Soccer thread 07/08

fsquid · Post by **fsquid** » Wed May 21, 2008 9:04 am

ENGLAND ROSTER BY POSITION

GOALKEEPERS (3): David James (Portsmouth), Joe Hart (Manchester City), Chris Kirkland (Wigan)

DEFENDERS (10): Wayne Bridge (Chelsea), Wes Brown (Manchester United), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Glen Johnson (Portsmouth), John Terry (Chelsea), Stephen Warnock (Blackburn), David Wheater (Middlesbrough), Jonathan Woodgate (Middlesbrough)

MIDFIELDERS (12): Gareth Barry (Aston Villa), David Beckham (Los Angeles Galaxy), David Bentley (Blackburn), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough), Owen Hargreaves (Manchester United), Tom Huddlestone (Tottenham), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Jermaine Jenas (Tottenham), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Ashley Young (Aston Villa)

FORWARDS (6): Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa), Dean Ashton (West Ham), Peter Crouch (Liverpool), Jermain Defoe (Portsmouth), Michael Owen (Newcastle), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)

Argentina names roster for Friendly with US. Pretty strong roster.

Goalkeepers: Roberto Abbondanzieri (Getafe), Oscar Ustari (Getafe)

Defenders: Gabriel Heinze (Real Madrid), Fabricio Coloccini (Deportivo Coruna), Pablo Zabaleta (Espanyol), Javier Zanetti (Inter Milan), Nicolas Burdisso (Inter Milan), Martin Demichelis (Bayern Munich)

Midfielders: Fernando Gago (Real Madrid), Maximiliano Rodriguez (Atletico Madrid), Gonzalo Rodrguez (Villarreal), Jonas Gutierrez (Real Mallorca), Ever Banega (Sevilla), Esteban Cambiasso (Inter Milan), Jose Sosa (Bayern Munich), Javier Mascherano (Liverpool)

Forwards: Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Julio Cruz (Inter Milan), Lisandro Lopez (Porto), Fernando Cavenaghi (Girondins Bordeaux)

Macca00 · Post by **Macca00** » Wed May 21, 2008 5:45 pm

C'mon, admit it...you laughed when John Terry missed. I almost pissed myself laughing when he fell on his arse.

I 'wanted' Chelsea to win (especially with Rio Ferdinand's high boot in the area on Joe Cole...a foot so high it flew OVER Cole's head - no call) but that was some funny sh!t.

Ah yes, a clutch penalty whom should we get to take it? An Englishman? Why not, what's the worst that could happen?

Congrats United.

Jimmydeicide · Post by **Jimmydeicide** » Wed May 21, 2008 6:04 pm

Macca00 wrote:C'mon, admit it...you laughed when John Terry missed. I almost pissed myself laughing when he fell on his arse.

I 'wanted' Chelsea to win (especially with Rio Ferdinand's high boot in the area on Joe Cole...a foot so high it flew OVER Cole's head - no call) but that was some funny sh!t.

Ah yes, a clutch penalty whom should we get to take it? An Englishman? Why not, what's the worst that could happen?

Congrats United.

No i didnt, i wretched for him. I laughed when Ronaldo missed tho.
The pitch played into 2 incidents Lampards goal ,ferdinand slips and Terrys penalty.

How does a stadium which doesnt have natural turf get the Champions league final ? Seems like a weird decision to me and now we have to listen to excuses all night probly.

Macca00 · Post by **Macca00** » Wed May 21, 2008 6:07 pm

Jimmydeicide wrote:I laughed when Ronaldo missed tho.

I did too. I guess I'm an equal opportunity hater.

Agreed, the pitch appeared to be a shambles.

EDIT: Some other thoughts;

i)What are all the Chelsea fans going to do with those mass produced flags given to them?
ii) Loved the Chelsea fan's banner - 'Scouse-Free Zone'. I can almost guarantee that next season at Stamford Bridge when Liverpool visit the away fans will pull out a 'European Cup-Free Zone' banner.

iii)The ref was awful

RobVarak · Post by **RobVarak** » Wed May 21, 2008 6:37 pm

The conditions were embarassing. I gotta say that it was fun watching both the Portugese Show Pony (thanks, Dave) and Terry miss. OTOH, I do begrudgingly take my hat off to Terry as he is clearly one of those guys who does leave it all on the field. He's a total knob and the way the treats the officials is particularly vile, but he plays like he's out there playing for the badge rather than his admittedly obscene wage packet.

I did chuckle at the "Scouse Free Zone" banner, particularly as it says much about the novelty of the situation.

