The Official Football/Soccer Thread: 2017-2018 Season
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Seems not to be "in construzione" anymore now... That was fast!
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Sergeant_Pepper:
Seems not to be "in construzione" anymore now... That was fast!
Well, names are up now, but that list will surely change in the next few weeks. For Barcelona, defense is the only concern. Zambrotta is everyone's first choice, but the rumors have Thuram going to the Camp Nou if Zambrotta goes elsewhere. I've also heard Gabriel Heinze mentioned. Good piece from BBC on where many of those players could be headed: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/5150260.stm Elsewhere, van Nistelrooy has apparently submitted a transfer request to ManUtd. Capello seems quite interested in bringing him to Real Madrid. I'd love it if Real somehow get both van Nistelrooy and C.Ronaldo. All the more reason to hate that club.
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Sergeant_Pepper:
I expected something to happen, but these are drastic punishments! Seems after the euphoria of winning the World Cup, Italian football has gone back to business rather fast!
Pawel:
Poland has a new coach. Leo Benhaker
I was actually going to ask about it. I guess you can't go wrong with him. He's had lots of experience with first class teams - Feyenoord Rotterdam, the Dutch national team and Real Madrid, among others!
He first has to learn the language, our footballers speak all the languages of the world provided it's .... Polish : I heard Milan stayed in Serie A merely thanks to Berlusconi's powers
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Pawel:
Sergeant_Pepper:
I expected something to happen, but these are drastic punishments! Seems after the euphoria of winning the World Cup, Italian football has gone back to business rather fast!
Pawel:
Poland has a new coach. Leo Benhaker
I was actually going to ask about it. I guess you can't go wrong with him. He's had lots of experience with first class teams - Feyenoord Rotterdam, the Dutch national team and Real Madrid, among others!
He first has to learn the language, our footballers speak all the languages of the world provided it's .... Polish :
Well, one of his assistants will be Włodzimierz Smolarek, who has worked with Feyenoord Rotterdam for a while and, as I read, speaks fluent Dutch! He will be his translator...
Pawel:
I heard Milan stayed in Serie A merely thanks to Berlusconi's powers
I should have suspected such a thing! : Well, a drawback of 15 points should be hard enough to overcome.
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Sergeant_Pepper:
Pawel:
I heard Milan stayed in Serie A merely thanks to Berlusconi's powers
I should have suspected such a thing! : Well, a drawback of 15 points should be hard enough to overcome.
Hard to win the Serie, but not a big problem to take 4th or even 3rd place though
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We'll see...!
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Sergeant_Pepper:
Pawel:
I heard Milan stayed in Serie A merely thanks to Berlusconi's powers
I should have suspected such a thing! : Well, a drawback of 15 points should be hard enough to overcome.
Most of that chat boards I've been reading feel that all four clubs - Juve in particular - should've gone straight to Serie C. Lilian Thuram has apparently come out and stated he has no intention of playing 2nd division football. "There are almost no possibilities that I will play with Juventus in Serie B. "For the time being I have not spoken yet much with the club. I just hope to find a team in time to remain in the topflight." When asked about the rumors of him possibly going to Barca, he replied, "We'll see. In any case Barcelona would be a nice destination for me." Meanwhile, Los Comedicos del Bernabeu have apparently offered ?30million for the trio of Zambrotta, Cannavaro and Emerson. : Good luck on that one. Juve president Giovanni Gigli has already stated that they will not let their stars go for anything less than top dollar value. Zambrotta alone is probably worth ?20million and Cannavaro was arguably the best player, let alone defender, in Germany this past month. Another rumor has RMadrid readying an offer of ?50 million to Milan for Kaka. Manchester United are reportedly ready to offer £8 million for Patrick Vieira. This has got to suck for every Juve supporter out there. Me? I find all this fascinating. So many big name players, so many clubs trying to lure them. And best of all, no Juve or Milan in the Champions League this season!
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I know not many people on here follow South America too much, but tonight there was a shock result in the quarterfinals of the Copa Libertadores. Libertad of Paraguay tore to shreds Argentina's River Plate 3-1 on the night, 5-3 on aggregate. From what I hear, the match had to be abandoned due to trouble from either the River Plate players or their fans. (River were down to 10 men at one stage) Full Quarterfinal pairings: River Plate (ARG) - Libertad (PAR) .............................. 2-2, 1-3 LDU Quito (ECU) - Internacional Porto Alegre (BRA) ..... 2-1, 19 July (22:15 GMT) Estudiantes de la Plata (ARG) - Sao Paulo (BRA) .......... 1-0, 19 July (20 July 00:45 GMT) CD Guadalajara (Mexico) - Velez Sarsfield (ARG) .......... 0-0, 20 July (21 July 00:45 GMT)
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I've read that Juve and the rest of teams involved are seriously thinking of going to the ordinary justice, and that could cause a chaos in Italian league...
