Beautiful Game 12/13 Thread (Major EPL slant)

[fsquid]

so this isn't a good time to tell you guys we've been playing in the 70s this season?

[Macca00]

so this isn't a good time to tell you guys we've been playing in the 70s this season?

That sounds very pleasant!


doug,

It's those first 10 minutes in the cold, regardless of how much you warm up, that are so painful!

I am such a pus ! lol

[RobVarak]

Hearty congrats to Macca and his Dad, who now has as many European trophies to his name as a certain recently-retired Scotsman whom he drove out of the game.

[Macca00]

Heartbreaking loss for Benfica but if you don't make your chances count you can't complain.

Chelsea fans are something else though, even after getting a CL spot and winning a UEFA Cup they're still too busy slagging off Rafa rather than celebrating - if you check out the Chelsea forums they`re still full of posters with Rafa-out avatars and posts like this beauty from today;

I'm willing to wave goodbye to Benitez and hope he again disappears again, out of work, out of mind and out of excuses. I'll look back on his tenure here as the worst in my life as a Chelsea fan and the most embarrassing for the Club,

Clearly his 'life' as a Chelsea fan has been a grand total of 10 years. f***in plastic club.




Mancini got the boot which, understandably, hasn't gone down well with most of the City faithful.

[10spro]

Becks is hanging them up. Way to go after winning another title with PSG.

[Murph]

It's official. New York has a second MLS team.

http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2 ... y-football

[MizzouRah]

Getting excited for the game Thursday at Busch stadium!

[FifaInspected]

Champions League Final: damn. That match was like watching Hagler and Hearns. To hell with back passes... That first half was all about going forward. Incredible stuff!

[Murph]

Champions League Final: damn. That match was like watching Hagler and Hearns. To hell with back passes... That first half was all about going forward. Incredible stuff!

I'm normally not a fan of Gus Johnson at all (horrible in Madden), but his energy calling this game was spot on, IMHO.

[10spro]

Both teams traded great chances, especially in the first half and in the end the third time was the charm eventually for Bayern. Great run for Dortmund though.

[10spro]

Messi-Neymar will be a beauty to watch.

[fsquid]

Germans teams just showing you guys simply how it is done nowadays. Oh the times, they are a changing.

[fsquid]

For those that might care, the U-20 US team is playing in the Toulon Tournament the next 2 weeks. Games will be on BEiN Sport. I don't recognize a soul in the lineup, but might browse.

[Murph]

Also for those that might care, 3rd round of U.S. Open Cup starts tonight, which means NASL and USL teams start playing MLS teams.

[wco81]

Germans teams just showing you guys simply how it is done nowadays. Oh the times, they are a changing.

Is this a one or two year event or the start of a long trend?

They had some Irish writer on a podcast talking about how the Germans changed the way they developed national talent since 2000, with coordination between the national FA and the academies of the Bundesliga clubs.

So while a team like Bayern has the international players, they had depth from the better young German talent. Or a team like Dortmund has a roster more dominated by homegrown players from their academy.

Meanwhile, the decline of the EPL clubs in the CL may be reflective of the state of the England national team, not producing the same level of quality players as Germany has. It could also reflect the relative economic fortunes of the nations involved. The Italian clubs declined as Italy's economic problems grew. But the top EPL clubs and Barca and Real have plenty of resources to compete at the top levels.

The other top clubs from England and Real and Barcelona could make this all moot next season. And we'll see if the young German talent finally rises to the lofty expectations in Brazil next year.

[fsquid]

I don't think there are "long trends" in sports. With the amount of information readily available, you will see the sport evolve quicker. The last few years it was possess, possess, possess even if it didn't go anywhere. The two german teams got there by getting the ball forward, even if it meant losing the ball. The three German CL teams were ranked near the bottom in total possession during the tournament yet had the highest scoring rates. Barca possessed the ball 60% of the time in the semi only to lose by 7 goals.

[fsquid]

Messi-Neymar will be a beauty to watch.

Wasn't Fabrigas and Ibrahimovic supposed to be a beauty to watch to?

[fsquid]

Also for those that might care, 3rd round of U.S. Open Cup starts tonight, which means NASL and USL teams start playing MLS teams.

San Jose and Colorado were upset.

[10spro]

Messi-Neymar will be a beauty to watch.

Wasn't Fabrigas and Ibrahimovic supposed to be a beauty to watch to?

Were those dudes top 3-4 in the world?

[Macca00]

Count me in as one of those excited to see Messi and Neymar line up together.





Good to see Financial Fair Play at work with Monaco - just got promoted from the French SECOND division and are about to spend over a hundred million pounds on three players (James Rodriguez, Moutinho and Falcao). They've also just signed Carvalho from Real. They just need to get Hulk and they can have a Porto reunion tour going....

[fsquid]

Messi-Neymar will be a beauty to watch.

Wasn't Fabrigas and Ibrahimovic supposed to be a beauty to watch to?

Were those dudes top 3-4 in the world?

Barca paid more for those two than for Neymar (34M and 46M, respectively).

[fsquid]

Count me in as one of those excited to see Messi and Neymar line up together.

I'm interested, but not sold that this is the next great thing.

[fsquid]

Bayern wins the treble 3-2 over Stuttgart. Stuttgart showed some guts coming back after being 3-0 down

[pk500]

Count me in as one of those excited to see Messi and Neymar line up together.

I'm interested, but not sold that this is the next great thing.

Agreed. It could be Van Persie and Rooney on steroids. We all know how that worked out for footy's favorite Chia Pet.

Messi is one of the three greatest players of all time. Neymar was the best player in a league that wasn't even among the five best domestic leagues in the world.

Neymar should be a fine player in Europe. But I'm nowhere near ready to crown him as the Next One. Seeing in Europe will be believing. Remember, Neymar was pure sh*t against Barcelona in the World Club title game in December 2011, while Messi tore Santos to shreds. Sure, that was 18 months ago, and Neymar has improved as a player.

But I also recall people asking if Neymar already was better than Messi entering that game. That was a laughable debate -- then and now.

[fsquid]

Granted it was Germany's B team, but the US looked much better tactically yesterday.