The Soccer Thread

[laurens]

Can't complain with Holland today, 2-0 with most of the starters sitting. Curious to see if Robben or van Persie get the start in the quarterfinals. Either way they have been unbelievable so far this tourney.

 

Tell me about it.

I'm in a hotel in Breda giving a seminar for a bunch of Dutch colleagues; as soccer madness has struck here, I'll be forced to cut the evening session short because of the soccer games on TV (they want to find out who will play them in the quarter finals). :roll:

 

Seminar with bored suits or soccer with drunk Dutch fans. Choices, choices...

[wvcbxl]

Seminar with bored suits or soccer with drunk Dutch fans. Choices, choices...

 

IIRC you stille have an exam tomorrow - get back to studying.

[laurens]

Seminar with bored suits or soccer with drunk Dutch fans. Choices, choices...

 

IIRC you stille have an exam tomorrow - get back to studying.

 

Geography and Dutch... get back to your seminar

[shnsajax]

Can't complain with Holland today, 2-0 with most of the starters sitting. Curious to see if Robben or van Persie get the start in the quarterfinals. Either way they have been unbelievable so far this tourney.

 

Tell me about it.

I'm in a hotel in Breda giving a seminar for a bunch of Dutch colleagues; as soccer madness has struck here, I'll be forced to cut the evening session short because of the soccer games on TV (they want to find out who will play them in the quarter finals). :roll:

 

Seminar with bored suits or soccer with drunk Dutch fans. Choices, choices...

 

No joke, you might as well talk as fast as you can and get it over with. They probably aren't even listening to you as the game comes on in the next hour and a half ;-).

[Guest]

Stellar second goal from Russia and they are 40 minutes away from a date with Holland in the quarters. Guus Hiddink is about to do it again.

[wvcbxl]

No joke, you might as well talk as fast as you can and get it over with.

 

I did. Now I have a quiet evening at least.

 

Opinions were divided among my Dutch colleagues: some preferred Sweden, some Russia.

Personally, I don't think it matters; Spain and The Netherlands seem to be head and shoulders above the rest...

[shnsajax]

No joke, you might as well talk as fast as you can and get it over with.

 

I did. Now I have a quiet evening at least.

 

Opinions were divided among my Dutch colleagues: some preferred Sweden, some Russia.

Personally, I don't think it matters; Spain and The Netherlands seem to be head and shoulders above the rest...

 

I really didn't know who I wanted them to play. I guess I would prefer the team the least productive offense, which might be Russia but not today against Sweden.

[USSoccer]

Russia's offense is no joke. I don't expect the Oranje to lose, but I do expect it to be a pretty open game. 4-2, maybe.

[TruffleShuffle]

sweden :x

[OleMissCub]

I don't even know what the hell is going on. Euro Cup? Is this a tournament that is supposed to occur in between the world cup years or what? Is it yearly?

[Derwood]

w00t Holland!

 

/gotta give it up for the motherland

[Exile on Waveland]

I don't even know what the hell is going on. Euro Cup? Is this a tournament that is supposed to occur in between the world cup years or what? Is it yearly?

 

It's basically the World Cup of Europe (though qualifying has been opened up to certain non-European sides like Israel and Kazakhstan). It's every four years. Teams qualify similar to what happens with the World Cup, there's an initial group stage, then the knockout rounds.

[Exile on Waveland]

sweden :x

 

I won't search through to find it, but earlier in this thread I said pretty self-assuredly that Sweden would advance. They're typically very predictable about that. I was wrong. The late loss to Spain hurt, and they've gotten old. A near total face-lift may be forthcoming for the Swedes.

[wolf stansson]

I don't even know what the hell is going on. Euro Cup? Is this a tournament that is supposed to occur in between the world cup years or what? Is it yearly?

Every 4 years. If the World Cup is the global championship, this is the regional championship. Given that all but two of the world's traditional global soccer powers are from Europe, it's kind of a big deal.

