Football (real)

[Pirlo]

the 2013 ballon d'or was soooo undeserved for Ronaldo. A real joke. The 2014 was deserved, no questions asked.
Nevertheless, if you're called Messi or Ronaldo and you win the champions league a year with no WC or eurocup, the ballon d'or is in the bag. Ronaldo can score 20 goals next september, he'll still not win it.

He'll still be among the 3 finalists though, even if he did nothing at all, just for the attention and money he produces. I don't really know who should be there beside Messi, who will definitely be there. If you have to pick another one from Barcelona, I'd vote Suarez, and from Real, I can't see anyone other than Ronaldo. Not sure if there will be players from England because all EPL clubs were eliminated too early; and France, Italy, Bayern - it's not clear yet.

Pirlo wil win the champion's league and finally get his ballon d'or dude!

[General_Tao]

At least this time around he and Gigi won't cry like little girls after they get crushed, unlike in 2012. Like lambs to the slaughter...

[Pirlo]

Congrats Barca fans for grabbing the La Liga... It was easier than what I thought.. They dominated the game, and Atletico looked sick.

and Betiko, before you get annoyed by "the La Liga" thing, I've just seen the Mail using it today!

Click image to enlarge.

On a serious note, how authentic this stuff could be?

Cristiano Ronaldo gives Gareth Bale death stare for poor pass, childishly gets revenge on him [Video]
http://www.101greatgoals.com/blog/crist ... him-video/

[betiko]

Pirlo, that is absolutely outrageous!!!!!!! Stupid brits. Not because daily mail journalists are morons, you need to become a moron Pirlo!
No "the la liga", spanish journailsts are stupid zealot fans but they would never go low enough to ever say "la the premier league"
No "Enrique" either!!!!!!!!!!

Ok so in France, PSG is now the champion for sure after winning last week end. They now have to win the french cup final against Auxerre (in second division this year) to make the national hat trick, something never done before (it could actually be counted as 4 titles as they won the french super cup at the begining of the season. Everything here is based on the english system, so it's like the charity shield+FA cup+premiership+league cup in one season. No one has ever done it in france.
Evian, Metz and Lens are relegated; while Troyes, Gazelec Ajaccio (no Nietzsche, it's not the one where memo ochoa played until last year, it's the rival club from the same city) and Angers have won their spot in ligue 1 next season.

Here are the individual troophies handed last night:
Lacazette: best player
Fekir: best young player
Blanc: best coach

There is still something very interesting going on for the last game for 3 teams to earn the 3rd place and last champions league spot:

3) Monaco 68 (+24) last game playing @ Lorient
4) Marseille 66 (+31) last game receiving Bastia
5) Saint Etienne 66 (+20) last game receiving Guingamp

if Monaco draws and Marseille wins marseille will overtake Monaco thanks to our goal difference!


last but not least:
The real betis is almost back in the Liga!!!! 4 games to go (so 12pts in play) and we are 6 points ahead of the second. 1 & 2 go to first division for sure, 3 to 6 are in playoffs. We are 21 points ahead of the real Zaragoza who is 6th, so we clinched the playoffs for certain, but looks like we will be the second division champions. It could happen next thursday.
Ruben Castro the wife beater is the second division pichichi with 28 goals!!!!!!!!!! 4 more games to pass the 30 goals in one season!!! (and we even have Jorge Molina 5th with 17 goals)

[nietzsche]

futbol breaks my heart sometimes.

america qualified in second place, lost 3-2 in the first match and in the second received a goal early. Went to the attack had a few occasions but Benedetto was not in his best. Then we got a defender sent out for a ridiculous play on his part in the middle of the field. Becomes mission imposible, playing with 10 and having to score 2 goals. Also, our defensive midfielder gets injured and the coach replaced him with another offensive player. America playing with 3 defenders and no defensive midfielder, all the rest offensive players.

