2013-14 Club Soccer/Football Discussion Thread

[Keystone Phil]

Oh, wait, it's already been decided: PAOK is replacing Metalist in the Playoff round.

[Franknburger]

Looks like we're going to snatch another from Arsenal's grasp: Luis Gustavo's agent says that Napoli is the Brazilian's preferred team.

God I hope not. Gustavo would be perfect for us.

Looks like both of you are losing. The German press reports that Wolfsburg has reached agreement with Bayern and will get Luiz Gustavo for 20 million Euro. Arsenal apparently was not prepared to pay Bayern that much. Official confirmation is expected before the end of the week.
Wolfsburg will now form a central Brazilian axis with Naldo, Gustavo, and Diego. Especially Naldo is said to have convinced his national team colleague Gustavo to join Wolfsburg.

[Lief 🗽]

If Wenger isn't prepared to pay 20 million for a 26-year-old starter for the Brazilian national team who would fill a hole we desperately need filled in the squad, then he should go. Preferably before the transfer window is over so we can find a manager who isn't incompetent.

[minionofmidas]

Unless CAS grants an injunction (possible) or even rules in their favor (unlikely, but the injunction would likely end up transferring the ban onto 14-15. CAS moves slow.) it's too late now for other Ukrainian clubs to move up and instead PAOK Saloniki, who lost to Kharkov in the preceding qualifying round, go up against Schalke and Maccabi Tel Aviv, who ought to have gone up against PAOK in the Europa League "play-offs" (the fourth and last qualifying round peeps! Don't swallow adspeak!), are through automatically. Lol ridiculous but, you know, better than letting someone get a free pass to the real $$$$$.

This is going to be a juridical mess. There is another club in the competition that has been banned by the UEFA for involvement in a match fixing scandal, namely Fenerbahce Istanbul. However, the Fenerbahce ban came so early that they could get a temporary injunction from CAS (the CAS will only rule on the case after the play-offs are over).

This leaves two possible developments:
1.) CAS is in time granting a temporary injunction to Kharkov as well, which should happen by Monday at latest, considering the first match shall be played on Wednesday night. In that case Kharkov is in again. As CAS is moving slow, their final verdict will most likely not be out before the group phase, so the injunction will de facto mean a transfer of the ban to 2014/2015. In that case, Fenerbahce could, even if CAS confirmed the UEFA ban, call for "equal treatment", i.e. demand their ban being as well transferred to 2014/15.

Most people already assumed that's what's probably going to happen with Fener (and Besiktas over in EL) even before this new twist.

[Lief 🗽]

#wengerout

[Keystone Phil]

So Arsenal's start was really that spectacularly disastrous, eh?

[Lief 🗽]

Between injuries and suspensions, we currently have two defenders. By the end of the game our backline was Podolski (a striker), Mertesacker (a centerback), Aarony Ramsey (a central midfielder) and Jenkinson (our backup rightback).

We have potentially only 9 first team players available for the next league match on Saturday (and this includes our two goalkeepers). It's gone from tragedy to farce.

[Keystone Phil]

Yeah and about that CL Playoff match...

[minionofmidas]

How the hell does that happen?

(Of course, Podolski as a left winger should be able to play left fullback.)

[Keystone Phil]

Juve won the Supercoppa 4-0 yesterday. Lazio's infamous Curva Nord closed for a round because of racist chanting.

[Keystone Phil]

So City fans are going nuts (despite being top of the table now on goal difference) because of a denied fifth goal. Apparently, they're unfamiliar with the offsides off of a rebound/deflection/save part of the offsides rule. He was clearly offsides after the initial attempt was blocked. Or am I reading the rule wrong? Is it judged by whether or not you're in an offside position when the initial ball is played in, not your position after the rebound/deflection/save?

[Keystone Phil]

Looks like I misunderstood. It's decided by the position an attacking player is in when the ball is initially played in, not at the moment it rebounds/deflects/gets saved.

[minionofmidas]

CAS deciding not to touch Kharkov case. Twice, actually. (Kharkov did a last-refuge "new evidence" appeal after the first anti-injunction decision.)

Will hear arguments in the Fener and Besiktas cases the next couple days, rule on Fener the day before the draw and on Besiktas the day after. Yeah, I very much doubt they win their matches and then get barred for this season.

[Keystone Phil]

Celtic down 0-2 to this Kazahk side. Yikes.

[Lief 🗽]

Looks like their sacrifice was a success!

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/shakhter-karagandy-sacrifice-sheep-ahead-2190352

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Between injuries and suspensions, we currently have two defenders.

