The Official Football/Soccer Thread: 2017-2018 Season
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21st Century Paul:
What about Platinato? As Mou said, Real Madrid is the only team in football to be punished for forcing some yellow or red cards. He was asked if he thought of doing it as the match in Tottenham is supposed to be easy and anyway many players need a rest. But he's warned not to do it again, he would be punished for the whole year. :
Mourinho also said that if they play Barcelona in the semifinals then he'll prepare his team to play against ten men since his teams - Chelsea and Inter (as well as Arsenal in the last round) - played against ten men in the past. Wasn't Mourinho disciplined by UEFA at the time for talking about referees 'helping' Barcelona? So while Mourinho "warned not to do it again", he had no problem suggesting favoritism by referees again. : As for Schalke, they're still in a bit of danger of being relegated in the Bundesliga after being listed among the favorites to win the title. So I guess Raul has not really helped Schalke as much as people thought he would.
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unclesox:
21st Century Paul:
What about Platinato? As Mou said, Real Madrid is the only team in football to be punished for forcing some yellow or red cards. He was asked if he thought of doing it as the match in Tottenham is supposed to be easy and anyway many players need a rest. But he's warned not to do it again, he would be punished for the whole year. :
As for Schalke, they're still in a bit of danger of being relegated in the Bundesliga after being listed among the favorites to win the title. So I guess Raul has not really helped Schalke as much as people thought he would.
Well, a team that has changed so many players can hardly work well fast. As you said about Real Madrid 'the more things change they more they stay the same'. No chance for them in the Bundesliga but a lot in the knock out competitions.... and those are the kinds of competitions when Raul was supposed to be kind of a player that lately could spoil the whole team chances(Real Madrid in the Champions, and Spain in the Euro and World Cup). He doesn't score the goals Messi and Cristiano score, and never did. But still today, he's the best in the area... plus all the work he does over the field, passing and defending especially. Yesterday he was the player that run the most distance on field, and he's supposed to not move much...
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then there is the Guardiolato Pep always cautious and modest... sometimes it seems likes it really too much. Now he's saying about the quarterfinals against Shaktar that he "feels they have less chances than Shaktar, Shaktar has a super-team, and I wish I had those brazilian players (offensive midfielders) on Barça" Maybe he is right... but Barça is the best team in the world now... and the 2nd best is still far (probably Real Madrid)... and he is saying Shaktar are the favourites... And Brazilian players than don't play for Brazil are his wish... to change for Xavi, Iniesta and Messi? Can you imagine Mou saying that?. Mou could say that Tottenham is (still) the favourite of the quarterfinal, that his own players are not of a special quality and that he gladly would change Cristiano for Aaron Lennon.
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Well Barça somehow overcame the "big challenge".... Barça 5 - Shaktar 1 Again Iniesta leading, Messi, as Cristiano, is recovering from injury or fatigue. Chelsea 0 - Man Utd 1 So it looks like Barça vs Real Madrid and Schalke vs Man Utd My Top Ten Now 1. Iniesta 2. Raul 3. Messi 4. Cristiano 5. Xavi 6. Di Maria 7. Casillas 8. Dani Alves 9. Ozil 10. Rooney
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Standings of the Macca Board Fantasy Champions League (4 matches to go) 1 Daniel 33 440 2 Oliver 41 411 3 Unclesox 56 398 you getting closer to Daniel, me not really cause I made 10 transfers so I get deducted 8 points.
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Raul show today
(btw, Now that Villa, Torres and Llorente are not inspired, it seems there is no other option as striker, cause Raul seems impossible no matter what) If it's true that time puts everything in the place it deserves then this is Raul's Champions League. From the Espn Raul's profile: Quotes: ''Raul in the Champions League is one of the hardest I have to play against. He doesn't play against you, he plays away from you. He asks you to come and mark him or let him hurt you with his passing.'' Rio Ferdinand on Raul in 2009. It will happen again. Semifinals: Man Utd vs Schalke 04 Real Madrid vs Barça 4 clasicos in 17 days, this never happened before. -
21st Century Paul:
(btw, Now that Villa, Torres and Llorente are not inspired, it seems there is no other option as striker, cause Raul seems impossible no matter what)
Llorente is inspired. He just rarely gets the opportunities to play. Torres is beyond repair. Raul at club level is one thing. Totally different when with La Furia. Give the young guys a chance: Pedro, Navas, Mata... even Soldado and Negredo should be considered ahead of Raul. But I will be hoping Schalke can get by Man Utd. Spain officially declined CONMEBOL's offer to play in the Copa America. The players need the rest so I'm glad in that respect. But it would've been interesting to see them compete in South America. Costa Rica looks to be the favorite now to replace Japan in the tournament. (Japan forced to withdraw because of a backlog in the J-League caused by the earthquake/tsunami.)