We score the first goal. About 10 minutes of started the second half we score the second goal, and the coach does the right move in substituting one of the strikers for defender. Then in a corner Pachuca scores the 2-2 in a deflected ball. The pace of the game slows down a bit for a little while, then America againto the attack with all they've got. Minute 87, free kick and Arroyo scores a superb goal. America passes the first 4 minutes after the goal in a good way, they are all super tired but they give all they got. Then at minute 92, Darwin quintero, who jogged all the game because he sucks, has the ball in the middle of the firld and instead of advancing with the ball, provoking a fault or whatever, he tries a stupid shot, the goalie recovers the ball, throws a long pass, after a series of rebounds a Pachuca player shoots and Pablo Aguilar who had played a superb game being the only defender for over 30 minutes and anticipating a lot of balls, also scoring the second goal, deflects the ball with his hand. Penalty. The keeper would've most likely defended that shot, but he had no way of knowing because the keeper had attempted to stopd the ball to his left a fraction of a second before.

Over 90 thousand fans in the stadium, an unforgettable effort by the players, playing with 10 playrs (including a player jogging) for over 60 minutes. They were 2 mins short of an historic come back.

Football breaks my heart sometimes.

[betiko]

futbol breaks my heart sometimes.

america qualified in second place, lost 3-2 in the first match and in the second received a goal early. Went to the attack had a few occasions but Benedetto was not in his best. Then we got a defender sent out for a ridiculous play on his part in the middle of the field. Becomes mission imposible, playing with 10 and having to score 2 goals. Also, our defensive midfielder gets injured and the coach replaced him with another offensive player. America playing with 3 defenders and no defensive midfielder, all the rest offensive players.

We score the first goal. About 10 minutes of started the second half we score the second goal, and the coach does the right move in substituting one of the strikers for defender. Then in a corner Pachuca scores the 2-2 in a deflected ball. The pace of the game slows down a bit for a little while, then America againto the attack with all they've got. Minute 87, free kick and Arroyo scores a superb goal. America passes the first 4 minutes after the goal in a good way, they are all super tired but they give all they got. Then at minute 92, Darwin quintero, who jogged all the game because he sucks, has the ball in the middle of the firld and instead of advancing with the ball, provoking a fault or whatever, he tries a stupid shot, the goalie recovers the ball, throws a long pass, after a series of rebounds a Pachuca player shoots and Pablo Aguilar who had played a superb game being the only defender for over 30 minutes and anticipating a lot of balls, also scoring the second goal, deflects the ball with his hand. Penalty. The keeper would've most likely defended that shot, but he had no way of knowing because the keeper had attempted to stopd the ball to his left a fraction of a second before.

Over 90 thousand fans in the stadium, an unforgettable effort by the players, playing with 10 playrs (including a player jogging) for over 60 minutes. They were 2 mins short of an historic come back.

Football breaks my heart sometimes.

so the playoffs had already started? and you guys are already out?
also not too sure but that game finished 3-3 then? sounds like a rough finish.

[nietzsche]

futbol breaks my heart sometimes.

america qualified in second place, lost 3-2 in the first match and in the second received a goal early. Went to the attack had a few occasions but Benedetto was not in his best. Then we got a defender sent out for a ridiculous play on his part in the middle of the field. Becomes mission imposible, playing with 10 and having to score 2 goals. Also, our defensive midfielder gets injured and the coach replaced him with another offensive player. America playing with 3 defenders and no defensive midfielder, all the rest offensive players.

We score the first goal. About 10 minutes of started the second half we score the second goal, and the coach does the right move in substituting one of the strikers for defender. Then in a corner Pachuca scores the 2-2 in a deflected ball. The pace of the game slows down a bit for a little while, then America againto the attack with all they've got. Minute 87, free kick and Arroyo scores a superb goal. America passes the first 4 minutes after the goal in a good way, they are all super tired but they give all they got. Then at minute 92, Darwin quintero, who jogged all the game because he sucks, has the ball in the middle of the firld and instead of advancing with the ball, provoking a fault or whatever, he tries a stupid shot, the goalie recovers the ball, throws a long pass, after a series of rebounds a Pachuca player shoots and Pablo Aguilar who had played a superb game being the only defender for over 30 minutes and anticipating a lot of balls, also scoring the second goal, deflects the ball with his hand. Penalty. The keeper would've most likely defended that shot, but he had no way of knowing because the keeper had attempted to stopd the ball to his left a fraction of a second before.

Over 90 thousand fans in the stadium, an unforgettable effort by the players, playing with 10 playrs (including a player jogging) for over 60 minutes. They were 2 mins short of an historic come back.

Football breaks my heart sometimes.

so the playoffs had already started? and you guys are already out?
also not too sure but that game finished 3-3 then? sounds like a rough finish.