Atxj · Post by **Atxj** » Wed May 21, 2008 6:38 pm

Macca00 wrote:C'mon, admit it...you laughed when John Terry missed. I almost pissed myself laughing when he fell on his arse.

I 'wanted' Chelsea to win (especially with Rio Ferdinand's high boot in the area on Joe Cole...a foot so high it flew OVER Cole's head - no call) but that was some funny sh!t.

Ah yes, a clutch penalty whom should we get to take it? An Englishman? Why not, what's the worst that could happen?

Congrats United.

The no call on Rio was exactly what should have been decided by the referee. Cole played on through it and deserves so much respect for that. If it was a Ronaldo/Drogba type of player they would of hit the pitch in a flash and a penalty would've been rewarded as the side judge had the call on.

For me Drogba slapped Chelsea to it's failure. If he could've kept his hands to himself he would've been taking that penalty, not Terry.

Anyhow, what an amazing football game. I can't remember a game this term where each team played so well, so physical, and just ultimately left it all on the pitch.

Jimmydeicide · Post by **Jimmydeicide** » Wed May 21, 2008 6:52 pm

I think they where all cramping because the turf was laid last night not cause they left it on the field.

Macca00 · Post by **Macca00** » Wed May 21, 2008 6:55 pm

AtXj wrote: The no call on Rio was exactly what should have been decided by the referee. Cole played on through it and deserves so much respect for that. If it was a Ronaldo/Drogba type of player they would of hit the pitch in a flash and a penalty would've been rewarded as the side judge had the call on.

I dunno, dude. United are the better team and congrats on the double but if Joe Cole's face is two inches to the left he's going to the hospital, furthermore Joe Cole is a massive flop and it's lucky for United that he didn't see how high Rio's foot was or he would have hit the deck like Drogba.

Doesn't matter - United won and are a better team but I still think that challenge by Rio was pretty damn dangerous.

Enjoy the celebrations, AtxJ and Mac (who's also a United fan, I believe)!

Atxj · Post by **Atxj** » Wed May 21, 2008 7:02 pm

Macca00 wrote:
AtXj wrote: The no call on Rio was exactly what should have been decided by the referee. Cole played on through it and deserves so much respect for that. If it was a Ronaldo/Drogba type of player they would of hit the pitch in a flash and a penalty would've been rewarded as the side judge had the call on.
I dunno, dude. United are the better team and congrats on the double but if Joe Cole's face is two inches to the left he's going to the hospital, furthermore Joe Cole is a massive flop and it's lucky for United that he didn't see how high Rio's foot was or he would have hit the deck like Drogba.

Doesn't matter - United won and are a better team but I still think that challenge by Rio was pretty damn dangerous.

Enjoy the celebrations, AtxJ and Mac (who's also a United fan, I believe)!

I respectfully disagree. I've seen Joe Cole many, many times, and he's not that brand of footballer.

Enough debate though, bring out the champagne! It will be glory, glory, Man United well into the night!

Jimmydeicide · Post by **Jimmydeicide** » Wed May 21, 2008 7:03 pm

Classic over at OS.

http://www.operationsports.com/forums/s ... 2038372238

Atxj · Post by **Atxj** » Wed May 21, 2008 7:10 pm

Jimmydeicide wrote:Classic over at OS.

http://www.operationsports.com/forums/s ... 2038372238

That's great. One of my roommates is a massive Chelsea fan so I think I'll get down to Kinko's sometime soon and have that blown up into a poster for his wall.

Jimmydeicide · Post by **Jimmydeicide** » Wed May 21, 2008 7:25 pm

AtXj wrote:
Macca00 wrote:
AtXj wrote: The no call on Rio was exactly what should have been decided by the referee. Cole played on through it and deserves so much respect for that. If it was a Ronaldo/Drogba type of player they would of hit the pitch in a flash and a penalty would've been rewarded as the side judge had the call on.
I dunno, dude. United are the better team and congrats on the double but if Joe Cole's face is two inches to the left he's going to the hospital, furthermore Joe Cole is a massive flop and it's lucky for United that he didn't see how high Rio's foot was or he would have hit the deck like Drogba.

Doesn't matter - United won and are a better team but I still think that challenge by Rio was pretty damn dangerous.

Enjoy the celebrations, AtxJ and Mac (who's also a United fan, I believe)!
I respectfully disagree. I've seen Joe Cole many, many times, and he's not that brand of footballer.

Enough debate though, bring out the champagne! It will be glory, glory, Man United well into the night!

OMG biggest english flopper you could find, your high on the manure win.