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I just don't understand the America Cup thing. Some team playing by invitation in an official tournament... It just doesn't matter what Raul does, he's not gonna play with Spain. (He even scored a goal in a counter-attack yesterday!) But he can win the Champions League. Playing with a team without any star but him... many don't consider him a star either, so with zero stars maybe. Schalke for Schampion And Golden Ball to Raul. How can a player supposed to be "finished" do all this? Some wanted to retire Puyol too because of the age but the thing is that he still is maybe the best centre back there is no matter the age... Now some say Barça defense miss him a lot.
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Raul celebrates qualifying to semifinals inside the crowd!
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21st Century Paul:
I just don't understand the America Cup thing. Some team playing by invitation in an official tournament... It just doesn't matter what Raul does, he's not gonna play with Spain. (He even scored a goal in a counter-attack yesterday!) But he can win the Champions League. Playing with a team without any star but him... many don't consider him a star either, so with zero stars maybe. Schalke for Schampion And Golden Ball to Raul. How can a player supposed to be "finished" do all this? Some wanted to retire Puyol too because of the age but the thing is that he still is maybe the best centre back there is no matter the age... Now some say Barça defense miss him a lot.
CONMEBOL only consists of 10 countries, so it has been a problem trying to organize a tournament that has some kind of symmetry (I don't know if that's the right word I'm looking for ) to it. They done two groups of five in 1989 and 1991 but it did not really work well. So since 1993 they've invite two other countries. Mexico is always invited. The second team has varied from USA to Costa Rica to Japan. I think it makes sense to invite a country from the western hemisphere since it is part of "America". But inviting Japan or some other country outside the hemisphere makes a mockery of the tournament imo. Raul was very much the star in the German media after he went into the crowd and led the "humba" that German clubs do after every game, win, lose or draw. (The "Humba" is when the players walk over to the supporters groups stationed behind one of the goals and kneel down while the fans pay homage to them with a coordinated chant. The players salute back by holding hands and lifting them high five times in unison with the fans. It what makes the Bundesliga the coolest league in Europe, imo ) Raul has really become somewhat of a star throughout Germany with his exploits for Schalke in the Champions League. He's having a decent league campaign too even though the team is in the middle of the standings. Yes, Barcelona's defence has been a bit shaky without Puyol. I honestly think he should have stayed retired from La Furia after the World Cup but he was coaxed back by the players and coaches. He just turned 33 a few days ago. The defence were okay when Abidal moved from l;eft back to the center but since the unfortunate discovery of a cancerous tumor Barcelona has stuggled to find a capable replacement to play next to Puyol. Busquets was okay, and I think Mascherano would do well if he was a bit taller. But Puyol has been included in the convocatoria for Saturday's Clasico so we'll see if he plays or not.
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unclesox:
[ Raul was very much the star in the German media after he went into the crowd and led the "humba" that German clubs do after every game, win, lose or draw. (The "Humba" is when the players walk over to the supporters groups stationed behind one of the goals and kneel down while the fans pay homage to them with a coordinated chant. The players salute back by holding hands and lifting them high five times in unison with the fans. It what makes the Bundesliga the coolest league in Europe, imo ) Raul has really become somewhat of a star throughout Germany with his exploits for Schalke in the Champions League. He's having a decent league campaign too even though the team is in the middle of the standings.
here's there's a lot of sale of Raul's Schalke shirt. I didn't know about the Humba, cool, lol. A star out of your country, that's typical... in Spain there's a kind of habit of value more what comes from outside Spain... All these years has never been much talk of Xavi or Puyol either. Or others you know. That was why some though Spain could never win the World Cup cause we didn't believe our players were the best or similar to the best. There was even a "yes, we can" campaign...
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unclesox:
Yes, Barcelona's defence has been a bit shaky without Puyol. I honestly think he should have stayed retired from La Furia after the World Cup but he was coaxed back by the players and coaches. He just turned 33 a few days ago. The defence were okay when Abidal moved from l;eft back to the center but since the unfortunate discovery of a cancerous tumor Barcelona has stuggled to find a capable replacement to play next to Puyol. Busquets was okay, and I think Mascherano would do well if he was a bit taller. But Puyol has been included in the convocatoria for Saturday's Clasico so we'll see if he plays or not.
well, there's no better center back than Puyol, and especially in Spain I guess, so why retire? just because he's 33? if he was not good enough he should not be in the team no matter the age... but if he's good enough... (a bit like my fav player... :wink. Giggs is playing at... 37? and last year was chosen best player of the Premier.
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Real Madrid 1 - Barça 1 so the league is virtually over sometimes Real Madrid was so defensive that it seemed like Inter past year against Barça with Etoo doing right back. But sometimes they did tried to steal the ball, a strange match, like all clasicos. Real Madrid played better when they attacked the more, when they played with 10, in a classic Real Madrid way, doing the best in the worst moments, also because Puyol could not go on. Then they attacked in a bit Man Utd way, playing long balls to Adebayor and going forward after the ball. And they finally scored against Barça (and finally CR7 did it too). I think this sort of will gave them confidence, after losing 2-6 and 0-5. They can fight Barça if they attack. But I don't know if they will much in the next matches.