Quite the change from Boring Boring Arse-Nil, no?

[Keystone Phil]

Milan get an important away goal against PSV. 1-1 final.

[Franknburger]

CAS deciding not to touch Kharkov case. Twice, actually. (Kharkov did a last-refuge "new evidence" appeal after the first anti-injunction decision.)

Will hear arguments in the Fener and Besiktas cases the next couple days, rule on Fener the day before the draw and on Besiktas the day after. Yeah, I very much doubt they win their matches and then get barred for this season.

There is trouble ahead anyway for CAS. I don't think the UEFA (and some other sports associations) will much longer accept undue delays in decision making that potentially endanger competitions as profitable as CL and EL. So, unless the CAS speeds up their procedures, UEFA may be tempted to set up their own court of appeal. [Remember, from this season on, financial fair play will become a major issue, and UEFA will most likely try to set some drastic examples (Real? Man City?) in order to get the rules straight from the beginning].
The fact that CAS has already declined Kharkow's appeals indicates that they are well aware of that pressure. Juridically, it does not make sense to grant temporary injunctions in favour of the Turkish clubs, but not in the Kharkow case. If (as it appears) CAS is already bowing in to UEFA pressure, they will probably also confirm the Fener and Besiktas verdicts.

[Keystone Phil]

The Gunners are having quite a night. So much for all of that hysteria.

[Keystone Phil]

Schalke only get a 1-1 draw at home and Dinamo Zagreb lose 0-2 at home! Arsenal romp to a 3-0 victory.

[Tender Branson]

Dinamo Zagreb lost to Austria Wien (Vienna) 0-2 yesterday at home.

If the Austria has a good home game too next week, they would be the first Austrian team to reach the CL group stage in 8 years.

Today, 3 Austrian teams will play in the EL playoffs (RB Salzburg, Rapid Vienna and Pasching).

They have relatively "doable" opponents.

[Tender Branson]

Today, 3 Austrian teams will play in the EL playoffs (RB Salzburg, Rapid Vienna and Pasching).

They have relatively "doable" opponents.

The RB Salzburg vs. Vilnius game has already started and RBS leads 3-0 already after the first half.

[Keystone Phil]

Serie A starts up tomorrow with Milan vs. newly promoted Hellas Verona, a team with notoriously racist fans so everyone will be watching for "incidents" especially with Balotelli.

Verona also has - surprise! - a Lega Nord Mayor who is stirring stuff up, claiming Balotelli is a troublemaker. That said, his comments were more about Mario antagonizing the opposition (which he undoubtedly does) and he urged Hellas fans not to start trouble with any black players. He even supported closing sections of a stadium if racist chanting is coming from only a few individuals.

[Franknburger]

Serie A starts up tomorrow with Milan vs. newly promoted Hellas Verona, a team with notoriously racist fans so everyone will be watching for "incidents" especially with Balotelli.

Verona also has - surprise! - a Lega Nord Mayor who is stirring stuff up, claiming Balotelli is a troublemaker. That said, his comments were more about Mario antagonizing the opposition (which he undoubtedly does) and he urged Hellas fans not to start trouble with any black players. He even supported closing sections of a stadium if racist chanting is coming from only a few individuals.

If I understand correctly, the Italian League has started a major campaign against racist fans, and also fined Roma heavily for racist incidents. There is a bit of reporting on it here in Germany, but not in much detail, so maybe you, Phil, or other Italians reading this could fill us in a bit more.

[Keystone Phil]

Serie A starts up tomorrow with Milan vs. newly promoted Hellas Verona, a team with notoriously racist fans so everyone will be watching for "incidents" especially with Balotelli.

Verona also has - surprise! - a Lega Nord Mayor who is stirring stuff up, claiming Balotelli is a troublemaker. That said, his comments were more about Mario antagonizing the opposition (which he undoubtedly does) and he urged Hellas fans not to start trouble with any black players. He even supported closing sections of a stadium if racist chanting is coming from only a few individuals.

If I understand correctly, the Italian League has started a major campaign against racist fans, and also fined Roma heavily for racist incidents. There is a bit of reporting on it here in Germany, but not in much detail, so maybe you, Phil, or other Italians reading this could fill us in a bit more.

Yeah, there is a crackdown but the talk ever since the schedule was released was how we'd see just how serious the league is by how they respond to the opening game.

Lazio is having one of their ultra sections closed down for a round after their chanting at black Juventus players during the Supercoppa last weekend.