2013-14 Club Soccer/Football Discussion Thread

[Lief 🗽]

Man City was unlucky; if not for the red card/penalty (should have been a red, but should NOT have been a penalty) they might have gotten a decent result. But Pellegrini's defensive tactic at home was also cowardly and didn't make any sense. City's strength this season has been it's all out attack, and Barca's been defensively suspect for years now. Not taking advantage of that was a mistake IMO.

[Keystone Phil]

There are very few situations I can think of where we would not all be rooting against Barcelona.

Yes but today was especially important and we are left with a major disappointment.

Now let's see how badly Bayern hopefully crush Arsenal (sorry, Lief) and if Milan can keep up their history of showing up in the CL even when they suck domestically.

[Lief 🗽]

I think we can manage a draw at the Emirates. Maybe 2-2 if we're lucky. But then away we'll be crushed.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

You should basically never be disappointed if a club like City loses.

[Keystone Phil]

You should basically never be disappointed if a club like City loses.

Listen, when they're playing a disgusting team that people get ridiculously gushy over, it's disappointing when they lose.

[Keystone Phil]

So unfortunate for Milan. They deserved the win.

At least Arsenal is basically finished.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

excelente

[Lief 🗽]

Could have won if not for the red card, but playing with ten men against Bayern is close to impossible, and they only broke the deadlock through a fantastic Kroos (one of my favorite players) strike. Not that bad in the grand scheme of things, time to focus on the League and FA Cup.

[NewYorkExpress]

Today was another day dominated by the UEFA Champions League;

Athletico Madrid came in to  Stade Giuseppe Meazza and won 1-0, and will now face Milan on home turf.

Bayern Munich defeated Arsenal at Emirates Stadium 2-0, and will now face Arsenal at home in leg #2.

Meanwhile in Championship (England)
Leicester maintained an eight point lead, and an inside track to the Premier League, by drawing  Nottingham Forest 2-2

Tomorrow is much busier as the UEFA Europa League returns;
Racing Genk will face Anzhi Mackhachlaka in Anzhi Arena in Kaspyik, Russia (formerly known as Khazar Stadium)
Lyon will travel to Odessa to face Chornomorets, a game that could be heavily monitored due the current political situation in the Ukraine
Tottenham Hotspur will travel Dinipro Arena to face Dinipro Dinopropetreovesk, in another potentially politically charged matchup.
Valencia is supposed to head to the NSC Olimpiysky to face Dynamo Kyiv, but given the current unrest in Kyiv I honestly don't see how this match goes forward as scheduled.
Fiorentina will trek to Blue Water Arena to face Esbjerg
Trabonzaspor will travel to Juventus Stadium to take on Juventus
AZ Alkaamar will be going the Sadion U Nisy to face Slovan Liberec in a match that probably won't get good ratings outside their home countries.
Benefica travels to Toumba Stadium to play PAOK Salonkia.
Eintracht Frankfurt hopes to put a poor Bundesliga Campaign behind them as they travel to the Estadio do Drago to face Porto
Ludogorets Razograd (They're from Bulgaria) will travel to the Stadio Olimpico to face Lazio.(This might be the biggest mismatch of the round)
Basel will go to the land of many faiths to face Maccabi Tel-Aviv at Bloomfield Stadium
S.V Salzburg will head to Amsterdam Arena to face Ajax (Amsterdam)
In another huge mismatch Sevilla will travel to the Ljudski vrt to face SK Maribor.
Rubin Kazan will travel to the Estadio Benito Villamarin (Seville) to face Real Betis
Napoli heads to Liberty Stadium to face Swansea, which has recently sacked its manager.
Finally Shaktar Donetsk will head to Doosan arena to face Viktoria Plzen.

 

[Lief 🗽]

So unfortunate for Milan. They deserved the win.

Yeah, having watched the highlights now, definitely agree. If only Kaka had hit those two great shots a few inches lower. Disgusting display from Atletico too, injuring Balo like that.

[Tender Branson]

S.V Salzburg will head to Amsterdam Arena to face Ajax (Amsterdam)

Not SV Salzburg !

Red Bull Salzburg is going to Amsterdam tonight.

SV Salzburg is a minor club (or, according to the fans, the real Salzburg football club) in the Regional League West.

SV Salzburg was founded in 2005 by fans after the original SV Salzburg was taken over by Red Bull.

[Keystone Phil]

0-0...to Swansea. At least it was the away leg.

[Franzl]

2-2 between Porto and Frankfurt

[Keystone Phil]

2-2 between Porto and Frankfurt

I was going to post that in memory of Lewis. That's great news for Frankfurt and even better for the Forum: Lewis will surely return if Napoli and his team meet in the Round of 16!

[Tender Branson]

You forgot to mention the most important game yesterday:

Salzburg thrashes Ajax 3-0

Jonathan Soriano scored one of the goals of the Europa League season, netting from the halfway line as Salzburg thrashed an off-colour Ajax 3-0 in their round of 32 first leg at Amsterdam Arena.