RobVarak · Post by **RobVarak** » Wed May 21, 2008 7:40 pm

I turn to the confluence of collective genius and idiocy that is Deadspin for these gems:

UkraineNotWeak at 05:54 PM
Once again, the Moscow weather is a deciding factor

amorphous at 05:58 PM
Beating a team owned by a Russian oligarch in Moscow? You, sirs, have balls... until the polonium rots them away.

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Wed May 21, 2008 9:58 pm

Wow! What a great Final! Really enjoyed it.

I don't understand Ronaldo's "hesitation" penalty kick? Just run up and blast it! You are making it harder on yourself by stopping all your momentum and then kicking the ball. He is VERY LUCKY Man U pulled it out and should be buying his goalie dinner for the next year straight.

Great game put on by two great teams! What great soccer is all about!

fsquid · Post by **fsquid** » Wed May 21, 2008 11:24 pm

I'm surprised that the game was entertaining. I thought the ref did a good job. It was crap that there were three flashpoints during the match because everyone wanted to act like a drama queen.

Top story on Sportscenter too.

JRod · Post by **JRod** » Wed May 21, 2008 11:46 pm

JackB1 wrote:Wow! What a great Final! Really enjoyed it.

I don't understand Ronaldo's "hesitation" penalty kick? Just run up and blast it! You are making it harder on yourself by stopping all your momentum and then kicking the ball. He is VERY LUCKY Man U pulled it out and should be buying his goalie dinner for the next year straight.

Great game put on by two great teams! What great soccer is all about!

Jack and while this game was good and entertaining it wasn't an all-time great game. Had a few more goals gone in (some should have been) it might be.

The hesitation is actually used a lot. He's trying to get the GK to move one way, IF a GK moves on a PK, any player worth his salt will drive it home. That's what he's doing.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Thu May 22, 2008 12:33 am

JackB1 wrote:Wow! What a great Final! Really enjoyed it.
I don't understand Ronaldo's "hesitation" penalty kick? Just run up and blast it! You are making it harder on yourself by stopping all your momentum and then kicking the ball. He is VERY LUCKY Man U pulled it out and should be buying his goalie dinner for the next year straight.

It's been his style, he scores usually more than he misses, but when you do miss, it does make you look like an arrogant fool.

I really enjoyed the game, never a dull moment, a shame it had to end in penalties. If Drogba kept his cool I think the result would have been different, he was unlucky also when he hit the post from 30 yards before his red card. But his stupid, selfish action may have cost his team dearly.

Cech was awesome in the first period, he saved two sure goals and kept Chelsea in the game. MU controlled the first 35 minutes of the game, and those saves gave Chelsea some momentum.

Considering the conditions this was a great game, the grass surface was already poor before the heavy rain but both teams came coming forward. I thought Chelsea was closer to a victory before the PK's but in the end, unless you're a blue fan, any football fan should come out happy after the display today.

The question now will AG keep his job?

macsomjrr · Post by **macsomjrr** » Thu May 22, 2008 1:17 am

I watched it at a local sports bar this afternoon and man that place was absolutely rocking throughout the entire game.

ManU controlled the opening half and then Chelsea seemed to start running away with it. Rooney and Tevez were pretty piss poor overall except for Rooney's monster lob out to Ronaldo at one point which almost set-up a fantastic goal. Chelsea's goal was total luck and if Van der sar hadn't slipped on that terrible grass... moot point though as it made things far more exciting.

Ronaldo has been crap at PKs lately. My only hope is that'll scare away Real from any superstar poaching:)

Glory! Glory! Man United!

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Thu May 22, 2008 1:37 am

davet010 wrote:
10spro wrote:So who's watching the finals? I think Chelsea will finally win this Cup and Ronaldo will be playing his last game for the Red Devils. To do so, Lampard and Ballack will have to control the midfield and Drogba play an inspired game. Lot of complains on the grass surface.
I'm hoping that there is a catastrophic (but limited) landslip and that the whole stadium subsides into a 20 mile deep pit. The elimination of Chelsea (and their bandwaggoning fans), MU (and their gloryhunting southern fans) and a huge number of freeloading UEFA 'VIPs' (mincing fairy Michel Platini at the front, hopefully with Sepp Blatter's hand up his backside as usual) would be the right result all round.

On the unfortunate chance that this does not happen, I'm willing to accept Chelsea winning 1-0 by a disputed penalty in the 6th minute of injury time, which would surely see the Scots Drunk explode in a red faced mist.

This is like Yankees and Red Sox, two teams which can outspend just about everyone else.