3-4, after the penalty the referee gave 1 more minute, America went with all for another goal with 9 players and they scored again. America deserved to win that game for the way the fought and played and risked it all in every minute of the game. It was truly epic until minute 92.

[nietzsche]

Game was on Sat evening and I hadn't seen any analysis programs or repetitions.

But the ball hit on the thigh of the defender first, then to the hand.

I don't think it should be penalty anymore.

[Pirlo]

I heard Irina says she dumped her asshole ex boyfriend after he had cheated on her over and over

[Pirlo]

Well, Florentino Perez is an asshole!

[nietzsche]

well, we can't forget all the injuries. I would've given Ancelotti another year under the condition that he would rotate the players more, but I doubt Ancelotti wth all his prestige would've accepted such a condition.

Let's hope Klopp is the one and not Benitez. Klopp needs at least a couple of years though, I think, to revolutionize a roster that doesn't seem to want to leave everything on the field. Just remember what Chicharito made them look like when he played.

[got tonkaed]

well, we can't forget all the injuries. I would've given Ancelotti another year under the condition that he would rotate the players more, but I doubt Ancelotti wth all his prestige would've accepted such a condition.

Let's hope Klopp is the one and not Benitez. Klopp needs at least a couple of years though, I think, to revolutionize a roster that doesn't seem to want to leave everything on the field. Just remember what Chicharito made them look like when he played.

How common is it for people to get "at least a couple of years" though? Two doesn't seem like a sure thing for a Madrid manager. The time between Del Bosque and Mourinho is not exactly promising and it wasn't like Ancelotti wasn't one of the best options out there if not the best.

[nietzsche]

Yep. I hope it's Klopp or Emery. But apparently it will be Benitez.

[khazalid]

benitez a solid choice. i could see klopp rubbing a few of them up the wrong way, a la mourinho. hope klopp goes to liverpool, he will get time there to build.

fifa corruption arrests - whodathunkit? i hope one of them talks in a plea deal and that toad blatter gets himself some retirement jail time.

[nietzsche]

to be honest I'd rather have zidane or hierro before benitez, i dont know why.

and yes fucking blatter needs to go. the whole qatar thing was not only a shame, but also stupid.

[waauw]

Well the plans were conconcted in the USA and payed through american banks, that rules out Russia for bribery.

[iAmCaffeine]

Klopp is apparently taking a six month sabbatical so won't be managing anyone just yet.

[Pirlo]

It's amazing how many people out there still believing it's reasonable to compare Leo to any other footballer!

[waauw]

It's amazing how many people out there still believing it's reasonable to compare Leo to any other footballer!

I prefer Ronaldo over Messi tbh. The latter is definitely the better dribbler, but the former is the more complete player.
I once read an article of some famous scout stating that Messi does well because he's playing in Spain. In several other countries like England or Italy, defenders would be more inclined to just savagely kick his ass off the field, and the playing styles would fit him much less. That same article, obviously an ode to Ronaldo, stated that C9 had the type of playingstyle that's more all-roun and fits more easily in other competitions.

[Pirlo]

It's amazing how many people out there still believing it's reasonable to compare Leo to any other footballer!

I prefer Ronaldo over Messi tbh. The latter is definitely the better dribbler, but the former is the more complete player.
I once read an article of some famous scout stating that Messi does well because he's playing in Spain. In several other countries like England or Italy, defenders would be more inclined to just savagely kick his ass off the field, and the playing styles would fit him much less. That same article, obviously an ode to Ronaldo, stated that C9 had the type of playingstyle that's more all-roun and fits more easily in other competitions.

How about the Champions League, which is much tougher and stronger than any other league in Europe?

[waauw]

It's amazing how many people out there still believing it's reasonable to compare Leo to any other footballer!

I prefer Ronaldo over Messi tbh. The latter is definitely the better dribbler, but the former is the more complete player.
I once read an article of some famous scout stating that Messi does well because he's playing in Spain. In several other countries like England or Italy, defenders would be more inclined to just savagely kick his ass off the field, and the playing styles would fit him much less. That same article, obviously an ode to Ronaldo, stated that C9 had the type of playingstyle that's more all-roun and fits more easily in other competitions.

How about the Champions League, which is much tougher and stronger than any other league in Europe?

