The Soccer Thread

[wolf stansson]

Hold on, let me get out my Polish Football for Dummies book.

 

 

Italian team, on the road, against a weak team.

 

Under. I'm thiking 1-0 Udinese. Or a 0-0.

[USSoccer]

Hold on, let me get out my Polish Football for Dummies book.

 

 

Italian team, on the road, against a weak team.

 

Under. I'm thiking 1-0 Udinese. Or a 0-0.

 

Id have said 0-0

 

Udinese suck.

EDIT

And of course, it ends 2-2

[wolf stansson]

BAH

 

2-1 Cologne at the Allianz.

 

Observations:

Lukas Podolski was out of form and should not have started, especially against the team he loves and was bought by. F him.

Lucio needs to not miss games. DiMichelis is lost without him.

Klose's goal early on that was disallowed was a goal. In fact, it's mystifying that it was disallowed. I have no idea what the call was. It was a great header. Should have been 2-2.

Landon Donovan is lost where Klinssmann is playing him. He is playing way too high. He needs to be withdrawn so he can pick the ball up, turn and run at the defense. Putting him up top with Klose is [expletive]. It's how Klinssmann always plays his strikers and because of it he relies too heavily on Ribery and Schweinstager to create from the wings. When they are shut out, which has been their last two opponents obvious game plan, they lose.

 

Bayern aren't going to buy Landon. Nor should they. He's good enough to play with the team, but they haven't seen it because of the way Klinssmann has played him. I hope he goes somewhere like Everton or Tottenham with a good manager that will know how to use him.

[MPC]

champions league fires back up tomorrow.

[USSoccer]

I will fly to Manchester and run naked around Old Trafford if Sir Alex starts Berbatov at sweeper tomorrow.

 

Actually, given the fact that they have like one eligible/fit defender, they should just say f it and start this lineup:

 

Rooney Berbatov

Tevez

Ronaldo Giggs Scholes Nani

 

Park Carrick The Brazilian Guy Whose Name I forget

 

Basically just start 9 offensive players and make Inter chase them til they cry

[wolf stansson]

The Brazilian Guy Whose Name I forget

Anderson?

 

 

I'm starting to regret my picks. I don't think I'm gonna win a vespa.

 

Atletico

Barca

Arsenal

Man U

Real Madrid

Juventus

Villarreal

Bayern

 

I'm starting to wish I'd picked Roma and Inter. I have to get 6 of 8 right to advance.

[wolf stansson]

Inter needed it today to have a hope.

 

Deuce scores today to send Fulham to the FA Cup quarterfinals.

[shnsajax]

Arsenal could have really used a 2nd goal today going into Italy next. This is pretty much everything they are playing for this season.

[wolf stansson]

Arsenal could have really used a 2nd goal today going into Italy next. This is pretty much everything they are playing for this season.

I like their position. I don't think Roma has what it takes to win by two or more, especially with Fabregas coming back.

[Guest]

Inter needed it today to have a hope.

 

Deuce scores today to send Fulham to the FA Cup quarterfinals.

 

While I think Man U is going to advance out of that matchup, with the way the game played out, Inter should be very happy to come out of that game with a 0-0 tie. I don't think they're going to win at Old Trafford, but if Inter can manage a goal there, they'll be in decent shape.

[wolf stansson]

3-0 Bayern in the 70th. That's 3 away goals.

 

Landon not even on the bench.

[USSoccer]

3-0 Bayern in the 70th. That's 3 away goals.

 

Landon not even on the bench.

 

 

That loan deal is dead.

[wolf stansson]

3-0 Bayern in the 70th. That's 3 away goals.

 

Landon not even on the bench.

 

 

That loan deal is dead.

You have to have serious heart and talent to win over Ruminegge and Hoeness. I think they'd buy him in a second for around 5-6 million, but MLS want at least 12 million. Not gonna happen. He hasn't flopped, but he just hasn't taken the opportunity by the throat, and that's what he needed to do to win over the management family.

 

Landon's attitude is just the antithesis of Ruminegge and Beckenbauer. He needs to go to a club like Everton or Villarreal. Good, but not in the spotlight or such serious executives.

[Guest]

3-0 Bayern in the 70th. That's 3 away goals.

 

Landon not even on the bench.

 

I think it's safe to say Bayern's in the last 8. They can put out a C squad in two weeks and still move on.

 

Great result for Liverpool, winning 1-0 at Real Madrid.

 

The English teams are all in decent shape (Man U is in the worst shape and they just have to win at home) while the Italian teams aren't looking too good.

[USSoccer]

3-0 Bayern in the 70th. That's 3 away goals.

 

Landon not even on the bench.

 

 

That loan deal is dead.

You have to have serious heart and talent to win over Ruminegge and Hoeness. I think they'd buy him in a second for around 5-6 million, but MLS want at least 12 million. Not gonna happen. He hasn't flopped, but he just hasn't taken the opportunity by the throat, and that's what he needed to do to win over the management family.

