International Soccer/Football & UEFA Champions League

[Rick Kitchen]

Bayer Leverkusen manager Roger Schmidt was given a penalty and ordered off the pitch in the match against Dortmund today, but Schmidt refused to leave.  So referee Felix Zwayer walked off and the two teams were sent to the locker rooms until Schmidt decided that leaving was the right thing to do.

 

http://screengrabber.deadspin.com/referee-gets-fed-up-walks-off-in-middle-of-bayer-lever-1760416708

[ganesh]

I'm not seeing a problem there. The ref called a foul correctly, and the player got up and restarted the ball quickly. Tell your players to be more aware.

[ganesh]

I wasn't impressed with either Madrid team in the CL final. 

[prethink]

Same with me.

Edited May 30, 2016 by prethink

[wanderingstar]

It wasn't a great final. Each team had some solid chances, but this won't be remembered as a compelling match - and not just because it ended in penalties.

I'm surprised that Atletico Madrid didn't take it to Real Madrid more, especially in the first half. This is a pretty weak Real Madrid team that could have been beaten (and I say that as a Real fan!) I feel a bit bad for Atletico coming so close twice in the last 3 years. And honestly, aside from a handful matches in the earlier stages, the Champions League was kind of lackluster for me this season. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for my team winning, but the competition felt stale to me this year.

Edited June 2, 2016 by Gillian Rosh

[ganesh]

The only take away I have is that Paris is learning how to win in the CL. 

I've seen a decent amount of Atletico matches, but they still don't seem like a team that can get up and score the goals when they have to. I mean, Real had no subs left for the ET and Bale couldn't even walk. AM had two, and weren't able to find the right combo to score a goal in 30 minutes? You have to know Real is going to grind out as much of that as they can. 

Europa was way more exciting this year. 

[ganesh]

Thanks for playing, USA. You can't even get a goal? 

I can't even complain about the PK. Take it off the face! It's an *international tournament.*

[kdm07]

On 6/1/2016 at 11:46 AM, ganesh said:

The only take away I have is that Paris is learning how to win in the CL. 

I've seen a decent amount of Atletico matches, but they still don't seem like a team that can get up and score the goals when they have to. I mean, Real had no subs left for the ET and Bale couldn't even walk. AM had two, and weren't able to find the right combo to score a goal in 30 minutes? You have to know Real is going to grind out as much of that as they can. 

Europa was way more exciting this year. 

You're absolutely right. Atletico aren't made to be the team on the front foot. Their game is to stay compact and catch teams on the break. The coaching staff for Real must've noticed this and decided to beat Atletico at their own game. With how dead on their feet their players were in extra time and how Atletico couldn't manage to beat them even then, it clearly worked.

On 6/4/2016 at 0:46 AM, ganesh said:

Thanks for playing, USA. You can't even get a goal? 

I can't even complain about the PK. Take it off the face! It's an *international tournament.*

Not a good match by the US. Colombia didn't even have to get out of second gear.

[ganesh]

Color me surprised. I thought the USA could beat Costa Rica, but they really took it to them. I'm not a fan of a 433 unless you have a rich crop of Messis and Neymars to play up front, so I'm glad the switch to the 442 proved successful. Credit to JK for being flexible and making tactical changes when needed. 

Thanks to Colombia, USA is in the driver's seat to advance. I'm miffed I'm going to be on a plane on Saturday though. 

I didn't know Colombia was ranked #3. That's ridiculous. USA played poorly, but they didn't give up a goal in the run of play, and take away the PK, they scored once on a poorly defended corner. No way that team is as good as the likes of Germany. 

[proserpina65]

Quote

I didn't know Colombia was ranked #3. That's ridiculous. USA played poorly, but they didn't give up a goal in the run of play, and take away the PK, they scored once on a poorly defended corner. No way that team is as good as the likes of Germany. 

The way FIFA computes rankings is complicated, arcane, and more than a little cray-cray.  Colombia is very good (far better than the US team), and they're probably top 10 material, but not top 5.  And they're above Germany?!?!?  Hell to the no.

Edited June 8, 2016 by proserpina65

[wanderingstar]

Who's watching the Euros with me? (I wish I could get excited about the Copa America, but it's the second one in less than 12 months! Talk about a blatant cash grab).

Anyhoo, Euros start tomorrow. Who's your pick to win? I don't have one. I haven't seen enough of any of the teams to say who's on form.

[Just Here]

Oh, England.

And, I wake up to find that the USA actually won its group!  Thanks to a 1:0 win over Paraguay, despite playing down a man for almost the entire second half (Yedlin, 2 yellow cards, sent off in the 48th minute), and Costa Rica playing spoiler by defeating Colombia 3:2.

* * *

For better MNT rankings, check out http://www.eloratings.net/world.html. (And, see the site's Wikipedia page for additional explanations.)

[Silje]

Rooting for Belgium to win but I have a soft spot for Wales so I hope they do well too.

The funniest news item from the Euros in between the more grim scenes from France; the mascot Super Victor shares the name with something NSFW.             

