re: The Beautiful Game thread, season 2018/19

Post by dbdynsty25 »

Wow. There's the opening the Reds need.

User avatar
Jimmydeicide
DSP-Funk All-Star
DSP-Funk All-Star
Posts: 4565
Joined: Fri Jun 11, 2004 3:00 am
Location: Ellesmere Port..Errr California
Contact:

Re: The Beautiful Game thread, season 2018/19

Post by Jimmydeicide »

XXXIV wrote:Liverpool very good. Machine like.

VAR once again s***. What the point of this charade?
I agree, the only time its used is to turn over a completely good goal by Jesus for it deflecting off a hand, pathetic, they dont want to show the refs up, but the refs arnt making a call either way on some of these incidents, so yea clear and obvious error , on what exactly.
At least do the hand gesture waving off a no pen, i think its giving the refs a cop out right now this way.

Post Reply