International Soccer/Football & UEFA Champions League

[Wee S]

Argentina have lost the head of themselves. France have the belief...But Argentina just need 1 chance and I think they could still do it.

This match is insane.

[JTMacc99]

This game is why I don’t root for stupid underdogs.  Let’s see two great two teams play for it all, and this is what you might get. 

[Lady Whistleup]

This is an amazing game.

[Salacious Kitty]

Wow. 

[DoctorAtomic]

I don't know why the defender didn't plant himself on the goal line. He was fully in the net. 

[DoctorAtomic]

As much as I complain about penalties, these all were legitimate. 

Unbelievable. 

[Salacious Kitty]

Mbappe with the hat trick! 

[Wee S]

I.cannot.cope.

Is this what it's like to give birth because I can't breathe but also want to cry at the same time.

[DoctorAtomic]

I don't really have any skin in this fight, but just as a soccer fan, these are clearly the two best teams leaving everything out there. 

I mean, there's two breakaway saves in stoppage time of extra time. 

Donovan - I don't smoke, but I need a cigarette. 

Watch, we're going to end up with the keepers shooting at this point. 

[DoctorAtomic]

I mean, announcers, the keeper can go the right way and still not get it if you blow it by him. It's not as much in your head if you don't let it. 

[Lady Whistleup]

Well France has nothing to be ashamed of. They fought ferociously.

[twoods]

Congrats to Argentina. Mbappe single-handedly almost won the entire thing for France. He is unbelievable. And yay to Messi for finally winning the WC. Two great teams.

[Wee S]

You know, I'm kinda ok with that. It was a good effort by France, but they will be back again. Only silver lining is that Ronaldo has no world cup and Messi does (and Im not even a Messi fan). Ronaldo just was too arrogant.

[AimingforYoko]

It's the dream of any tournament in any sport that the best game or match in the tourney is the final. Now we can argue if Qatar deserved such a match, but as the great philosopher William Munny once opined, "Deserve's got nothin' to do with it." What a final. Congrats to Argentina and Messi for getting that last addition to the resume.

Edited December 18, 2022 by AimingforYoko

[DoctorAtomic]

Not bad consolation for the president of the country to come up to shake your hand.

12 minutes ago, twoods said:

Congrats to Argentina. Mbappe single-handedly almost won the entire thing for France. He is unbelievable. And yay to Messi for finally winning the WC. Two great teams.

He's 23. 

[DoctorAtomic]

Do we need two people to carry the trophy?

[Fukui San]

28 minutes ago, Wee S said:

You know, I'm kinda ok with that. It was a good effort by France, but they will be back again. Only silver lining is that Ronaldo has no world cup and Messi does (and Im not even a Messi fan). Ronaldo just was too arrogant.

Never thought that their careers would diverge so dramatically. Four years ago Ronaldo had the better World Cup. Now Ronaldo is kind of unplayable for club and country at the world class level, and Messi is still great for club and had his best World Cup, I think.

Edited December 18, 2022 by Fukui San

[Wee S]

Mbappe reallllllly has no time for Macron. Every time Macron is trying to be 'how do you do fellow kids?', Mbappe can't get away from him fast enough. Won't even look him in the eye.

[DoctorAtomic]

The Amir is really milking it. 

[Oosala]

On 12/18/2022 at 9:43 AM, DoctorAtomic said:

I don't really have any skin in this fight,

I didn't think I did either, but when they showed Sergio Aguero in the stands, I became an Argentina fan.  I fucking love that boy, and when he was forced to retire, it broke my heart.  Who can forget MC QPR Agueroooooooo!  I think this was the best match I've ever watched.  What a roller coaster.  I'm exhausted.

Edited December 21, 2022 by Oosala

[DoctorAtomic]

I'm not sure why Kane made the highlight reel. 

[Oosala]

6 minutes ago, DoctorAtomic said:

I'm not sure why Kane made the highlight reel. 

Because he speaks English?  Well, he sort of speaks English.  He mumbles English.  I hate the Spurs.

[DoctorAtomic]

That was the joke. 

[Oosala]

1 hour ago, AimingforYoko said:

[snip] as the great philosopher William Munny once opined, "Deserve's got nothin' to do with it."

100% agree.  Whoever wins deserves to win.  One of my mantras, and it's true in any sport.  Also, Offense wins games; defense wins championships.  All sports.  I'm sure I didn't make these up myself.  I must have heard them from somewhere.

Edited December 18, 2022 by Oosala

[xaxat]

Trying to remember if I have ever seen any sporting contest where two generation talents (Mbappe, Messi) delivered like this in the finals.

[DoctorAtomic]

Maybe 94 in the US with Ronaldo and Baggio? But that was scoreless. Last time was high scoring, but Croatia was never in it. 

I really don't remember much before 1990 because I think before that it was on UHF(!) in the US. I think I saw the 86 final, but I only remember Maradona. He was so big, he was even a name in the US.