[wanderingstar]

The games at Euro 2016 have so far been good. France v Romania was good, with a dramatic finish thanks to Dimtri Payet. Wales v Slovakia had that great Gareth Bale free kick.

The incidents of fan violence, though, are pretty disturbing.

[MostlyC]

If the fans' violence and rioting are getting as out of control as reported, I would disqualify both teams. It's not fun to be at a match (or watch one) if the threat of violence prevents enjoyment of the game.  I would hold this to every sport to this standard;  I just happen to be very fond of futbol/soccer.

[wanderingstar]

MostlyC, it looks like UEFA has threatened both the English and Russian FAs with disqualification if there's further violence from their fans. Given UEFA's history, though, I am skeptical.

[ganesh]

I'm at a conference all week so I'm missing most the matches from both tournaments. I watched the first half of USA on the runway though! 

[proserpina65]

16 hours ago, Gillian Rosh said:

MostlyC, it looks like UEFA has threatened both the English and Russian FAs with disqualification if there's further violence from their fans. Given UEFA's history, though, I am skeptical.

I'm torn on this.  Yes, they need to find a way to clamp down on potential violence but it seems unfair to punish the players who had nothing to do with what was going on.  I don't know the answer, maybe banning fans from the matches?  I just hope England's team isn't disqualified for something which isn't really under their control.

On a match related note: Oh England!  You're just so England.  But YAY! to Wales.

[ganesh]

Well, I don't really know what to say.

[ulkis]

edit, technical difficulties

Edited June 17, 2016 by ulkis

[ganesh]

Good job, Czechs! 

[proserpina65]

So why didn't Pop Pop Roy start Jamie Vardy?

Oh, and please, please let Portugal lose to Hungary so that I can see Ronaldo's head explode.

Edited June 20, 2016 by proserpina65

[wanderingstar]

YAHOO! I'm so glad Croatia beat Spain.

[proserpina65]

Omg, if England wasn't being the most England I've ever seen them be, I'll eat my hat.  Okay, so maybe Vardy should just come on as a second-half sub next time - that definitely worked out better.

But you go Wales!

Edited June 22, 2016 by proserpina65

[wanderingstar]

I am ready for Portugal to lose too. 

[proserpina65]

2 hours ago, Gillian Rosh said:

I am ready for Portugal to lose too. 

Who will they get in the next round?  Maybe Germany?  If so, that should be the end of them.

[wanderingstar]

Well, Portugal didn't lose (boo!) but Italy did (yay!) Portugal now plays Croatia in the round of 16. I sure hope Modric and Co. beat them.

At least Hungary v Portugal gave us more than 3 goals in a game!

Iceland winning their first ever game at the Euros was cool. And now they get to play England. That should be interesting - especially for Gylfi Sigurðsson! And I don't think that's going to be an easy game for England - because, you know, they're England.

[ganesh]

I'm all for Iceland. 

[hendersonrocks]

Last night was a difficult night to be married to a Messi fanboy. He played like ass, and to lose AGAIN...like that. Brutal times for Argentina. I hope Messi's & co's threats to retire prompt AFA to get their shit together. 

[ganesh]

YAY ICELAND!!!! I watched all their qualifying games. 

[wanderingstar]

Quote

And now they get to play England. That should be interesting - especially for Gylfi Sigurðsson! And I don't think that's going to be an easy game for England - because, you know, they're England.

Welp!

Good for Iceland. I hope, in the midst of all the garment rending about England losing, Iceland gets credit for their performance at this tournament.

As for England, I honestly think what hampers them after losses like this is that the media and fans fixate on them, and nobody is allowed to move on. It'd be nice if they could just look honestly at the performance in this tournament, and figure out ways to improve - with the understanding that improvement will not happen overnight.

In other news, SO HAPPY Spain lost to Italy. Good gravy I'm tired of that Spain team. 

[ganesh]

I didn't like all the "this is a huge upset", and Iceland getting minimal credit. England hasn't been a top tier team in over a decade+. If the USA played liked they did in the Colombia game, they'd beat them. England is a second tier team. I suppose that's the problem though. It's *England*. They're supposed to just reload and not have to build a program. No one is afraid of the name anymore though. 

[wanderingstar]

Oh, it's a big upset. A team that's never played in a major tournament before, beating one that regularly appears in them? Yeah - that counts as a major  upset, no matter what form the teams are in.

Edited June 28, 2016 by Gillian Rosh

[ganesh]

I know. It was an upset when USA tied them in the WC. I was more saying the tone was "England lost". Rather than Iceland played better than them and it's a fair result. They only lost 2 times in qualifying. It's a good team. 

[ulkis]

On 6/27/2016 at 6:46 PM, ganesh said:

I didn't like all the "this is a huge upset", and Iceland getting minimal credit. England hasn't been a top tier team in over a decade+. If the USA played liked they did in the Colombia game, they'd beat them. England is a second tier team. I suppose that's the problem though. It's *England*. They're supposed to just reload and not have to build a program. No one is afraid of the name anymore though. 

I've heard that, but I've also seen a lot of comments reminding that Iceland didn't end up in the tournament on a fluke, so there is some credit out there.

