2007/08 Soccer Thread - Euro Fever!

Wow. I wasn't expecting that.

If you weren't following, the Copa America final was today, pitting Argentina against Brazil. For a change of pace, Brazil were the dour, defensive team, while Argentina were playing that silky, wonderful Juego hermoso. So Argentina were favored. And what happens?

3-0. To the Seleção.

Wow. Get the goals here before the authorities prevent us from enjoying the sport again.

Oh, please. Oh, please. Oh, please.

Oh, please.

What is it with you all and atrocious Egyptians? For christ's sake, you've still got Mido on the payroll, and his only apparent abilities are being tall and swarthy.

Argentina looked like they were in shock after the first goal, especially since it was so early in the game. Then the own-goal happened and it all went downhill from there. I almost wonder if they hadn't watched any Brazil's earlier games and were expecting them to play their usual "Jogo Bonito."

Gotta give Dunga credit though, he seems to be the only Brazil coach, besides Scolari, who's gotten them to play defense. One article I read said at times it looked more like Italy on the pitch than Brazil.

Prederick wrote:

What is it with you all and atrocious Egyptians? For christ's sake, you've still got Mido on the payroll, and his only apparent abilities are being tall and swarthy.

Touché.
Ghaly's problem is flashes of solid play mixed with large stretches of idiocy. We have a glut of talent at the moment, and if someone has to go, I pray that it is he and Mido will be gone. Not that I have anything against swarthy Egyptians, but...

As an aside, i'd just like to note how happy I am that that awesome picture of Ursine Destruction is still getting use.

How could I change it? Its partisans riding bears into battle.
I've been tempted once or twice, then I've looked at it, and thought, "How? How could another avatar be half as cool?" The answer, I've found, is that its not possible.

Speaking of, what happened to the cartoon Oogaba?

We did, like, three months of it. Take some time off, let the demand grow, then back to being Ultra-Nerd-Who-Will-Never-See-An-Actual-Naked-Woman.

P.S. - USA U-20s lose 2-1 to Austria in the Quater-Finals. Le sigh. Good show still, I think.

VicD714 wrote:

Gotta give Dunga credit though, he seems to be the only Brazil coach, besides Scolari, who's gotten them to play defense. One article I read said at times it looked more like Italy on the pitch than Brazil.

I have to agree with that. It was like they were playing the game like it's supposed to be played. Craziness!

Not much new news to talk about as the pre-season friendlies start rolling the moves are cooling off.

http://www.teamtalk.com/football/story/0,16368,1778_2601228,00.html FIFA has been brought in to settle the Tevez debacle before August 31 Prem transfer deadline. No real comment to add here besides after they sort this mess I hope they start moving towards cleaning up this shady business permanently.

http://www.teamtalk.com/football/story/0,16368,1773_2601266,00.html Robben to Real has been agreed to between the player and club the two clubs now need to sort a price. This is abit of a strange one as Mourinho up to a week ago was adamant that Robben wasn't going anywhere to now where he pretty much cant deny hes leaving but wants him to stay. Although I rate Robben as a class player I think the toughness of the Prem is way over his head, would be good business to offload him now while the price is right.

Not much else going on at all to be honest besides nonsense from lower clubs like this

Birmingham have agreed a £6million fee with Tottenham for Egyptian striker Mido.

To toot my favorite club Arsenals horn it looks like Kroenke gearing up for the final push to buyout the club.

http://www.teamtalk.com/football/story/0,16368,1766_2602711,00.html

Kroenke needs to reach 30 per cent before being obliged to launch a takeover, according to Stock Exchange rules and Sky Sports sources claim he will increase his holding in the club in the next few days, with a £650million takeover bid imminent.

Pretty happy with this news as its become plainly obvious that in the new EPL you cant compete with just a large stadium and huge Champs League and EPL T.V money. You need that money man at the top to break the piggy bank when need be. There really is no reason to be against these moves its not like the owners want to bankrupt the teams and its not the NFL/NHL/NBA/MLB where they can try and relocate the team to Oklahoma or something.

The cherry on top of this Arsenal news day is were aiming to snatch up Angel Di Maria of the U20 Argentinian team who scored this screamer last night http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bp4zzQhuOm0 and Pedro Silva from Brazil who I don't have any fancy youtube links of ;D Both are being loaned out in the Spanish league as they cant get work permits yet.

Arsenal are parting ways with Ljunberg...and he's going to West Ham. Apparently, the Hammers are ignoring their fairly dreadful defense and hope another hodge-podge midfield (Though I really like Freddie and Parker holding their own there and think that that's one solid bunch) will see them reach season before last heights. I'm a little curious as to why they're offloading all of their strikers, especially since I don't think they' have the services of Tevez next season and Ashton is, well, doing a really impressive Owen impression.

DC United might be getting ready to make the next big MLS signing.

Yahoo! Sports wrote:

D.C. United continue to be linked with a move for Argentine star Juan Sebastian Veron.

The rumors first surfaced last week when United officials reportedly traveled to Buenos Aires to discuss a possible deal.

However, United spokesman Doug Hicks would not confirm that Veron is a target, but hinted that club is looking to use its designated player spot.

