Parrhesia Posted December 23, 2015 Author Share Posted December 23, 2015 Yeah, he's probably our best forward. Still has no final product but it doesn't really matter when he's incredibly quick and a massive beast. It's just that, well... being not dead (though he has missed an international break or two I think) doesn't really fit the theme. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rei Rei Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Libertadores group stage sortied out Boca Juniors and Corinthians with some easy shit ahead. Gremio and PARMERA with the toughest groups Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrhesia Posted February 26, 2016 Author Share Posted February 26, 2016 (edited) Well, as we're now aware, the new FIFA President - Gianni Infantino - is to be someone without a record of human rights violations. Still very much part of the scenery there, of course, so we can expect most of the corruption to keep on keeping on (as the legion of Swiss prosecutors prowls the countryside), but maybe FIFA isn't actually totally fucked? For the next couple years at least? He does want to expand the World Cup to 40 teams though ugh A couple articles on the subject; http://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/feb/26/gianni-infantino-fifa-president http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2016/feb/26/gianni-infantino-fifa-president-sheik-salman-sepp-blatter Edited February 26, 2016 by Parrhesia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullwine85 Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 Well, as we're now aware, the new FIFA President - Gianni Infantino - is to be someone without a record of human rights violations. Still very much part of the scenery there, of course, so we can expect most of the corruption to keep on keeping on (as the legion of Swiss prosecutors prowls the countryside), but maybe FIFA isn't actually totally fucked? For the next couple years at least? He does want to expand the World Cup to 40 teams though ugh A couple articles on the subject; http://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/feb/26/gianni-infantino-fifa-president http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2016/feb/26/gianni-infantino-fifa-president-sheik-salman-sepp-blatter Who'd have thunk that the "bald UEFA draw guy" would have become the next FIFA President? On an unrelated note, MLS season starts a week from Sunday! Here's hoping Philadelphia Union don't drive me to drink AS much as they usually do. (especially when I have to deal with MLB's Brewers disappointing me year after year as well!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Life Posted February 27, 2016 Share Posted February 27, 2016 So with every team in Ligat Ha'Al having two matches left before the playoffs, Hapoel Be'er Sheva is in the lead and is fucking demolishing both Beitar Jerusalem (the most popular central team) and Maccabi Tel Aviv (our universally known team). Aside from that, the 2 of the other 3 teams going for the championship are the usual suspects (Hapoel Ra'anana and Maccabi Haifa). And then you have motherfucking Bnei Sahknin. It's funny to note that Bnei Sahknin is an Arab based team that's been around and good for the past ten years. They've also won four of their last five to move into striking range for a shot at the championship. Can't say that I'll be cheering for them but I won't be rooting for them to lose. I just hope that Beitar gets embarrassed. Aside from that, Maccabi Netanya are garbage and deserve to be relegated down two leagues. And if Bnei Yehuda manage to beat both Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Ra'anana, they'll go to the playoffs two years after they got relegated down to Ligat Leumit. Legit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrhesia Posted February 27, 2016 Author Share Posted February 27, 2016 How's Nikita Rukavytsya doing over there, out of curiosity? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Life Posted February 27, 2016 Share Posted February 27, 2016 9 goals on the season to help put a dog-shit team in a good shot for the championship again. I don't follow Israeli football as much as I should, to be completely honest. I just really enjoy watching Beitar Jerusalem fans be eternally sad (that includes a lot of friends of mine). Shotgun to my head will give you a Maccabi Tel Aviv answer to my favourite club but I wouldn't call myself that much of a fan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrhesia Posted February 27, 2016 Author Share Posted February 27, 2016 thought experiment i guess What would you, given reasonable freedom, do to change your association/league/how football works in your country? I'm going to make an effort post about this later but I figure it'd be nice to open it to everyone since we've got a pretty diverse population here, huh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Life Posted February 27, 2016 Share Posted February 27, 2016 thought experiment i guess What would you, given reasonable freedom, do to change your association/league/how football works in your country? I'm going to make an effort post about this later but I figure it'd be nice to open it to everyone since we've got a pretty diverse population here, huh Not really but the sport isn't as appealing to me as Hockey or American Football. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrhesia Posted March 1, 2016 Author Share Posted March 1, 2016 I was going to make an effort post probably on the Asian Champions' League or something but instead here's a video Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullwine85 Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 MLS season started yesterday aaaaand Philadelphia starts off with a 2-0 loss to FC Dallas. Now normally this is the part where I'd be drinking and saying "It's gonna be a long season, isn't it?", but there were signs of encouragement near the end and Dallas is a really really good team, and young to boot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peener weener Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 thought experiment i guess What would you, given reasonable freedom, do to change your association/league/how football works in your country? I'm going to make an effort post about this later but I figure it'd be nice to open it to everyone since we've got a pretty diverse population here, huh conmebol and AFA need to be fucking upturned tbh past just "everyone is corrupted and that needs to stop," i think a flatter organisation structure would be far more amicable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullwine85 Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 (edited) What's that? Oh, it's an angry mob calling for Herr Klinsmann to be sacked.We just lost a qualifier 2-0 to GUATEMALA.And this wasn't the US getting unlucky, this was being outplayed and outcoached by Guatemala, the weakest Central American team besides Belize (if you count them as Central American), Nicaragua and maybe....MAYBE El Salvador. This is also the first US loss to Guatemala since 1988. Absolutely pitiful Edited March 26, 2016 by Bullwine85 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rei Rei Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 Don't worry guys you'll win the World Cup within 2 or 3 editions Also serious question is David Luiz perceived by the international media (read anywhere else other than Brazil) as at least a decent CB? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrhesia Posted March 29, 2016 Author Share Posted March 29, 2016 (edited) IIRC he was regarded as a bit of a joke at Chelsea, utterly hammered after the World Cup and the fact that he became the most expensive defender in the world was regarded with disbelief, but he hasn't had much press lately and tbh I forgot he existed. There was a lot of talk before the World Cup that different defenders should have gone, though - IIRC there were one or two guys at Atletico Madrid? also fuck me sydney are bad. hopefully this means we win the ACL, like Western Sydney did while coming 9th. Edited March 29, 2016 by Parrhesia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heliosan Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 David Luiz is a good player but can get overly emotional on the field which can easily lead to lapses in defense (see: Germany vs. Brazil, Barcelona vs. PSG). He would still be a starting CB in a lot of good teams in Europe, but definitely not in the talks of "best CB" at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rei Rei Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 IIRC he was regarded as a bit of a joke at Chelsea, utterly hammered after the World Cup and the fact that he became the most expensive defender in the world was regarded with disbelief, but he hasn't had much press lately and tbh I forgot he existed. There was a lot of talk before the World Cup that different defenders should have gone, though - IIRC there were one or two guys at Atletico Madrid? Miranda from Atletico Madrid (now at Internazionale). Honestly, even Marquinhos, who stinks of piss, is a better defender than him David Luiz is a good player but can get overly emotional on the field which can easily lead to lapses in defense (see: Germany vs. Brazil, Barcelona vs. PSG). He would still be a starting CB in a lot of good teams in Europe, but definitely not in the talks of "best CB" at the moment. I don't see a single game that he doesn't do at least a goof. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullwine85 Posted March 30, 2016 Share Posted March 30, 2016 (edited) US recovers from an embarrassing Friday by routing Guatemala 4-0 at home. Just goes to show that if you actually put the players in the positions they're supposed to be playing, they'll do well Order Restored? Now what am I going to do with my torch and pitchfork? Edited March 30, 2016 by Bullwine85 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rei Rei Posted March 30, 2016 Share Posted March 30, 2016 LOL LIKE YOU SHOULD BE CELEBRATING A 4-0 VICTORY AGAINST GUATEMALA JUST LIKE BRAZIL WHO CELEBRATED A 2-2 DRAW AGAINST FUCKING PARAGUAY FUCK MAN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullwine85 Posted March 30, 2016 Share Posted March 30, 2016 LOL LIKE YOU SHOULD BE CELEBRATING A 4-0 VICTORY AGAINST GUATEMALA JUST LIKE BRAZIL WHO CELEBRATED A 2-2 DRAW AGAINST FUCKING PARAGUAY FUCK MAN Think of it less as "celebrating" and more "breathing a sigh of relief", and saying " now was that so hard?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rei Rei Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 usa should be winning every fucking game on its wc qualifier (except against mexico) just like brazil shouldn't be even tying with any squad not named uruguay or argentina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullwine85 Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 (edited) usa should be winning every fucking game on its wc qualifier (except against mexico) just like brazil shouldn't be even tying with any squad not named uruguay or argentina I think you underestimate CONCACAF road qualifiers (which Mexico usually has just as much trouble with as the US). Granted, we shouldn't have lost to freaking Guatemala, but there's a reason CONCACAF qualifiers tend to be closer than people expect. Sure CONCACAF consists of the US, Mexico and everyone else (with Costa