Edited June 29, 2016 by ulkis

[Dejana]

12 hours ago, Gillian Rosh said:

Oh, it's a big upset. A team that's never played in a major tournament before, beating one that regularly appears in them? Yeah - that counts as a major  upset, no matter what form the teams are in.

I was reading how so many of Iceland's players have regular jobs for the money and the coach still works as a dentist. It's a huge victory against England's band of multimillionaires!

Edited June 28, 2016 by Dejana

[Athena]

Very happy for Iceland. I know a lot of gutted and shocked England supporters, but they also concede that Iceland was the much better team yesterday.

[Ohwell]

I don't even watch much soccer, but I saw that match and I was so happy for Iceland.  I wish I could have partied with them afterwards.

[ganesh]

I wasn't impressed with Portugal. They just bungled everything in the final third.

[ganesh]

If Wales plays like this they're going to rip Portugal to shreds

[JustaPerson]

Now that Iceland has beaten England and Wales beat Belgium and Chile beat Argentina (again), I don't think Germany beating Italy for the first time is that outside the realm of possibility anymore. 

Edited July 1, 2016 by JustaPerson

[ganesh]

What is going on with this Germany/Italy shootout? I thought you actually just kicked the ball. What's all this dancing around?

I can get that sometimes you hit the post, and good keepers probably save at least 1-2, but there's no excuse for missing the frame entirely. 

[Athena]

That Germany/Italy game was one of the most tense I've been in awhile. I do not like the Italian football team, and while they played well defensively, they were their usual self in offense and drama. I know some people do not like German's passing style, but I think they've really refined it the last few years. I was happy with their result and happy for Wales yesterday too. I'll be glad for France or Iceland tomorrow though Iceland has had the greater story this tournament.

[JustaPerson]

I agree, I think Germany has absorbed a bit of tiki taka into their playing style in recent years. I'm thinking of when they played the USA in the WC a couple years ago and spent the first 10 minutes or so basically doing a rondo while the US players cluelessly ran around. Some of the most fluid passing I ever saw. 

[ulkis]

The pouring rain probably annoyed a lot of people but it really gave the imagery of the Icelandic fans and team saluting each an extra special touch, so at rain had that going for it.

Edited July 4, 2016 by ulkis

[Athena]

20 hours ago, JustaPerson said:

I agree, I think Germany has absorbed a bit of tiki taka into their playing style in recent years. I'm thinking of when they played the USA in the WC a couple years ago and spent the first 10 minutes or so basically doing a rondo while the US players cluelessly ran around. Some of the most fluid passing I ever saw. 

Around the time of the last WC, a lot of sports newscasters did stories and articles about Germany becoming one of the top teams in the world after some disappointing runs in the late 90s and early 2000s. This Guardian article from 2013 more or less summarizes it: nurturing young German footballers and pushing them into Bundasliga, valuing coaches, valuing clubs owned by Germans, and adding more fluidity and nimbleness to their style. Comparing how Germany nurtures its young footballers to England is a wide gulf on why Germany is a top team and England is not anymore.

France vs. Iceland: I felt bad for Iceland most of the game. They had a great run, but this was France in their home advantage. Always going to be hard, but I'm glad they got their two goals and ended a wonderful run.

Now I guess we'll have to see if Wales goes all the way.

[ganesh]

I'm all in on Wales. I don't think Portugal is that good. They needed a literal hail mary from the best player in the world to tie with the USA. I'm 100% USA supporter, but there's issues with playing European teams. I also think much of the Euro sides aren't that good, and internationally, we need to get over that. 

Tough for Iceland, but they played a lot of top international competition, and I really hope they will qualify for the WC. 

[wanderingstar]

Quote

If Wales plays like this they're going to rip Portugal to shreds

One can only hope!

Farewell to Iceland. Watching their run was a lot of fun. Those players will all be legends back home.

I sure hope the Germany-France semi isn't a dud like their quarterfinal at the 2014 World Cup.

Edited July 5, 2016 by Gillian Rosh

[ganesh]

How about going to get your teeth cleaned, and being like, "hey, so cool beating England! They don't know!"

Portugal hasn't won a game yet. They're a second tier team, internationally. They can win, but I don't see them coming back if Wales scores first. 

[proserpina65]

So long, little Iceland.  It's been a pleasure watching you make bigger, more experienced teams look ineffective.  Yes, even my favorite, England.  I was beginning to hope for a Wales-Iceland final.

On ‎07‎/‎04‎/‎2016 at 0:23 AM, ganesh said:

I'm all in on Wales. I don't think Portugal is that good. They needed a literal hail mary from the best player in the world to tie with the USA. I'm 100% USA supporter, but there's issues with playing European teams. I also think much of the Euro sides aren't that good, and internationally, we need to get over that. 

Tough for Iceland, but they played a lot of top international competition, and I really hope they will qualify for the WC. 

A good number of those European teams are still significantly better than the US team.  Mainly due to the way that our craptastic youth development system (or, more accurately, lack thereof) has created a far shallower talent pool at the top level.

Edited July 5, 2016 by proserpina65