International Soccer/Football & UEFA Champions League

[wanderingstar]

I caught the Armenia-Portugal match yesterday, but I missed Slovenia v. England. I'd like to see Iceland qualify, too - since they narrowly missed qualifying for the last World Cup.

[EverCat]

I missed both those matches but yesterday I did watch one of the strangest games I ever saw.  Croatia v Italy in an empty stadium (for sanctions against Croatia):

First half - Croatia awarded penalty...Buffon parries.  The Pharoah scores for Italy, which is unrightly ruled offside.  While the players are celebrating/arguing with the officials, Croatia resume play and score a goal at the other end...where Mandszukic, slid into Buffon who had to be substituted at half-time for 10 stitches to his knee.   Also at half-time it was discovered that a swastika had been etched into the field.

 

How was the Aremenia v Portual match?  

 

Anyone watching Copa América?

[hendersonrocks]

Anyone watching Copa América?

 

<raises hand>

 

I cannot believe Paraguay came back and got a tie against Argentina. Yowzers. I haven't had a chance to see yesterday's Brazil game but I heard Neymar had an epic performance?

[wanderingstar]

Neymar needed to have an epic performance because at the back? Hoo boy - Brazil (or should I say David Luiz) was having issues*

How was the Aremenia v Portual match?

Depends on your preferences. Do you like underdog stories (Armenia took a shock lead in the first half), or do you like one-man shows from Cristiano Ronaldo (he had a second half hat trick)?

The England v. Slovenia game had two great goals from Jack Wilshere, so I'm sorry to have missed that.

As for the Copa America - Chile and Mexico are playing the best game of the tournament so far. Mexico twice had the lead, and now it's tied 3-3 with about 4 minutes left.

*and I say this as an unabashed David Luiz fangirl.

Edited June 18, 2015 by Gillian Rosh

[ganesh]

Is Copa on tv? I can't find it.

[wanderingstar]

Copa America is airing on beIn Sports.

[Dandesun]

Neymar needed to have an epic performance because at the back? Hoo boy - Brazil (or should I say David Luiz) was having issues*

 

Wasn't David Luiz at the center of the defense meltdown that resulted in Germany scoring four goals in fifteen minutes in the World Cup?

[proserpina65]

I'm totally behind Iceland to qualify.  Go 'SSons!

Wasn't David Luiz at the center of the defense meltdown that resulted in Germany scoring four goals in fifteen minutes in the World Cup?

Yup.

[wanderingstar]

David Luiz is a decent player; he's just not a defender. He really only does well in defense when he has Thiago Silva w/him.

[EverCat]

I like a good underdog story (unless they beat my favourite teams :)

Iceland looking good!

 

I don't get bein, so I have been reduced to watching on youtue (sad, I know).  

 Also LFMAO at the goal Benitez (Paraguay) scored against Jamaica.

 

[wanderingstar]

I'm glad Colombia beat Brazil tonight. I just can't stand Brazil. 

[EverCat]

Brazil - my least favourite of all S.America teams.   Neymar's headbutt was a classy touch also.

In other news Vidal apologizes for crashing his ferrari while drink driving home from the casino.  Since he is so sorry, he will not be suspended from the team?

[Dandesun]

I'm pretty much always happy when Brazil loses. I always feel like 'well, everyone in the world is rooting for them already, I don't need to!' I'm usually pretty meh about them.

 

And, yesterday, having Colombia beat them was particularly delightful. I enjoyed them so much in the World Cup and that game against Brazil was brutal. And having David Luiz grab a crying James Rodriguez after the game, pointing at him all 'acknowledge this star that we just spent 90 minutes kicking the shit out of! Yay! Sportsmanship!' Ugh. (Okay. I do not like David Luiz, either.) So getting a little bit back in the Copa America felt good to me.

 

Plus, Neymar getting all petulant was a bonus.

[wanderingstar]

And, yesterday, having Colombia beat them was particularly delightful.

 

 

It really was. I resented Brazil so much for (literally) kicking Colombia out of last year's WC. So I am very glad Colombia won yesterday. 

 

I am still not sure who will win this tournament. 

[JustaPerson]

I think Neymar's injury (and the way it happened) was Brazil's karma. And of course, the next game...