Our roster is always evolving, he told PA SportsTicker. We are always looking for ways to improve and to upgrade our team.

It's actually not that far-fetched since the rumor in DC, is that Cristian Gomez will be leaving at season's end for South America. Supposedly, he's gotten offers from more than one team, and they are for more money than United is willing/able to match. This would of course mean they need to fill the midfield position fairly soon, and if they can afford Veron, who better to take over that spot.

I always try not to get excited about this kind of rumor, since it rarely turns out to be true, but I'm finding that damn near impossible with this one.

So now America can get to experience the thrill of watching La Bruja try an overambitious pass with the outside of his boot, have it intercepted, and not attempt anything even remotely resembling defense.

What I love most about Soccer is how flighty form can be and how quickly the mighty can fall.

Example: One Patrick Kluivert. At one point, the best striker from the Netherlands and leading the line at Barcelona, now, going to trial at Sheffield Wednesday. Think about that again. The man is one of the FIFA 100, as ridiculous as that list may be, and now, he's hoping to make the Sheffield Wednesday squad.

Meanwhile, Argentina won the U-20 World Cup.

Oh, and in the Asian Cup Semis, it's it's Iraq v. South Korea, and Japan v. Saudi Arabia. My money's on a South Korea v. Japan final/grudgematch.

EDIT: A few other notes...

The "Sheva Back To Milan" rumor mill seems to have finally ground to a halt, thank god. For me, it was sad to see him struggling so much in the Premiership. I don't believe for a moment that one crap season abroad suddenly turns a man with the second-highest number of European goals into a Sunday League player.

If you've played FM this past year, then you probably have already heard about young Joao Moutinho who is apparently, rather good.

If you didn't know, Gabriel Heinze seems to be on his way out of Old Trafford. Problem is, the team buying are Liverpool, which ManU isn't exactly thrilled with. United blocked the move, so now lawyers are going to get involved.

Supposedly Bernie Ecclestone and Stan Kroenke are prepping a bid for Arsenal. Should be fun to see where this goes.

On the Veron bit if there's one type of overpaid foreign player the MLS should chase its midfielders who can crank freekicks. Defenders don't excite unless they are the Roberto Carlos, Ashley Cole pacey type who overlap down the field so there's no point to bring one in to fill the seats. Strikers past 30 just keep on losing so much pace unless they are Teddy Sheringham they are a waste to bring in. If old Ronaldo ever makes his way to the MLS it will be one of the biggest flops. They should keep on targeting guys like Juan Pablo Angel who are in their prime and really could be playing in Spain, England or Italy. The best fit is a deadball player who instantly makes your corners and freekicks from around the box that much more deadly. I'm not a Beckham or Veron fan but even with the physical ability they will keep losing their deadball skill will stay the same for many years to come and its at a level the MLS has never seen.

Sad to see Freddie go but he was supposedly on the books at 70k pounds a week and at 3m for the fee alone its a very tidy piece of business for Arsenal to clear him up especially his injury risk. Arsenal now just need to send Reyes off forever and they will have made huge profits and slashed allot of payroll this off season. I don't see them turning around and spending any of this soon tho unless Wenger has someone targeted out of nowhere like he usually does.

About the Moutinho article being of Portuguese decent I follow the senior, youth and league quite abit and he is top class but what does it really matter when the country plays with 10 midfielders and a goalie who's a midfielder who got cut ;P.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoKU4S26lPc Nani to Moutinho pretty much sums it up. Too bad its the only way Portugal is able to score these days is off wonder strikes.

Between Moutinho, Nani http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Lqb07_ezkQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGgg96ByoUA, Manuel Fernandes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtC_AvHOVJo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQQx-8UXHKI and Quaresema http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHEh4UAAwxM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbyflYp9Itg and that Ronaldo guy the future is bright.... in midfield and the wings at least ;/

Jowner, I like you. I really like you.

Anyone see this ? I think it would be good for freddy to go, probably better than going to EPL if he gets decent playing time, and transfers out again in 3-5 years or so to a bigger team.

I think a Saudi v. Iraq matchup would be marvelous, but for non-sport reasons.

The Chicago Fire have been looking abroad for a good, fast striker for a little while now. Can't say I am holding my breath.

wordsmythe wrote:

I think a Saudi v. Iraq matchup would be marvelous, but for non-sport reasons.

You know, this wasn't really what I had in mind. Most other countries seem to be able to put their differences behind for a day or so.

Yeah its very sad. Even the Ivory Coast was able to put aside its civil war when it came to football/soccer.

If women's rights and rational discussion are laid aside in the name of Islam, what makes soccer any different?

I'm almost scared of what would of happened if they played Iran or if they beat the Saudis in the final.

wordsmythe wrote:
wordsmythe wrote:

I think a Saudi v. Iraq matchup would be marvelous, but for non-sport reasons.

You know, this wasn't really what I had in mind. Most other countries seem to be able to put their differences behind for a day or so. :(

Christ. Sigh. Sports can heal, but not all wounds, or, in this case, keep the crazy f*ckers from screwing sh*t up. Well, Iraq v. Saudi Arabia it is. I'm rooting for Iraq.

