Euro Footie

[SAMCRO]

Thought I'd continue the Footie thread from TOSS.

Champions League draw in the books, and a great Match day 1 draw w/ Barcelona hosting Milan, Man City v. Napoli, and Villareal v. Bayern. Group A appears to be the "group of death" w/ Bayern, City, Napoli, and Villareal. I'm just bummed my Spurs just finished outside the top 4 in the EPL and are stuck in Europa League.

In the EPL, Man City just keeps opening the vault. The latest is signing Nasri from the Gooners. They are a player away from getting on the level of Barcelona, and appear to have ownership that doesn't mind spending the cheddar to get them there. It's early, but the EPL is taking in the look of a 2 team race b/w City and United, although Chelsea is still tinkering and not giving up on bringing in a big gun (so long as it's not Modric).

COYS!

 

[progrocks]

I have not watched the game yet, but L'Pool is looking quite impressive and ready to fight for the top 4 this year. I did see a bit of the Chelsea/Norwich match and Chelsea did not look that great at home against a team they should have dominated.

And while not a Euro footie film, it is a euro sport film, I highly recommend checking out Senna if anyone has the chance. Great sports documentary of possibly the greatest talent in motor sports history. It is amazing that they had all the footage that they got, some stunning stuff.

 

[zls44]

Frustrating great performance from Liverpool. Should have won 4 or 5 nil, 3-1 is good enough. Nice problem to have.

 

[SAMCRO]

Liverpool looking strong. Man City, w/ addition of Nasri, is looking ridiculous already. Dzeko w/ 2 goals in 1st half @ Spurs this morning.

Spurs need to bring in a top defender.

 

[bobbygt]

Man City is absolutely destroying Spurs right now. I thought Tottenham would be decent this year, but these two losses are disappointing. Friedel in goal, too.

 

[SAMCRO]

Ya, they look terrible. Friedel has probably kept it 'closer' than it actually is. He did the same in the Man U game. Spurs should sell Modric to Chelsea and go buy a couple solid defenders before the transfer window closes. He's very good, but they need to get some solid defense if they want to challenge for the 4th spot and a shot at Champions League.

 

[progrocks]

Wow, just wow. We found out who is playing the role of 10-11 Liverpool this season

 

[SAMCRO]

United just dismantling Arsenal. Rooney with a hat trick. The London clubs are taking it on the chin from theManchester clubs.

 

[progrocks]

on the chin? i would have said up the a@#

 

[progrocks]

Wenger may have thought that he could get through this season, get 4th, and be ready to go at it next year but today had to be a wakeup call. That was embarrassing. They need some immediate reinforcements, and they only have 3 days to make a deal.

 

[SAMCRO]

on the chin? i would have said up the a@#

LOL. I was going to go with "up the ARSEnal".

 

[progrocks]

Just wanted to say that the clubs from Manchester seem to be quite good at futbol. If Altidore could even put a quarter the effort into playing as Rooney does our national team would be much better, never mind just talent, just the effort

 

[progrocks]

Just a heads up, the UEFA Champions League, the best soccer league in the world, starts this Tuesday. The highlights of this weeks fixtures is a Barca/Milan match on Tuesday. If you have Directv, you got the games somewhere in the 400's

 

[meyers7]

Just a heads up, the UEFA Champions League, the best soccer league in the world, starts this Tuesday. The highlights of this weeks fixtures is a Barca/Milan match on Tuesday. If you have Directv, you got the games somewhere in the 400's

Yep, looking forward to that game. FoxSoccer Channel for me. got the DVR set for that game and of course the Arsenal game (they are showing it at like 2 a.m. or something).

 

[bobbygt]

Yep, looking forward to that game. FoxSoccer Channel for me. got the DVR set for that game and of course the Arsenal game (they are showing it at like 2 a.m. or something).

Let's go Ajax!!!

 

[Waquoit]

Tough weekend for me. I missed the game between my two teams as I was on the road. Can't believe Stoke City won!