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21st Century Paul:
I've read that Juve and the rest of teams involved are seriously thinking of going to the ordinary justice, and that could cause a chaos in Italian league...
Well, they're appealing the verdicts and the appeal will be heard on 22 July. FIGC has to inform UEFA which clubs will be participating in the Champions League and UEFA Cup by 25 July. To be honest, I think the Italian League is already chaotic.
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Chelsea, Real Madrid Nervous As Barca Hold Talks In Turin Barcelona took the lead in the race to land Gianluca Zambrotta and other Juventus players yesterday, as a high-level team landed in Turin and held a summit with Juve, even as Chelsea and Real Madrid continued to use intermediaries and the telephone. There were discussions over Lilian Thuram and Zambrotta, and a casual enquiry about David Trezeguet, as Technical Director Txiki Begiristain and Vice-President (Finance) Ferran Soriano met the Juve bosses. Juventus are reportedly happy with Barca's direct and open approach, and keen to strike a deal. They also seem to have indicated that all other things being equal, they would prefer Barcelona's offer over letting their players move to rivals Milan, or allowing Fabio Capello to "come back to fish in Turin," in the words of president Gigli. Juve bosses also named their price for the players, asking for 20 million Euros for Thuram and Zambrotta, and the same amount for Trezeguet. However, Barcelona are keen to land Thuram, 34, on a free transfer, and reportedly put down 15 for the two defenders. They also offered loan deals for Zambrotta and Trezeguet, should Juve want to keep the players on their rolls. The two sides are set for another meeting today, and Barca have also been allowed to speak with the players' agents, to help facilitate the process. Real Madrid and Chelsea seem to have been caught off guard by this move, as most of their contact had been through intermediaries so far. Expect some serious activity on their part over the next couple of days, particularly given their interest in Zambrotta. Real, in particular, are set to send Sporting Director Pedja Mijatovic to Turin today. http://goal.com/en/articolo.aspx?contenutoId=96103
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And an update (Spanish article) Barca Agrees In Principal With Juve For Thuram And Zambrotta http://www.elmundodeportivo.es/20060719/NOTICIA224821930.html Barcelona would pay ?5million for Thuram, ?14 for Zambrotta. Trezeguet deal looks to be a no go, which is great because ?20million is too steep. I doubt any club will pay that much for him. So now Barca has to negotiate with the agents for a signature of both Thuram and Zambrotta. Thuram should be the easier to get since he's admitted interest in joining the Blaugrana. But Zamrotta has apparently expressed a wish to stay in Italy. AC Milan are the likely club, especially if they are given clearance to replace Empoli in the UEFA Cup (Empoli has stated they may have to decline participation due to not enough players for both Serie A and Europe ). We can also expect Real Madrid to up their offer in a last ditch attempt to get one over on their bitter rivals. (pin(he Merengues ) I think Chelsea are out of the running as Zambrotta has stated that he doesn't want to play in the Premiership. I swear, if Barca can complete the signing of Zambrotta, I'll soil my trousers here and now!
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UPDATE Copa Libertadores - Cuartos de final, Vuelta River Plate (ARG) - Libertad (PAR) .............................. 2-2, 1-3 LDU Quito (ECU) - Internacional Porto Alegre (BRA).. 2-1, 0-2 Estudiantes de la Plata (ARG) - Sao Paulo (BRA) .......... 1-0, 0-1 - Sao Paolo wins 4-3 on penalties CD Guadalajara (Mexico) - Velez Sarsfield (ARG) .......... 0-0, 20 July (21 July 00:45 GMT)
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unclesox:
And an update (Spanish article) Barca Agrees In Principal With Juve For Thuram And Zambrotta http://www.elmundodeportivo.es/20060719/NOTICIA224821930.html
Barca hope to close Zambrotta and Thuram deals by Monday MADRID, July 19 (Reuters) - Barcelona are aiming to close the signings of Juventus defenders Gianluca Zambrotta and Lilian Thuram by the beginning of next week, the European and Spanish champions said on Wednesday. "Conversations are well advanced but until everything is signed it is best to wait," Barca sports director Txiki Begiristain told reporters as he returned from a trip to Turin. "We are very optimistic and confident we can settle the operation before Monday." Spanish media has been reporting that Barca have agreed a fee of 19 million euros ($23.74 million) for Zambrotta and five million for Thuram. Will also add that Real Madrid looks to have Fabio Cannavaro and Emerson locked up. Chelsea has lost Del Horno to Valencia.