Rica and Honduras occasionally making some noise here and there), but the rest of CONCACAF knows this, and they'll do anything to try to get an edge. And I mean literally anything. Crap pitches, fans blaring music outside the opposing team hotels the night before so that the opposing team gets very little (if any) sleep, shady officiating, doing anything to delay the opposing team bus, the works. Mexico goes through the exact same situations, with mostly similar results. The US and Mexico SHOULD win all their home qualifiers however. Since CONCACAF went to this format beginning with qualifiers for France '98, the US has lost only one home qualifier (vs. Honduras back in 2002 qualifying, and it was a miracle Bruce Arena's head wasn't on a platter after that one), and drawn only 2-3 times (can't remember the exact number), but those draws came when the US had already moved on to the next round anyway. Similar results for Mexico, 2014 qualifying seems to be an anomaly for them where not even the Azteca could hide the fault with the side back then. Not really much of an excuse, but it does explain why the US and Mexico haven't simply run away with the qualifiers the past few cycles. Though with CONMEBOL qualifiers, shouldn't teams like Colombia and Chile be putting up some fights vs. Brazil as well? Maybe even Ecuador (particularly in Quito?) The only real minnows in CONMEBOL in my opinion are Bolivia, Venezuela, and MAYBE Peru, and those teams would likely qualify easily on confederations like OFC and even AFC. Edited March 31, 2016 by Bullwine85 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rei Rei Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 Nah man, all those tactics that you mentioned aren't strangers to CONMEBOL. In fact they used to be even more hardcore. As an example, in our continental club tournament, Libertadores, some supporters used to throw pieces of BRICKS against the away players who were going to a corner. Some nasty stuff. The thing is that when we are talking about sheer talent, Brazil really shouldn't be tying with Paraguay (even if that meant coming back after losing 2-0), or even Chile. Both of our wins were against the bottom of the qualifiers. It's a miracle we didn't get murdered by Uruguay (who weren't playing very well, and still kicked our asses) or Argentina. Some say that it's because almost none of our players are the main guys in their respective clubs, with even our star Neymar playing 2nd fiddle for the boss Messi. The only people who come close to being protagonists are lol Jonas and lol William. But even so, that's unacceptable. Maybe we're spoiled, I guess. Ecuador is sharing the number 1 spot with Uruguay, losing on Goal Difference. Quite a refreshing surprise, too. Colombia has a nice offensive squad right now, with fellas like Bacca and Cuadrado going through some amazing moments, and James Rodriguez really stepping up his game when playing for his country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrhesia Posted April 1, 2016 Author Share Posted April 1, 2016 US recovers from an embarrassing Friday by routing Guatemala 4-0 at home. Just goes to show that if you actually put the players in the positions they're supposed to be playing, they'll do well Yeah, he really hit upon the best positions for his key players. Cameron-Birnbaum as centre-halves, Dempsey up front, Altidore on the bench... Australia breezed through the second (and first relevant) stage of qualifying, and we're looking genuinely really good. Ryan's starting again for Valencia (though with Neville now gone, who knows?) and is seriously going to be a goalkeeper on the edge of world-class, we found fullbacks in Smith and Risdon, a solid hurts-people centre-half in Bailey Wright who fouls a lot while Trent Sainsbury is a ball-playing centre-half with the knowledge that people are allowed to dispossess him (so he's better than John Stones for one), Mooy, Rogic and Luongo are all really good, Jedinak anchoring them, Leckie literally the fastest player in the Bundesliga, Kruse isn't fucking injured for once, Cahill... continuing to be Cahill... And, importantly, we have strikers who aren't Cahill now that we've stolen Apostolos Giannou from Greece (they capped him in a friendly and had him as an unused substitute in actual competitive matches lmao). He got four assists in his first game, which is a good sign. Jamie Maclaren, meanwhile, has I think 18 goals from 21 appearances in the A-League which is, frankly, going to convert nicely into most leagues you throw him into next season. And then I guess in Juric and Bulut we have decent Eredivisie and Greek league strikers waiting in the wings. The one question of 'what the fuck do we do when Cahill dies', the one burning question of Australia's national team selection, has finally been answered. Anyway despite a couple of hilarious close calls - China almost fucked it up, Thailand surprisingly surged to victory, Syria managed the frankly incredible feat of qualifying for the next round, India lost to fucking Guam - all the heavy hitters got through without many real surprises. Also rulings from the spectacular - Indonesia and I think Kuwait wiped from fucking contention, to the trivial; FIFA awarded Iran a 3–0 win as a result of India fielding the ineligible player Eugeneson Lyngdoh.[16] The match initially ended 3–0 to Iran. Ahh, it's good to be in Asia. AFC; the place to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tryhard Posted May 3, 2016 Share Posted May 3, 2016 (edited) mon the foxes some change in the Premier League, what I like to see. Edited May 3, 2016 by Tryhard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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