The Austrian side were already 2-0 ahead when Soriano collected a stray ball just inside his own half, took a touch to get the ball out of his feet and sent a stunning strike looping over goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen on Thursday.

Salzburg captain Soriano opened the scoring from the penalty spot and was also involved in Sadio Mane's 21st-minute effort before capping proceedings with his memorable effort.

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/02/21/salzburg-thrashes-ajax-3-0

...

Ajax acted like a bunch of school boys and Salzburg absolutely pwned them throughout the game.



Highlights (incl. the 50 meter goal from Soriano, because the Ajax keeper was wayyy in front of his goal):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=953E1QBUBBs

[Keystone Phil]

Haha I was thinking of you when I saw the score, Tender. And that was their away leg!

[Franknburger]

Salzburg's 3:0 has the potential for goal of the year, and should Salzburg preserve their form, they are definitely among the favourites to win the EL.
Frankfurt's 2:2 in Porto was a bit lucky, but not undeserved, especially as the referee acted anything but impartial (2 yellow cards against Frankfurt, while Porto, which committed more and more severe fouls, didn't get booked at all). Porto's first goal, just before half-time, resulted from a foul against a Frankfurt player that wasn't recognised. When Porto went up 2:0 in the 68th minute, they went into power-save modus - something you should never do when playing a German team. Within less than ten minutes, Frankfurt equalised, and Porto's final offensive was too little too late.
A Frankfurt-Napoli quarterfinal would be nice, I would love to have Lewis coming back here for it, but I'm not sure (don't know his particular reasons for leaving, but I guess they were quite substantial).

What's your take on Roma, Phil. From the highlights I saw on TV here, it seems they were quite lucky to only have lost 0:1 to Razgrad...

[NewYorkExpress]

Today suffered from a dearth of "interesting" games;

In La Liga, Real Valladolid and Levante battled to 1-1 draw.

In the German Bundesliga, Schalke was caught looking ahead to Real Madrid as they drew against Mainz 0-0

In France 2nd place Monaco got insanely lucky as Lavin Kurazawa scored a goal in the fifth minute of stoppage time to Stade de Reims 3-2.

In Serie B Crotone moved into position to claim a (Possible) Serie A berth with a 1-0 win over Brescia.


Tomorrow looks a lot more exicting;

English Premier League

Everton is off to Stamford Bridge to challenge Chelsea.

Sunderland comes to the Emirates Stadium to face a struggling Arsenal

Cardiff gets a chance to rise out of the basement at home against Hull

Stoke City back in the meat-grinder, heads to Eithad Stadium to face Angry Manchester City.

Relegation battle between West Brom and Fulham at the Hawthorns

West Ham looks to stay hot as Southampton comes to Upton Park

Slumping Manchester United look to turn things around at Crystal Palace


La Liga

Elche gets thrown into the wood-chipper against Real Madrid at Santiago Bernbeau

Slumping Getafe travels to Celta Vigo

The Lionel Messi show goes on the road as Barcelona heads to Real Sociedad

Relgation Battle between Malaga and Almeira at Estadio Mediterrano

Serie A

Roma wants cheese with their road victory in Bologna

Bundesliga (Germany)

Borussia Monchengladenbach at home against Hoffenheim

Hamburg looks to save their season at home against Borussia Dortmund

Relegation Battle between Nurnburg and Eintracht Braunschweig at Easy-Credit Stadion

Stuttgart hopes save their season at home against Hertha Berlin

Bayer Leverkusen hopes to recover from Champions League disaster as they head to Volkswagen Arena to face Wolfsburg.

[Keystone Phil]

Roma wants cheese with their road victory in Bologna

What.

[Franknburger]

After having exchanged coach Bert van Marwijk with Mirko Slomka, Hamburg is suddenly looking a bit like RB Salzburg. Surprise 3:0 win against Dortmund. The final goal was an unbelievable direct free-kick from 41 meters distance!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zwm4TzVzn00

Hamburg moves up one place from 17th to 16th, but continues to be threatened by relegation. Dortmund stays third.

[NewYorkExpress]

There were a bunch of big games today;

English Premier League;

Chelsea defeated Everton 1-0 on a goal in the third minute of stoppage time by John Terry.

Arsenal proved they're still a threat in Premier League title chase, as they blast Sunderland 4-1, Giroud scores pair.

Hull shuts down Cardiff 4-0, Jelcavic bags brace.

Manchester City escapes 1-0 against Stoke

West Brom could only manage a 1-1 draw against Fulham

Hot West Ham defeated Southampton, 3-1 (Could the Hammers sneak into international play)

Manchester United finally won a game, defeating Crystal Palace 2-0. (Anyone else notice Wayne Rooney's got a new deal?)

La Liga;

Real Madrid defeated Elche 3-0

Getafe and Celta Vigo suffered through a painful (for fans) 1-1 draw.

Barcelona LOST to Real Sociedad 3-1. (Looks like Real Madrid will win La Liga)

Bottom-Dwellers Almeria and Malaga, battled to a scoreless draw.

Serie A

Roma got their Bologna and Swiss sandwich, defeating Bologna 1-0.