[EverCat]

And now Neymar has been handed a 4 match ban.  Buh-bye 

[Dandesun]

Will the rest of the team clutch his jersey and weep openly as they belt out the national anthem at the next game? Or does that only happen when he's injured?

[wanderingstar]

They didn't clutch Neymar's jersey and they beat Venezuela without him to advance to the KO stages. So, I guess that's progress for Brazil.

[wanderingstar]

The UCL group stage draw.

 

Group A
PSG
Real Madrid
Shakhtar Donetsk
Malmo

 

Group B
PSV
Man. United
CSKA Moscow
Wolfsburg

 

Group C
Benfica
Atletico Madrid
Galatasary
Astana

 

Group D
Juventus
Man. City
Sevilla
Monchengladbach

 

Group E
Barcelona
Leverkusen
Roma
BATE Borisov

 

Group F
Bayern
Arsenal
Olympiacos
Dinamo Zagreb

 

Group G
Chelsea
Porto
Dynamo Kyiv
M. Tel Aviv

 

Group H
Zenit St. Petersburg
Valencia
Lyon
Gent

[ganesh]

Nothing particularly grabs me, 

[wanderingstar]

Nope - the same old clubs will get to the knockout stages. I'm mildly intrigued by a few ties (PSG vs. Madrid, Juventus vs. Manchester City). But yeah - this is all looking pretty predictable.

Edited September 2, 2015 by Gillian Rosh

[proserpina65]

Chelsea, as usual, got an easy ass group, but I'm sure Mou will find something to complain about.  Arsenal ended up with Bayern (ugh) but at least getting them in the group stage means they won't face them again in the knockout phase if both teams advance.

[JustaPerson]

After that 5-1 dismantling Bayern are looking pretty much unstoppable right now. Of course, they also looked unstoppable around the same time last season. Hopefully injuries don't fizzle out their season the way it did last year. 

[wanderingstar]

Robert Lewandowski continues to be ridiculous. 

 

https://twitter.com/Cnyari/status/653291631970529284

Edited October 11, 2015 by Gillian Rosh

[proserpina65]

Holy crap!  What the hell happened at the Emirates yesterday?!?!?!?!

[JustaPerson]

Who the hell knows dude...genuinely not sure what to feel right now. Disappointment that Bayern lost, or happy that Arsenal won? Guess it should be Arsenal winning since that'll probably be their high point in the CL this season. XD

Edited October 21, 2015 by JustaPerson

[proserpina65]

Who the hell knows dude...genuinely not sure what to feel right now. Disappointment that Bayern lost, or happy that Arsenal won? Guess it should be Arsenal winning since that'll probably be their high point in the CL this season. XD

I'd give you hell for saying that, but I've been an Arsenal fan for a long time now.  I've refused to get my hopes up ever since 2011 when Arsenal won the first leg against Barcelona only to completely fall at Nou Camp.  That was the season when everything fell apart in March.  I hate March.

[wanderingstar]

Happy for Arsenal and especially for Ozil. I have always liked him.

[JustaPerson]

 

I'd give you hell for saying that, but I've been an Arsenal fan for a long time now.  I've refused to get my hopes up ever since 2011 when Arsenal won the first leg against Barcelona only to completely fall at Nou Camp.  That was the season when everything fell apart in March.  I hate March.

I haven't even been a fan for very long, but my optimism for Arsenal is pretty much gone by now. I love them, I really do, but hope and...confidence....is dangerous lol. I always assume the worst when it comes to them XD

 

ETA: But excited for the confidence this win will give them! Bayern will be fine -- they don't have the same mental fragility that Arsenal seems to have. 

Edited October 21, 2015 by JustaPerson

[wanderingstar]

Why did I know that the PSG-Real match would fall flat?

[kdm07]

Why did I know that the PSG-Real match would fall flat?

 

Because it's Rafa and he tends to be cautious in most games? He does know how to win cup games so that might keep him in the job longer.

[wanderingstar]

kdm07, I don't know how to feel about my Real Madrid this season. They're winning, but I can't say they've been enjoyable to watch.

Edited October 29, 2015 by Gillian Rosh

[kdm07]

kdm07, I don't know how to feel about my Real Madrid this season. They're winning, but I can't say they've been enjoyable to watch.