I fail to see why that is relevant. But anyway, though Spain might have several very strong top teams, the rest of their league is utter shite. Play the spanish mid-table and bottom-table teams against their english or german equivalents and the spaniards would get obliterated.

[Pirlo]

It's amazing how many people out there still believing it's reasonable to compare Leo to any other footballer!

I prefer Ronaldo over Messi tbh. The latter is definitely the better dribbler, but the former is the more complete player.
I once read an article of some famous scout stating that Messi does well because he's playing in Spain. In several other countries like England or Italy, defenders would be more inclined to just savagely kick his ass off the field, and the playing styles would fit him much less. That same article, obviously an ode to Ronaldo, stated that C9 had the type of playingstyle that's more all-roun and fits more easily in other competitions.

How about the Champions League, which is much tougher and stronger than any other league in Europe?

I fail to see why that is relevant. But anyway, though Spain might have several very strong top teams, the rest of their league is utter shite. Play the spanish mid-table and bottom-table teams against their english or german equivalents and the spaniards would get obliterated.

It's safe to say I disagree.. We used to say Spanish League is crap and shit few years ago, including myself. We've always seen EPL as the strongest during the past decade, but it's time to look deeper now. While all English clubs got eliminated from both Europe tournaments so early, Spanish Clubs kept dominating and they are close to win the double for the second season in a row.

It's not easy to compare two leagues, but I believe Hull City and their counterpart in Spain, Eibar, ended up getting relegated with the same amount of points. Spanish clubs developed a lot over the past few years and they learned how to defend well, especially when they face Barca or Real.

[waauw]

It's safe to say I disagree.. We used to say Spanish League is crap and shit few years ago, including myself. We've always seen EPL as the strongest during the past decade, but it's time to look deeper now. While all English clubs got eliminated from both Europe tournaments so early, Spanish Clubs kept dominating and they are close to win the double for the second season in a row.

It's not easy to compare two leagues, but I believe Hull City and their counterpart in Spain, Eibar, ended up getting relegated with the same amount of points. Spanish clubs developed a lot over the past few years and they learned how to defend well, especially when they face Barca or Real.

I was typing an entire text in reply, but unfortunately Mozilla crashed on me, so here's the short version:
The fact of the matter is that football evolves around money. The Serie A used to be extremely strong, but went into a downward spiral for purely financial reasons. The bundesliga and the EPL are the financially strongest leagues in the world. The spaniards have the potential to be just as financially strong, but the lack of sympathy between clubs undermines that. Leagues all over europe got swamped by Primera Division players because they were on sale. Spanish clubs were nearing bankruptcy and had to drastically reduce budgets. Not much has changed since then. There were only a few exceptions within Spanish football, that remained strong by being greedy towards the others.

[waauw]

Anyway, back to my original point. What I meant was that Messi is the type of player that holds the ball much longer than Ronaldo. He's more prone to perform long dribbles betweenst multiple defenders. Nobody in the world does it better than him.

However styles differ. The EPL is much more physical and the Serie has a very long tradition of aggressive defenders. For a player, the type of Messi, this is dangerous. In this Ronaldo has the advantage, because he is taller and stronger. He doesn't handle the ball as well as Messi, but he's more all-round.

This is why, in my personal opinion, Ronaldo is better and would adjust to other leagues more easily.

[betiko]

that's proper BS waauw.
It's not all about the money. While bottom tier EPL clubs get much more TV money that liga BBVA clubs; lower tier clubs of the EPL have to overpay foreign over rated players with nice names to try to exist. People like to under rate spanish lower tier clubs, but I don't really see how they could be judged inferior to clubs finishing around the same positions in other leagues.
And Messi wouldn't be a beast in england? please.....
Kind of sounds like what people said when chelsea recruited Eden Hazard from Lille "oh, he is good in the french league but the EPL has such high standards".. as far as I know he has been elected the best player of the EPL this season.

let's just take clubs 5 to 10:

EPL
5 tottenham
6 liverpool
7 southhampton
8 swansea
9 stoke
10 crystal palace

BBVA
5 sevilla
6 villareal
7 athletic
8 celta
9 malaga
10 espanyol

do you really think those have a lower level than their english counterparts? The big 4 is clearly superior in spain too no questions asked. The EPL is highly over rated.