[TruffleShuffle]

i was in france and italy during euro 2000. we got into marseilles one night and everyone was driving around honking their horns and yelling... through my mediocre french, i was able to discern from the taxi driver that france had beaten spain to advance to the semis of the tournament. then a few days later, we were in nice for the semis, and the game against portugal was on at every brasserie in the city. france won again. a few days after that, we were in florence for the final - france vs italy. i was rooting for france, but kept my mouth shut given that we were in italy. we watched the game in an apartment my parents were staying at for a couple of weeks.

 

some italian guy scored early in the second period and you could hear the celebration all throughout the city. italy was up until injury time, when a french guy scored to tie it, and then france scored a golden goal in OT to win the tourney. the city was about 2 minutes from erupting into a celebration that would've lasted all night, and instead the streets were practically deserted. i actually saw one guy walking slowly with his head down, kicking an empty can. it was so depressing.

 

so yeah, the euro is massive throughout the continent.

[laurens]

so yeah, the euro is massive throughout the continent.

 

Not in countries with crappy soccer teams (like, for instance, Belgium). Altough if Turkey would win, there'd be a massive fest in Brussels, as there are a lot of Turks living there. Same with Italians and to some extent the French.

[wolf stansson]

Freddy Adu to Genoa? That'd be ok. I just want him to get first team action.

[Derwood]

the soccer stadiums in Holland are sort of scary, actually. the security they have is insane.

[USSoccer]

Freddy Adu to Genoa? That'd be ok. I just want him to get first team action.

 

What's this all about, now? Loan or transfer?

[wolf stansson]

Freddy Adu to Genoa? That'd be ok. I just want him to get first team action.

 

What's this all about, now? Loan or transfer?

I just heard about it on World Soccer Daily. Upon searching for an article, I found this:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/soccer/06/17/adu.genoa/index.html

Italian Serie A club Genoa is interested in signing Benfica's Freddy Adu on loan, according to reports out of Portugal.

 

The American international moved to Portugal nearly a year ago but found first-team opportunities very limited during his first season in Europe.

 

Nonetheless, according to Portuguese daily A Bola, Adu is very happy with life at Benfica and acknowledges that his European experience has turned him into a much better player.

 

This summer, the 19-year-old's performances for the U.S. national team have drawn plaudits from fans and critics alike. They also have caught the eye of Italian side Genoa, which managed a respectable 10th-place finish in Serie A this past season.

 

Benfica officials say they are uninterested in selling Adu right now; however, a loan that would allow the ex-D.C. United and Real Salt Lake forward to get more games under his belt seems a strong possibility.

 

Adu though, could well stay at Benfica if he manages to impress new Eagles coach Quique Flores during the preseason. Commenting on his situation, Adu recently told ESPN: "It's not easy to be out of the coach's plans, but I have to face it like a man, like a professional. If I want to be better than the others, I have to work 10 times more."

 

Since his move to the Estadio da Luz roughly 12 months ago, Adu has played under three different managers as the club struggled in the Liga and in Europe. In his first full season with the Eagles, Adu made 11 appearances and scored two goals.

[USSoccer]

If they loan him out it probably means that Rui Costa isn't actually retired. Honestly, I don't get how Benfica handled him, but if it gets him starting XI minutes in Serie A, then whatever.

[wolf stansson]

I don't know about Costa, but this doesn't make it seem like they are real high on Freddy.

[wolf stansson]

Btw, how hilarious is it that the Galaxy just tried to buy Ronaldinho?

 

I think it's very funny.

[Jon]

Btw, how hilarious is it that the Galaxy just tried to buy Ronaldinho?

 

I think it's very funny.

Was that real? I know there were rumors about him turning down a gigantic contract offer, but from what I read, it never actually happened.

[USSoccer]

Btw, how hilarious is it that the Galaxy just tried to buy Ronaldinho?

 

I think it's very funny.

 

How was MLS planning to break their own rules to make that happen?