The Football (Soccer for us dumb Americans) Thread

[The Count Dante]

yah i cant watch a football match after knowing the score either unless its a really big game. hockey i can actually watch no problem. its the flow difference. i dont own a pvr so i cant skip around the dull moments.



question about the man u madrid game i forgot to ask. anyone else have issues with the official blowing the match whistle at the moment of a corner kick? given extra time was at 3 mins but hmmmmmm typicallt in big games they will allow the corner and play it out. i found that interesting myself.

As a former ref? I personally wouldnt have. BUT it is worthy to note that there is no rule or law that states a ref must allow for field positions in deciding the final time.



Me personally, because of injury time and such, I always allowed for about 15 - 30 secs if the possession team is in a reasonable attacking position. But with that play in question, I can certainly see why the ref would decide to be strict on his final whistle in a 1 v 1 UEFA super-team vs super-team match.



The resulting outcome of the bitching players for not getting to take the kick may out weigh the resulting outcome if they would have scored on it.



Either way? Ref was correct.

 

[supraman]

I'm with Mass I cant watch a game if I know the final score. Unless it is a special game like the comeback game or the cup run for the hawks. But other than that no one way in hell I can watch it.



I even hate when the NHL network airs the playoff replay in the summer I cant even watch those games because well I know who wins the cup so the rest of it is pretty damn irrelevant.

 

[MassHavoc]

I didn't watch the game, but just wanted to say.... IT"S A DVR!!! NOT PVR You canadianese bastard...

 

[the canadian dream]

ac milan vs barcelona today. could be good. while being a juve fan im not supposed to cheer for milan...but tough shit im doing it for seria a. plus screw barcelona..spain has had enough football celebrating as of late.

 

[the canadian dream]

in other news fifa has agreed to use goal line technology for assuring goals are goals and non goals are non goals in the world cup 2014. may not sound like a big deal but it is seeing how conservative fifa is. this was a long time comming and a big move.

 

[MassHavoc]

about 4 years too late...

 

[roshinaya]

I got to say that Bayern looked very strong in their game against the Gunners and IMO that pair is pretty much done. Arsenal looked rather shit too.



I am a FCB supporter and I hope they can get a couple of away goals tonight.

 

[the canadian dream]

i do like barcelona. how can one not enjoy watching the best player in the world? they play pretty football. just dont need any more spanish football celebrations. i like when these two teams meet good little rivalry from two different leagues. ac milan are no walk overs but ill predict a barcelona win in both matches. messi is going to explode.



ps my boy balotelli is watching the game looking all cool and shit with blondes on his arms. what a guy. probably trying to get barcelonas attention so he can get out of manchester cities bench. Or get back to Milan.

 

[MassHavoc]

No one can touch Messi.

 

[the canadian dream]

well well this has been an interesting game

 

[roshinaya]

Perfect execution of their game plan by Milan. Deserved the win (although the first goal looked to be a handball). Barcelona kept on running into the defensive wall. And again it seemed that FCB was again looking for that perfect play instead of taking chances and shooting from some more positions, something that sometimes frustrates me with their play. When it works it's beautiful stuff, but against teams playing defensive it can get frustrating.

I honestly could see FCB getting eliminated. Milan could full well sit back in Camp Nou and defend for 90 minutes and go for a goalless tie or even getting a crucial away goal on a counter, considering Barca hasn't been able to keep their goal clean that much. Barca seems to have problems adjusting when they face a team that plays very defensive football. Interesting pairing indeed.

 

[the canadian dream]

yah that results puts barcelona in a tough spot for the second leg but if any team can do it its barcelona. wouldnt shock me to see a 2-0 game forcing penalty kicks but if you are ac milan you gotta be confident in your defense and how you managed to get to messi today. guys like fabrigrass need to step in and lend a hand. messi is great but this is champions league it has to be a team effort.

 

[roshinaya]

Messi didn't have a good game, but even if you are the world's best player you are allowed to have bad days. Credit to AC Milan as well, they did a good job in defending against him. He was always surrounded by at least three players so he ran out of options quickly.

 

[The Count Dante]

Milan played a near perfect game to me. Wasnt afraid of Barcelona's possession, patient in their own half, and worked the counter-attack perfectly. The biggest part? No Barcelona away goal. If Milan can manage one goal in the next leg, Barcelona will have to put on a spectacular performance to win it. But with the defense that Milan played, if they pay the same, Barcelona is done.



Schalke also got upset with only a draw. But they played well after getting their teeth kicked in in Bunders this year. That matchup is totally up in the air.

 

[MassHavoc]

Messi didn't have a good game, but even if you are the world's best player you are allowed to have bad days. Credit to AC Milan as well, they did a good job in defending against him. He was always surrounded by at least three players so he ran out of options quickly.