[AimingforYoko]

Andres Cantor came to the U.S. from Argentina when as a teen and became the world's most famous soccer announcer. Here he is, calling the winning penalty:

[JTMacc99]

18 hours ago, AimingforYoko said:

It's the dream of any tournament in any sport that the best game or match in the tourney is the final.

Yep. And when it's two great teams with great players, it becomes a game people will talk about forever.

I get why people were rooting for Morocco and Croatia in the semifinals, but we would have been robbed of this game had one or both of those teams won.

(Thank you for listening to JTMacc99's never ending case for why it's okay to root for the better team or athlete in sporting events when you have no specific rooting interest.)

[Wee S]

I had pitched it in my head as a CL final...but it was so much more than that. I'm not one given to sensationalism, but that was the greatest match I've ever seen. And as a United fan who watched the '99 CL final which won us the treble, that says alot!

[DoctorAtomic]

3 hours ago, JTMacc99 said:

(Thank you for listening to JTMacc99's never ending case for why it's okay to root for the better team or athlete in sporting events when you have no specific rooting interest.)

I think part of the problem is the faves get all the massive hype, so you tend to get sick of it and not want them to win. It's not Messi's fault, but enough already. Mbappe is going to have to deal with all this for like the next 15 years. It's not their fault they're great, but it would be nice to just to be able to enjoy the moments too. 

Also exception that proves the rule - Morocco/Portugal. No one wanted Renaldo to win. 

[JTMacc99]

25 minutes ago, DoctorAtomic said:

Also exception that proves the rule - Morocco/Portugal. No one wanted Renaldo to win. 

Heh heh heh. That falls under my "no specific rooting interest" rule. If you happen to hate a specific player (because he's unlikable) on that team, you have a legitimate rooting interest. I would assume that if Portugal were a big underdog in a game, Renaldo dislike would have overridden "I'd like to see the underdog win" sentiment. 

29 minutes ago, DoctorAtomic said:

I think part of the problem is the faves get all the massive hype, so you tend to get sick of it and not want them to win.

Yep. Like I said, I get it. I've just decided for it to be my thing to encourage everybody to get over that feeling and enjoy watching great players and great teams. Years from now, you get to say "I remember that 2022 World Cup final. It was one of the greatest games I've ever seen..."

[proserpina65]

Well, phooey.  That was a lousy way to end a pretty good World Cup.  Oh well, maybe next time.  Given how close I live to Philly, I'm going to do my damnedest to get tickets to at least one match; I don't care if it's Angola v Trinidad and Tobago as long as I'm there.

Edited to note that I hate Argentina, am sick and tired of Messi, and hell, I don't even like France that much.

Edited December 19, 2022 by proserpina65

[DoctorAtomic]

I don't know if I'll be anywhere near a venue, but if it's close enough for a road trip I might. 

[Oosala]

17 hours ago, AimingforYoko said:

Andres Cantor came to the U.S. from Argentina when as a teen and became the world's most famous soccer announcer. Here he is, calling the winning penalty:

Thanks so much for posting that video.  I cried with him through the whole thing.  It was probably the greatest moment of his life, and his co-announcer knew it.

5 minutes ago, JTMacc99 said:

Years from now, you get to say "I remember that 2022 World Cup final. It was one of the greatest games I've ever seen..."

☺️  At the tender age of 66, I doubt I'll see another like it.  I've set my DVR to "Do Not Erase" because I have it all recorded.

[Wee S]

I may have issues with the BBCs inherent bias towards England, at the expense of the other home nations, but god do they do a great closing montage. Got me proper emotional, this. Great song too.

[Oosala]

1 hour ago, Wee S said:

I may have issues with the BBCs inherent bias towards England, at the expense of the other home nations, but god do they do a great closing montage. Got me proper emotional, this. Great song too.

Goosebumps.  I love these men.  Glad to see Lewandowski and de Bruyne and Modrić and the Senegalese fans dancing and Griezmann and Mbappe and Messi.  And then the final.  What a wild ride.  Need to rest up for the return of the EPL on Boxing Day.

[DoctorAtomic]

That's only a week. Everyone is going to be rusty. 

[blackwing]

Fantastic game.  For those who say that "soccer is boring" I think that they should be forced to watch this game and swear that they didn't find it exciting.

I wanted Argentina and Messi to win.  But I also like France so I felt bad for them.  I wanted a competitive game, and for 80 minutes, it wasn't.   I felt bad for Giroud who got yanked at 40 minutes, but he really did look lost.  Don't fully understand why Griezemann got pulled at 70.  Arguably the subs that came in were fresh legs that helped France to draw the penalties and create the chances.  But still, Griezemann had been one of the best players of the whole tournament.

Mbappe of course got all the attention, but I think Griezemann was one of the heroes of the French team.  He got put into this midfield position because of injuries and he was fantastic.  I think he should have won the Bronze Ball.  I think he was more impactful on his team that Luka Modric, I feel like Modric only got it because he is old and this is his last Cup.  But it could be Griezemann's last as well.