Bundesliga (Germany)

Borussia Monchengladenbach drew Hoffenheim 2-2

As mentioned Hamburg pulled of a major upset of Borussia Dortmund 3-0.

Nurnburg defeated Eintrach Braunschwieg 2-1.

Augsburg defeated Frieburg 4-2, Frieburg giving three goals after the 77th minute.

Hertha Berlin defeated a collapsing Stuttgart 2-1.

Wolfsburg defeated Bayer Leverkusen 3-1.

France Ligue 1

Marseille moves closer to European football, defeats Lorient 1-0

St. Eteinne moves to third, defeats Bastia 2-0.

Bordeaux defeats Evian 2-1.

Guingamp defeats Nice 1-0 for their first win since November.

Montpellier defeats Ajacco 2-0 and remains unbeaten in Ligue 1 in 2014.

Valciennes and Sochuax engaged in a 2-2 draw.


As for Tomorrow;

EPL;

Swansea heads to Anfield faces Liverpool, and their new "Liverpool Strong" Motto.

Aston Villa travels to Newcastle United

Tottenham Hotspur goes to Carrow Road to face Norwich City.


La Liga

Sevilla travels to bottom-feeder Rayo Vallecano

Athletico Bilbao travels to bottom feeder Real Betis

Midtable showdown Estadio Mestalla between Granada and Valencia

Athletico Madrid looks to keep pace in the title chase with derby rivals, at Estadio El Sadar against Osasuna.

Serie A

Hellas Verona goes to Livorno

Catania travels to Chievo Verona

Caligari travels to Milan, to face Inter Milan

AC Milan off to Sampdoria.

Atalana will go to Udinese

Torino hopes to shroud themselves with victory in the Turin Derby, against Juventus.

Sassuolo looks to escape the basement at Stadio Olimpico against Lazio.


Bundesliga (Germany)

Midtable clash at Commerzbank Arena, as Eintracht Frankfurt will face Werder Bremen.

Bayern Munich will head to Hannover, to face Hannover 96.


Ligue 1

PSG travels to Toulouse

Stade Rennes heads to Nantes

Lyon travels to Lille






 

[Tender Branson]

Salzburg's 3:0 has the potential for goal of the year, and should Salzburg preserve their form, they are definitely among the favourites to win the EL.

They do, they won 6-1 against Mödling today in the Bundesliga ...

[Tender Branson]

Also, I want Red Bull Salzburg to be incorporated into the German Bundesliga.

The Austrian Bundesliga teams are too weak for them at the moment ...

[Franknburger]

Also, I want Red Bull Salzburg to be incorporated into the German Bundesliga.

The Austrian Bundesliga teams are too weak for them at the moment ...

Won't happen for a number of reasons, one of which is the German Bundesliga not accepting company names as team names (unless they have a decades-long tradition as is the case with Bayer Leverkusen).
However, I already have for some time been wondering whether some of the "smaller" leagues weren't well advised to merge. An Alpenliga (Austria & Switzerland) could make quite some sense, and provide RB Salzburg with reasonably strong Swiss opponents. The same applies to Benelux, Scandinavia, former Yugoslavia, or the non-English British Isles. That, however, would first of all require UEFA to overhaul CL and EL qualification criteria that at the moment are biased towards the smaller leagues.

[NewYorkExpress]

So far today;

We saw a classic at Anfield as Liverpool entered the EPL title chase (Just three points back of Chelsea now), defeating Swansea 4-3.

Newcastle defeated Aston Villa 1-0 on a goal in the second minute of stoppage time by Loic Remy.

Norwich upset Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 in huge victory for the Canaries.

Rayo Vallecano was defeated by ten-man Sevilla 1-0.

Athletic Bilbao defeated Real Betis 2-0

Valenica defeated Granada 2-1 on a goal in the first minute of stoppage-time by Rueben Vezo.


Hellas Verona defeated Livorno 3-2.

Cheivo Verona defeated Catania Calcio 2-0

Inter Milan drew with Caligari 1-1

AC Milan defeated Sampdoria 2-0

Udinese drew with Atalana 1-1

Juventus won the Turin Derby, defeating Torino 1-0.



Eintracht Frankfurt and Weder Bermen fought to a 0-0 draw.

Bayern Muinch flattened Hannover 96 4-0 with 2 goals from Thomas Muller.


Paris St. German defeated Toulouse 4-2 with Zlatan Ibramovic earning a Hat-Trick

Stade Rennes defeated Nantes 3-0.


Ajax Amsterdam recovered relatively well from their Europa League loss, flattening AZ Alkamaar 4-0.

2nd place Twente battled 4th place Feyenood to a 2-2 draw as Feyenood blew a 2-0 lead.

Kasiampa ran all over Sivasspor 6-2.

As mentioned Red Bull Salzburg is a 6-1 winner

Swiss bottom dwellers Laussanne upset St. Gallen 3-0

Young Boys defeated Lucerne 2-1.

FC Basel and Grasshopper Zurich fought to a 1-1 draw