I saw a highlight where he set himself up perfect and the guy blocked the shot at the last second and for a brief moment they started celebrating like they had just scored... hahah I guess blocking him is as important as scoring goals for your own team ha.

 

[The Count Dante]

I saw a highlight where he set himself up perfect and the guy blocked the shot at the last second and for a brief moment they started celebrating like they had just scored... hahah I guess blocking him is as important as scoring goals for your own team ha.

As a dman? I would too! He is really that strong a striker. And the D shut him down hard, even on his runs where he was looking for the whistle more than the shot. Milan played very disciplined and shut down Messi as a threat giving away no scary free kicks. Not to mention as a D man, you GOT to that position because you love to tackle and take away all the creativity. Who better to shut down then the (arguably) greatest player who ever lived?



I was really impressed. It is very hard to stay disciplined with Barcelona's style of play.

 

[the canadian dream]

Schalke also got upset with only a draw. But they played well after getting their teeth kicked in in Bunders this year. That matchup is totally up in the air.

Schalke are whining about Drogba being allowed to play for Galatasaray. Little bit of sour grapes by Schalke. I like Drogba despite him being a money chaser but really now. Schalke are just wasting their time with this one. It's not as if Uefa is going to overturn the result. I highly doubt that Schalke actually do file on this. Seems like a way to find an excuse for the draw which really isn't an upset in my books considering the big money signings of Drogba and Sneijder which made Galatasaray instant contenders. Schalke should be happy with the draw in my opinion. Drogba is a bit under-rated in the football world. He hits my top 20 list but not many others.



http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2013/feb/21/schalke-protest-didier-drogba-galatasary

 

[The Count Dante]

Schalke are whining about Drogba being allowed to play for Galatasaray. Little bit of sour grapes by Schalke. I like Drogba despite him being a money chaser but really now. Schalke are just wasting their time with this one. It's not as if Uefa is going to overturn the result. I highly doubt that Schalke actually do file on this. Seems like a way to find an excuse for the draw which really isn't an upset in my books considering the big money signings of Drogba and Sneijder which made Galatasaray instant contenders. Schalke should be happy with the draw in my opinion. Drogba is a bit under-rated in the football world. He hits my top 20 list but not many others.



http://www.guardian....ogba-galatasary

I think that is exactly the issue as well, trying to save a bit of face and a bit of pride. Candidly, I dont know anything about UEFA and ruling on crap like this, but even if Drogba wasnt really available, it isnt like there is enough of an infraction to forfeit the game...my guess is that the worst that will happen is Drogba wouldnt be able to play in the next match at least.



Really, it cant be a surprise that Schalke couldnt close... They wont get back to Champions next year and at this point, may not even make Europa. That may be part of it too... They know this is their last UEFA, at least for 2 years.

 

[the canadian dream]

I think that is exactly the issue as well, trying to save a bit of face and a bit of pride. Candidly, I dont know anything about UEFA and ruling on crap like this, but even if Drogba wasnt really available, it isnt like there is enough of an infraction to forfeit the game...my guess is that the worst that will happen is Drogba wouldnt be able to play in the next match at least.



Really, it cant be a surprise that Schalke couldnt close... They wont get back to Champions next year and at this point, may not even make Europa. That may be part of it too... They know this is their last UEFA, at least for 2 years.

I don't really pay much attention to Europa but I just watched an amazing result in the Lyons/Tottenham game. Europa takes too much commitment of paying attention for me. I should pay more attention because there are some good matches. Just hard to turn from Champions League to Europa at the same time.



Yah about Drogba might be a case of looking for a "suspension", for a lack of better terms, next game also. That makes more sense as far as filling the complaint.



The Galax fans and media are actually upset about the draw as they demand a quarter final showing at least based on the money they spent. Because of that I might actaully cheer against them in the 2nd leg and cheer for Schalke. As much as I like Drogba I like the big money teams suffering.

 

[The Count Dante]

I don't really pay much attention to Europa but I just watched an amazing result in the Lyons/Tottenham game. Europa takes too much commitment of paying attention for me. I should pay more attention because there are some good matches. Just hard to turn from Champions League to Europa at the same time.



Yah about Drogba might be a case of looking for a "suspension", for a lack of better terms, next game also. That makes more sense as far as filling the complaint.



The Galax fans and media are actually upset about the draw as they demand a quarter final showing at least based on the money they spent. Because of that I might actaully cheer against them in the 2nd leg and cheer for Schalke. As much as I like Drogba I like the big money teams suffering.

I dont watch TOO much Europa... Usually when it gets to the knockouts is when I try to catch some.



Oh, I am with you there! How much do you want to see the 330mill PSG team get knocked out by a team that has sold every player for years, didnt have the cash to finish their stadium and owned by the city?