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Pawel:
Ammar:
Pawel:
Ammar:
so what materazi done was normal and good,but zidan was the bad guy ....he should insult back as this is the way good players respect each others professionally on world cup final "@##@ your mom you terrorist" "thank you same to you my friend ,our families are nothing worth respect " and there is no values at all,keep smiling ,all the world is watching but not hearing :
If I were Zidane I'd just keep my stiff upper lip, and shout back at Materrazzi : f**k you you f**king macaroni face! Zidane was of a different idea though, he preferred to knock Materrazzi down in his last professional match, in a WC Final Game. Very professional indeed. And how clever!
so you will never admit that "Materwhat" did something wrong,that its just zidan fault ... well ,as long as you see it right to insult others(as you said you would) I think we don't have to see soccer anymore,cause the must professional players are just dirty s*@#$ ,something very related to what sport should be....not manners or respect or healthy competition...
No, I don't approve of dirty s*@#$ and bad manners on the pitch or outside of it. I'm not saying "Materwhat" acted in a proper way, but it drives me mad to hear that Zizou is a victim in this case. He's no bloody victim! It was him who escalated the conflict. If I call you names will you instantly knock me down??? Or will you ignore me? Or possibly call me names too? Which option do you choose as a civilised person and a champion and idol for many? Evelien is right. Both are to blame, but I find it irritiating to hear that Materazzi's fault is bigger "because he provoked a great champion to go so low"
In all my posts I didn't say that Zidan did the right thing...,but if I go with you as wrote above ....did you ask yourself why in the first place would "matterwhat" call any player names in a world champoinship final....???why??? if we are talkng about good sport and spirit and all milions in the world who enjoy fair play and profesionals ...why would you insult me and repeat it to me everytime I ignore you ?????why??can't you win in a fair play??!!without getting on the nerves of others ??? if I said your mom is $%&* for nothing....I didn't harm you ...I'm playing against you in a civilized friendly action,sport .....will you ignore me??ok once ...what if I repeated it ???ok you will say ???what about 3 times???what if your mom or the person I'm insulting is someone you love so much and adore .....?!! for me I will not agree on that or simply walk away and pretend that I didn't hear for 3 times very harsh words .....no dear ...sorry at least I will go and tell the ref. what happened ...but at that time with so much pressure maybe anybody will do some quick action without thinking much... Zidan or anybody else who would be in his place was victim because he was the only who was punished even though he didn't start the problem.... yes both players did wrong ....but the difference is .... 1.one of them did it quitely without getting himself in trouble,the other did it clearly in front of everyone . 2.the one who started the problem didnt get anything from ref. and continue to play,the one who acted back got punished only. 3.one player action was by words ,the other was physical.....but I think some words can harm more than a blow!
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Spanish La Liga schedule has been released. http://www.lfp.es/competiciones/2006-07/primera/nuevocalendario.asp The key dates: Round 7, 22 October and Round 26, 11 March
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UncleSox I believe you are the one that recommended (if not) whomever... this is the best solution for those with Direct TV to be able to watch the games http://www.setanta.com/portal/systemcontent/page?open&systemtitle=howtosubscribe thanks for the info.
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Andrea1:
UncleSox I believe you are the one that recommended (if not) whomever... this is the best solution for those with Direct TV to be able to watch the games http://www.setanta.com/portal/systemcontent/page?open&systemtitle=howtosubscribe thanks for the info.
Yes. Setanta is really becoming a force as far as televising football from Europe in the US. They will be showing the Saturday "lunchtime kickoff" matches (4:30am Pacific time) from the English Premier League as well as a 7am match and the early Sunday match. I believe they'll also have the Tuesday-Friday midweek matches. FoxSoccerChannel will also have a Saturday 7am match along with the 9:15am match, and best of all they'll have the Sunday 8am match, which is often the biggest fixture of the weekend. (Confusing, I know ops: ) Highly recommend GolTV as well. They'll again have Spanish La Liga and Italian Serie A. I wonder if Juventus' matches will be shown on a worldwide scale this season.
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unclesox:
UPDATE Copa Libertadores - Cuartos de final, Vuelta River Plate (ARG) - Libertad (PAR) .............................. 2-2, 1-3 LDU Quito (ECU) - Internacional Porto Alegre (BRA).. 2-1, 0-2 Estudiantes de la Plata (ARG) - São Paulo (BRA) .......... 1-0, 0-1 - Sao Paolo wins 4-3 on penalties
CD Guadalajara Chivas (MEX) - Velez Sarsfield (ARG) .......... 0-0, 2-1 Semifinal lineup São Paulo (BRA) -v- CD Guadalajara Chivas (MEX) Internacional Porto Alegre (BRA) -v- Libertad (PAR) Quarterfinal, 2nd Leg highlights (from YouTube) Libertad 3-1 River Plate
Internacional 2-0 LDU São Paulo - Estudiantes (penalties) Velez Sarfield 1-2 Chivas Gudalajara -