 

[UConn Do It4]

My allegiance is up for grabs, I wanted to start a thread about who I should start rooting for but didn't want to clutter this board as I know some are unhappy USMNT and Euro threads are here. I've started really getting into soccer, and the occasional USMNT games aren't enough to quench my thirst, so I want to turn to Barclays. I understand I should probably just watch a bunch of games and decide for myself whose style of play I like most, but I was hoping for some nudges in the right direction. I know if I provide some info it might help

• I despise the Mexican national team, and can't stand Chicharito. My own weird personal opinion, but it bugs me when I watch Man U. Otherwise I'd probably just be another token front runner fan and go with Man U
• I want to be able to watch a good amount/all of the games, so I considered Arsenal as I'm a big Yankee fan and know most games are shown next day on YES. I also have the Fox sports soccer channel though. I don't know anything about them aside from it
• Strongly considering Everton as Tim Howard is simply the man. Know nothing about them either though
• I don't want to become disinterested in the EPL by pulling for a team that sucks right out of the gate, so Blackburn and everyone else stuck at 2 pts will probably be a no go. If I wanted to watch crappy soccer I'd go watch Avon High (Go Farmington!)
• Chelsea's black and gold away jerseys are awesome. When I play FIFA it's my go to

This EPL newbie is much obliged for any help!

 

[progrocks]

Bill Simmons wrote a column on his search for an EPL team. You can read them here and here

I do not have a team. I follow Bolton matches because I am a Houston fan and I want to watch Stu Holden do well. If he was not there I am not sure I would care. I am going to let it happen organically, but I would hope it is not one of the current big 4. If I ever move to the UK it would likely end up being in Scotland, so I am not sure how the EPL plays up there since it is likely bigger than the SPL.

Nice job by Milan getting a point at Barca today, proof you do not need to play equally well to get an equal result.

 

[UConn Do It4]

Thank you very much prog! That was super helpful, I have a feeling its at least a couple years out of date based on some of the references. I couldn't find a "published on..." tag however. It definitely gave some insight as to their history and put it in terms of other sports teams I could relate them too, but I still feel in the dark on players as I'm not sure if many of the names mentioned even play anymore.

Anyone else have some of their own personal suggestions, or insight as to why you root for the team you do?

 

[progrocks]

had to be about 5 years ago or so. five or six of them are not even in the premiere league any more.

 

[meyers7]

Anyone else have some of their own personal suggestions, or insight as to why you root for the team you do?

I was in the same boat as you a few years ago. Watching MNT/WNT, and wanting more, started watching EPL (and it was becoming available then too). At the time Arsenal were the most free flowing football out there, just lovely stuff to watch. So I was sold on them. Also around that time they had their "Invincible" season 03-04 (where they where they went undefeated in the EPL - 26 wins, 12 draws, 0 losses).

They fight for the top 4 and have been in Champions League for quite a few years, so you do get to watch a lot of their games.

However, the last couple years have been a bit of a decline, and this year doesn't look so great either. However, I am and will always be a Gunner. They still play (or try to) pretty flowing football.

Just please, please don't pick Tottenham Scum, or there will be no hope for your soul.

Another you may be interested in is Fulham, if you like Clint Dempsey. However they usually are a mid table team, though they did make it to the Europa League Final a couple years ago.

 

[meyers7]

Bill Simmons wrote a column on his search for an EPL team. You can read them here and here

I do not have a team. I follow Bolton matches because I am a Houston fan and I want to watch Stu Holden do well. If he was not there I am not sure I would care. I am going to let it happen organically, but I would hope it is not one of the current big 4. If I ever move to the UK it would likely end up being in Scotland, so I am not sure how the EPL plays up there since it is likely bigger than the SPL.

Nice job by Milan getting a point at Barca today, proof you do not need to play equally well to get an equal result.

SPL is a two team league (with a bunch of fillers), kinda like how LaLiga is, and this year maybe even the EPL (with the Manchester teams). They really need to get the Fair Play rules in and enforced.

 

[bobbygt]

I played soccer from a very young age, through high school. so it was pretty common back then for friends, teammates, or parents to be talking about pro soccer. The first big tournament I watched was Euro 1988 at a friend's house. The game was Netherlands vs. Germany, and the commentary was explaining how the Dutch hated the Germans, but that the Germans always cam out on top. Well, Netherlands won and ended up winning the whole thing. But I was hooked on that Dutch team after one game: especially Gullit and Van Basten. So, the Dutch national team became my gateway pretty much to pro soccer, whether national teams or club.

I started watching Ajax games on TV when Bergkamp was there, through to their amazing teams of 1994-1996. So, in a sorta nostalgic way, Ajax is my favorite club team, even more than Arsenal. When I heard that Bergkamp went to Arsenal, I instantly became a fan.

Since he's retired, I don't follow Arsenal as religiously as I did 10-15 years ago, and check on Bolton and Fulham just as much.

I will say that I do really enjoy watching Barcelona[/quote]

 

[Waquoit]

Do what I did - root for Liverpool because they came to Rentschler Field and kicked ass.