 

I just feel...frustrated. Take last weekend's game. They were cruising at 2-0 and then for some reason he made them fall back and defend. Why? I have no idea. They could've really killed the game off by pushing for more goals instead he made them drop back and it invited Celta back into the game. Something's got to give here.

[wanderingstar]

Yeah - Keylor's been great, but he can't always bail us out.

[proserpina65]

Sepp Blatter was an answer on last night's Jeopardy.  And no, the clue didn't say "this bat-shit crazy grifter has driven FIFA into the sewer with his corruption".  Shame, that.

[proserpina65]

Well, THAT happened.  Not that Arsenal supporters didn't expect a loss, but still . . . 5-1?  Ugh!

[AimingforYoko]

Well, THAT happened.  Not that Arsenal supporters didn't expect a loss, but still . . . 5-1?  Ugh!

Who ever thought the Germans could be so ruthless?

[proserpina65]

Who ever thought the Germans could be so ruthless?

lol

[wanderingstar]

I'm ambivalent about whether the England-France match should have gone ahead. That said, kudos to the players - especially the French team - for showing up and playing on. And to the fans for that lovely version of La Marseillaise.

Edited November 19, 2015 by Gillian Rosh

[ganesh]

I think it was a good idea. Unless the players were adamantly opposed, which they weren't.

[wanderingstar]

Actually, the Times reported that several of the French players did have reservations about playing. And who can blame them: they were in Stade de France when two of the explosions went off. 

[Rick Kitchen]

Swiss police arrest more FIFA officials.

[xaxat]

I don't know much about the sport, so can anyone tell me what the international reaction to the US efforts to prosecute FIFA officials?

 

As a casual observer, it seems like the US has a legitimate case, but is there any perception (outside of Sepp's) that it's sour grapes from a country that has trouble fielding a internationally competitive team/league?

Edited December 5, 2015 by xaxat

[Athena]

As a casual observer, it seems like the US has a legitimate case, but is there any perception (outside of Sepp's) that it's sour grapes from a country that has trouble fielding a internationally competitive team/league?

 

As a general fan of the sport and without much other research, I'd like to say this feeling is not the a prevailing one. FIFA has had a lot of critics over the years and the corruption scandal does not seem shocking in light of the recent decisions with Qatar as host. I'm personally glad this  is happening and hope that good things can come out of it. The fact that the USA is doing this does not bother me really, and they are one of the few powerful to really shed light on it and do something about the prosecution.

[ganesh]

Given that there's only a few other nations who have qualified consecutively for the WC since 1990, and that the USAMNT advanced out of the group stages for 2 WCs in a row for the first time ever, *and* lost in the round of 16 in extra time both times, not to mention one of the top tier teams in the world needed effectively a hail mary from literally the best player in the world just to salvage a draw, I'd say 'trouble' is a little too much. Not for nothing, Mexico hasn't gotten out of the round of 16 since 1986. 

 

I'm a little over trashing the USAMNT. Considering the best athletes in the country are playing NFL, NBA, or MLB, being one of the top teams in the second tier of nations is ok. They haven't done as well as they should recently, but losing to the other regional power with 2 minutes left in extra time isn't catastrophic. They also have 4 points and no losses in the WC qualifying stage, and should advance into the hex without too much of a problem. 

So, I don't think that the USA would launch a major international corruption sting based on sour grapes. 

[wanderingstar]

Re the FIFA investigation, I've read in some places that many European football observers are happy the US is investigating because soccer doesn't have the political connections here that it does in Europe and South America.

[JustaPerson]

Round of 16 Draw:

Juve vs Bayern

Arsenal vs Barca

Chelsea vs PSG

Real vs Roma

PSV vs Atletico

Benfica vs Zenit

Dynamo vs Man City

Wolfsburg vs Gent

Edited December 14, 2015 by JustaPerson

[proserpina65]

Round of 16 Draw:

Juve vs Bayern

Arsenal vs Barca

Chelsea vs PSG

Real vs Roma

PSV vs Atletico

Benfica vs Zenit

Dynamo vs Man City

Wolfsburg vs Gent

And there it is.  Of course.  Who else would Arsenal draw?

[wanderingstar]

Roma v Real could be interesting - if Real was being managed by someone other than Rafa Benitez. Sigh.

[ganesh]

Chelsea revenge game against PSG, right?