Highlights did look good though.

Bring on Euro 2008.

macsomjrr · Post by **macsomjrr** » Thu May 22, 2008 2:53 am

wco81 wrote:This is like Yankees and Red Sox, two teams which can outspend just about everyone else.

Highlights did look good though.

Bring on Euro 2008.

That isn't true if you believe these total revenue numbers from the Deloitte accounting firm. Not sure about the player salaries for each team though.
1. Real Madrid CF 351.8 mil euro
2. ManU 315.4 mil euro
3. Barcelona 291.1 mil euro
4. Chelsea 284.4 mil euro
5. Arsenal 264.2 mil euro

Top 5 team salaries in MLB. Yankees crush everyone else in comparison to footie. Fat lot of good its done them so far this year:)
1. Yankees 209 mil8O
2. Tigers 138 mil
3. Mets 138 mil
4. Red Sox 133 mil
5. ChiSox 121 mil

EURO 2008 is going to be great:)

davet010 · Post by **davet010** » Thu May 22, 2008 3:43 am

Nice to see the glory hunters crawling out of the woodwork. I can report from my journey into and through Manchester today the grand total of 1 MU shirt spotted, and he was obviously a tourist. Still, as we all know, none of the scum actually live here.

Oh, and 10s - Man U are one of the most hated teams in England, and not because they win, but for the stinking hypocrisy and mythmaking that is written throught the club, from their grasping drunkard of a manager, to their illegal transfer dealings (a big HI to Carlos Tevez here, and the ever-so-slightly dubious usage of Ferguson's son as an agent in negotiations), their appalling treatment of the survivors of the Munich '58 crash while spending the last 50 years trading on it, their leading role in the increasingly poor treatment of match officials (going back to Robson, but epitomised by that French retard Cantona and the moronic bog-trotter now in charge of Sunderland).

Oh and Macsom - don't make me laugh about superstar poaching when numerous Utd transfers have been done on the back of illegal tapping-up approaches (Ronaldo, Rooney, Van Nistelrooy and Stam just for starters...indeed it was Stam's admission that he was tapped up that led the Drunk to get rid of him, regardless of the fact that the team ended up spending fortunes and took about 3 years to properly replace him.)

That'll do until I've had me morning coffee..

fsquid · Post by **fsquid** » Thu May 22, 2008 8:02 am

today must be smarting for you

fsquid · Post by **fsquid** » Thu May 22, 2008 8:33 am

By the way Dave, how many times did the English broadcast mention that night in Barcelona? The US commentators managed to mention it 5 times.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Thu May 22, 2008 10:17 am

davet010 wrote: Oh, and 10s - Man U are one of the most hated teams in England, and not because they win, but for the stinking hypocrisy and mythmaking that is written throught the club, from their grasping drunkard of a manager, to their illegal transfer dealings (a big HI to Carlos Tevez here, and the ever-so-slightly dubious usage of Ferguson's son as an agent in negotiations), their appalling treatment of the survivors of the Munich '58 crash while spending the last 50 years trading on it, their leading role in the increasingly poor treatment of match officials (going back to Robson, but epitomised by that French retard Cantona and the moronic bog-trotter now in charge of Sunderland).

That'll do until I've had me morning coffee..

Agreed. They are the Toronto Maple Leafs of Canada, except they win which make them more hateful. Unfortunately here, they were all wearing the red color jerseys at bars everywhere and unfortunately they weren't tourists.

davet010 · Post by **davet010** » Thu May 22, 2008 10:47 am

fsquid wrote:By the way Dave, how many times did the English broadcast mention that night in Barcelona? The US commentators managed to mention it 5 times.

I have no idea, as I have not seen any of the footage nor will I do so.

The game was shown live on the ITV network though, and given that their commentator Clive Tyldesley usually manages to get at least 10 mentions per European game to 'that magical night in Barcelona', I'm sure he was in orgasmic overdrive - the red tw*t.

Could be worse though, while Utd were enjoying that 'magical night' in 99, City were involved in playoffs to try to get out of what is now League One...our lowest ever position in the league. Now those were dark days indeed.

I have also argued that since City beat United home and away this season, including their spectacularly mawkish '50th anniversary of the Munich air crash' celebrations, then City are indeed the TRUE champions of Europe.

Apropos of Tyldesley, who could forget that magical afternoon at the Swamp, singing '2-1, in your jubilee' to all of the prawn sandwich munching Southerners, foreigners and corporates who make up 90% of their support.

Hmm, looks like time for afternoon tranquilisers...