Media gushes about Mbappe's hat trick, which I find a bit odd, because two of the goals were PKs, and I don't think he even drew the fouls that led to them, did he?  Sometimes I feel like the rule should be changed so that the person who got fouled is the one that takes the PK.  Because otherwise teams just put in their star to increase their goal tally.

Love that BBC montage.  Way better than the Fox FS1 montage.  

Landon Donovan is truly an awful analyst.  He doesn't really add anything insightful and I really dislike how he makes everything about him.  He's always saying things like "when I was a player and we were doing XYZ" or "this reminds me of when I was playing".  Clint Dempsey and Alexi Lalas never seem to say anything about their playing days.

[proserpina65]

16 hours ago, blackwing said:

Landon Donovan is truly an awful analyst.  He doesn't really add anything insightful and I really dislike how he makes everything about him.  He's always saying things like "when I was a player and we were doing XYZ" or "this reminds me of when I was playing".

I think that's something on which we can all agree.

[DoctorAtomic]

On 12/18/2022 at 4:52 PM, AimingforYoko said:

Andres Cantor came to the U.S. from Argentina when as a teen and became the world's most famous soccer announcer. Here he is, calling the winning penalty:

PBS Newshour has a segment and interview with him tonight. It should be on youtube.

[blackwing]

A few days later after the World Cup has concluded, and I am still hearing the walkout song in my head.  Gives me goosebumps, it's so amazing and soaring.  I've watched the Finals walkout so many times.  Love seeing the players walking on the pitch to this song, they looks like warriors going to battle.  Loved the national anthems and unlike in most other sports, the players actually sing their national anthems.  You could tell that every single one of those French players is proud to be French and every single one of those Argentine players is proud to be Argentine.

[Salacious Kitty]

Just read that Pele has passed away. 😢

[Lady Whistleup]

Yes it was announced on his IG. RIP.

[wanderingstar]

Pelé, the Global Face of Soccer, Dies at 82 (NY Times Obituary)

[blackwing]

What a mess.  It looks to me like Claudio Reyna was ticked off that his son Gio was benched during the World Cup, so he contacted US Soccer to provide dirt about coach Gregg Berthaler.  Seems pretty vindictive.  Unfortunately, it seems to have worked, because it appears that Berthaler has been put on temporary leave until the investigation is complete.

https://www.espn.com/soccer/united-states-usa/story/4844539/reynas-told-us-soccer-about-past-gregg-berhalter-domestic-violence-incident-sources

 

In other news, Cristiano Ronaldo has signed with the Saudi Arabia team Al-Nassr, and I'm laughing at his claims that "many" teams all over the world were interested in signing him.  Really?  If many teams were interested, I think he would have stayed in Europe.

[xaxat]

1 hour ago, blackwing said:

What a mess.  It looks to me like Claudio Reyna was ticked off that his son Gio was benched during the World Cup, so he contacted US Soccer to provide dirt about coach Gregg Berthaler. 

Reyna's mom was also in on it.

Quote

Danielle Reyna said in a statement on Wednesday: "I thought it was especially unfair that Gio, who had apologized for acting immaturely about his playing time, was still being dragged through the mud when Gregg had asked for and received forgiveness for doing something so much worse at the same age."

This is so messy. Claudio and Danielle look like vengeful Little League parents.

[Wee S]

2 hours ago, blackwing said:

In other news, Cristiano Ronaldo has signed with the Saudi Arabia team Al-Nassr, and I'm laughing at his claims that "many" teams all over the world were interested in signing him.  Really?  If many teams were interested, I think he would have stayed in Europe.

In his press conference, he said South Africa instead of Saudi Arabia...yep, totally wants to be there. Rumours abound about a clause with Newcastle, that if they get CL action, he can join them next year. And then it's come out today that his long-term agent, Jorge Mendes has split from him. Mendes told him not to do that interview in the way that he did....CR7 is one non-stop car crash right now.

[DoctorAtomic]

I used to like Claudio Reyna. You want more minutes, work harder in practice and play harder when you do get minutes. Talk to the staff on what to do to improve. Claudio was the U23 coach. That's what he should be saying.

I don't doubt that there were European teams 'interested'. He wasn't going to go to any but a top flight side, and I don't think any of them were interested. He's not going to play for anyone struggling just to make the CL playoff. That kind of limits where you go, and he's not playing for a contender and settling for maybe 15' a game. 

[Wee S]

Newcastle aren't a struggling team anymore - they are joint 3rd with United, which is guaranteed CL football. They are also owned by Saudi and despite the denials, they would make it happen for him. If anyone comes close to breaking his CL records, he'll find a chance to get back into a team in the CL - that's how his ego works.

[DoctorAtomic]

Oh, no doubt. I'm sure he practically wrote his own contract.