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Standings of the Fantasy 1 Daniel 47 483 2 Oliver Sanz 40 445 3 unclesxo 31 421 It seems we can not catch Daniel, I'll have to go even more risky. my top ten now 1. Raul 2. Messi 3. Iniesta 4. Xavi 5. Cristiano 6. Ozil 7. Casillas 8. Di Maria 9. Dani Alves 10. Bale
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21st Century Paul:
well, there's no better center back than Puyol, and especially in Spain I guess, so why retire? just because he's 33? if he was not good enough he should not be in the team no matter the age... but if he's good enough... (a bit like my fav player... :wink. Giggs is playing at... 37? and last year was chosen best player of the Premier.
I'm talking about playing for the national team. Giggs quit playing for Wales quite a few years ago... although their new coach has told him that he's welcome to return if he decides to.
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21st Century Paul:
Real Madrid 1 - Barça 1 so the league is virtually over sometimes Real Madrid was so defensive that it seemed like Inter past year against Barça with Etoo doing right back. But sometimes they did tried to steal the ball, a strange match, like all clasicos. Real Madrid played better when they attacked the more, when they played with 10, in a classic Real Madrid way, doing the best in the worst moments, also because Puyol could not go on. Then they attacked in a bit Man Utd way, playing long balls to Adebayor and going forward after the ball. And they finally scored against Barça (and finally CR7 did it too). I think this sort of will gave them confidence, after losing 2-6 and 0-5. They can fight Barça if they attack. But I don't know if they will much in the next matches.
They pressured Barca a lot more when Barca had the ball, especially in the second half. Also, Pepe was playing in midfield to help bring strength. This is where Barcelona could have used Yaya Toure, who is a very strong midfielder. Pepe worked very hard but he also fouls a lot. But Mascherano will be available for the Copa final although he probably will not start. Maybe substitution. What do you think of Mourinho's comments after the game, talking only about 11 v 10? Albiol definitely deserved the red card, and Villa should've had a penalty when Casillas brought him down. A lot of Barcelona fans I've talked with felt Real should not have had the penalty (Alves tackle on Marcelo) but I have no problem with that call. Yes, C.Ronaldo's first goal against Barcelona... and Messi's first goal against Mourinho.
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unclesox:
What do you think of Mourinho's comments after the game, talking only about 11 v 10? Albiol definitely deserved the red card, and Villa should've had a penalty when Casillas brought him down. A lot of Barcelona fans I've talked with felt Real should not have had the penalty (Alves tackle on Marcelo) but I have no problem with that call. Yes, C.Ronaldo's first goal against Barcelona... and Messi's first goal against Mourinho.
Well, he said all the teams play in the end with 10 against Barça (Villarato and all that) so he wanted to remark it happened again. Albiol thing was a red card, Villa should have had a penalty and a red card to Casillas, and Marcelo thing was penalty and Alves should have had a red card too. I don't care anyway... I only care for Schalke winning the Champions.
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btw this is a red card too...
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21st Century Paul:
Albiol thing was a red card, Villa should have had a penalty and a red card to Casillas, and Marcelo thing was penalty and Alves should have had a red card too.
You cannot give red cards simply because a player was fouled in the penalty area. The attacking player must be in a position that FIFA terms a clear "goal scoring opportunity"... meaning the player is running directly towards the goal and no other defender (except the goalkeeper) is between him and the goal. Casillas and Alves are not red card violantions because the attackers (Villa and Marcelo) were not running directly towards the goal at the moment they were fouled. In Albiol's red card Villa was clearly headed towards goal with no defender (except the goalkeeper) between him and the goal. That's a clear "goal scoring opportunity" as defined by FIFA.
21st Century Paul:
btw this is a red card too...
What law did Messi violate? Maybe... MAYBE... a yellow card but a red card for that is laughable.
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unclesox:
21st Century Paul:
Albiol thing was a red card, Villa should have had a penalty and a red card to Casillas, and Marcelo thing was penalty and Alves should have had a red card too.
You cannot give red cards simply because a player was fouled in the penalty area. The attacking player must be in a position that FIFA terms a clear "goal scoring opportunity"... meaning the player is running directly towards the goal and no other defender (except the goalkeeper) is between him and the goal. Casillas and Alves are not red card violantions because the attackers (Villa and Marcelo) were not running directly towards the goal at the moment they were fouled. In Albiol's red card Villa was clearly headed towards goal with no defender (except the goalkeeper) between him and the goal. That's a clear "goal scoring opportunity" as defined by FIFA. In both Marcelo and Alves things they were kind almost in the "small box" about to shoot from there, I think that's a goal opportunity. But that's always very subjective .
21st Century Paul:
btw this is a red card too...
What law did Messi violate? Maybe... MAYBE... a yellow card but a red card for that is laughable.
some law about not shooting the ball deliberatly against the audience... I mean, not attacking the audience, it must be on the rules somewhere... I guess