 

Landon's attitude is just the antithesis of Ruminegge and Beckenbauer. He needs to go to a club like Everton or Villarreal. Good, but not in the spotlight or such serious executives.

 

Klinsi didn't do him any favors, nor did Bayern's form in the matches he played in, but I'd agree that it's the asking price that's going to kill any permanent move.

 

And I can understand that. For $12m I'd want a guy who's going to be a real impact player, and Donovan didn't show that.

 

I think he'd be a great fit at Everton or Aston Villa. Villarreal would be ok by me as well but I can't see it happening. They have 3 guys they rate highly up front if you assume Jozy's going to come back for the 09/10 season.

 

Not that I feel it's likely...but Inter Milan would be a great fit for a withdrawn striker like Landon. He could run off of Ibra and Adriano all day.

 

And on the Everton/Villa tip...Dempsey's contract is up next year. I could see him slotting in nicely at either side.

Edited February 25, 2009 by USSoccer

[USSoccer]

3-0 Bayern in the 70th. That's 3 away goals.

 

Landon not even on the bench.

 

I think it's safe to say Bayern's in the last 8. They can put out a C squad in two weeks and still move on.

 

Great result for Liverpool, winning 1-0 at Real Madrid.

 

The English teams are all in decent shape (Man U is in the worst shape and they just have to win at home) while the Italian teams aren't looking too good.

 

Man U is going to stomp Inter at Old Trafford like they stomped Roma 2 years ago if Inter show like they did yesterday. Their keeper had to stand on his head to keep United off the scoresheet, and Cristiano still nearly won it at the death with a dead ball that Julio Ceasar saw for the first time at home on TiVo.

 

Inter is just too damn slow. No midfield speed at all. Ibra was a non factor, a complete non factor. Their backline was absolutely awful. Only poor finishing and poor final passing kept that game from being 4-0.

[reggiemiller rules]

Great result for Liverpool today, especially without Gerrard until the 85th minute. Real still scares me, but Liverpool should be able to get a good enough result at Anfield to move on.

[wolf stansson]

Lol, Lisbon has to win 6-0 at the Allianz to advance. Awesome.

 

Btw, this dominance by the Premiership is really starting to get annoying. All four are going through.

[Jon]

Sigh. I really miss the Puma days. Here is the Red Stars new home kit:

 

http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/.a/6a00d83451583769e2011168963a54970c-800wihttp://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/.a/6a00d83451583769e20111689639e9970c-800wi

[wolf stansson]

Round 3.

 

Fantastic.

[wolf stansson]

http://www.yanks-abroad.com/get.php?mode=content&id=4421

 

Xerez's coach is not looking to upset the apple cart. They've won 5 in a row and he doesn't want to unsettle the lineup by playing Jozy.

 

 

What's the verdict on this? When guys like Jozy & Freddy don't get tick is because they aren't as good as we think or is there really some bad coaches out there on their European teams who don't see what we see?

 

In the Deuce situation, it's become clear that Hodgson was just flat out wrong to keep Clint benched the tail end of last season and the beginning of this one. His inclusion in the side has led to Fulham to be in contention for Europe. That's not all on Clint, but along with Hengeland and Simon Davies, he's been their best player. He's definitely their most creative and versatile. He's played in the CAM, both wings and at forward. Michael Bradley has been in the same situation with Marcco Marin and Baumjohann at Monchengladbach.

 

We obviously don't know what's going on behind the scenes, but I've seen enough to know that on a team that needs to score more goals, Freddy Adu has a role to contribute. On a team that is in the second division, Jozy Altidore will be your best striker. I don't think I'm being too much of a homer when I say, these two managers are making a mistake just as Hodgson was.

[Jon]

On-sale info for the qualifier at Soldier Field:

 

Onsale to General Public

Start: Sat, 03/14/09 10:00 AM CDT

 

Bears Club Presale

Start: Mon, 03/02/09 08:00 AM CST

End: Sun, 03/08/09 11:58 PM CDT

 

General Presale

Start: Tue, 03/10/09 10:00 AM CDT

End: Thu, 03/12/09 02:00 AM CDT

 

Visa Presale

Start: Thu, 03/12/09 10:00 AM CDT

End: Sat, 03/14/09 08:00 AM CDT

 

So mark your calendars for 10 AM on Tuesday, March 10th.

 

Like last year, prices start at $25.

[wolf stansson]

http://theoffsiderules.blogspot.com/2009/02/nevada-smiths-movie.html

This is awesome.

[MPC]

http://theoffsiderules.blogspot.com/2009/02/nevada-smiths-movie.html

This is awesome.

thank, wolf, great link.

 

i had the pleasure of taking in a match at nevada smith's a few summers ago. it was a great time. it wasn't in the morning, it was when chelsea was in los angeles playing the galaxy. it was at 10 or 11 pm in nyc and the bar was full of chelsea supporters from all over. it was a great time even though the game was uneventful.

[wolf stansson]

Edu went 90 for Rangers today.

 

Bradley scored from the spot for Monchengladbach.