As an MLS aside, seriously, they have to stop with the East/West thing. They've already got the points system, just go with the league table for chrissake. Or at least make the playoffs open only to the top two teams from each conference. As it stands, more people get in than miss out, and that's always a bad thing.

Ok back to the happy news.

Atletico Madrid have reportedly agreed a €20million deal to sign Portuguese winger Simao Sabrosa. The Benfica ace, wanted by Liverpool last year, has been in talks with the Spanish side for some time and has now agreed a €20million (£13.4million) fee to move to Madrid.

So they unload Torres and Petrov and turn it into Garcia, Simao and Forlan? not too shabby. I don't watch to much SPL but I think I'll be going out of my way to catch some Athletico games this year to see if they are better negative their hero Torres. I expect Aguero to step up and quickly make them start forgetting. This team is showing more ambition without him then with its kinda crazy.

Manchester City have signed Bulgaria winger Martin Petrov from Atletico Madrid for £4.7million.

The 28-year-old has passed a medical and joins on a three-year deal, subject to receiving a work permit.

City target Santa Cruz close to Bayern exit

Bayern Munich are close to selling reported Blackburn and Manchester City target Roque Santa Cruz after the striker was left out of the team for a League Cup tie.

Talk about going from relegation battle to maybe challenging for a spot in Europe (uefa not champs league :P). Not a fan of Sven Goran but the man has a proven league record and his transfers now stand at Rolando Bianchi, Geovanni and Petrov and hes not stopping it seems. Now you might be saying a bunch of foreigners into a mid table team this is what they did last year and it didn't work. Difference being Sven isn't Stuart Pearce who doesn't seem like a coach that's easy to get along with.

Last piece of news

Arjen Robben's proposed move to Real Madrid took a further twist last night when Chelsea revealed the Dutch winger was omitted from the squad which drew 1-1 with Feyenoord because of a knee injury.

this is quickly turning into the Tevez debacle. Not worth reading about because nothing is happening. Robben is proving that hes softer then pudding tho and if Chelsea had any sense they line up and replacement and ship him off. Last thing a Prem team who's about to play a long season in 3 domestic competitions and the champs league needs is a player who is injured every time someone bumps him.

Update on that Angel Di Maria kid. I lied the deal fell through as Benfica swooped in and stole him in a double player deal worth 4m pounds ;/. He grabbed his face too much anyways

Also

Blackburn Rovers have confirmed they have signed Paraguay striker Roque Santa Cruz from Bayern Munich. The 25-year-old has agreed a four-year contract at Ewood Park after spending eight years with the Bundesliga club. Rovers announced Santa Cruz has joined for 'an undisclosed fee' but reports in Germany suggest the Premier League club have paid £3.5million for his services.

not bad piece of business when players like Mido are being touted around at 6m although Santa Cruz is injury prone hes pure class when not.

although Santa Cruz is injury prone hes pure class when not

Everyone at Bayern Munich will disagree with you there. He's been there for almost 8 years, and never really made it into the first team consistantly. Not just because of injuries.

Spunior wrote:
although Santa Cruz is injury prone hes pure class when not

Everyone at Bayern Munich will disagree with you there. He's been there for almost 8 years, and never really made it into the first team consistantly. Not just because of injuries.

I don't really know what to think of Cruz. I know that outside of Egypt, Mido isn't much either though.

You never know though, a guy with some talent in the right system with some team synergy can really change a guy's career. Afterall, plenty of class players play like trash in the wrong systems -- see Mascherano and West Ham vs. Mascherano and Liverpool.

Iraq wins! Iraq wins!

Prederick wrote:

Iraq wins! Iraq wins!

Amazing. Absolutely amazing.

In other news, FC Dallas has fared well in SuperLiga competition against Chivas and Pachuca of the Mexican League, tying both teams 1-1. Dallas lost the decision both times in the final minutes to questionable PK calls, especially in the Pachuca case (87th minute on what looked like a solid tackle on the ball). Funny, but all of my Mexican students always insist that the US National Team can only beat the Mexican team off of PK decisions, but this is how these last two games were decided in their favor.

Freddy Adu is in Portugal finalizing his transfer to Benfica.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=448847&cc=5901

BlackSheep wrote:

Funny, but all of my Mexican students always insist that the US National Team can only beat the Mexican team off of PK decisions...

You might want to pull this out, next time that comment is made.

USSF Website wrote:

June 24, 2007: USA wins 2-1
The USA's first goal came on a nice build-up from the U.S., who seamlessly moved the ball from the left to right flank at the midfield stripe through DaMarcus Beasley, setting up Jonathan Spector to send a perfect cross into the area for Brian Ching. The Hawaiian forward controlled the ball well, spun around his marker and was setting up for a chance on goal when Jonny Magallon clipped his legs from behind, setting up an easy penalty call for Guatemalan referee Carlos Batres.

Mexico was beginning to feel the pressure from the U.S. again when a dangerous cross from Jonathan Bornstein earned the USA a corner kick in the 72nd minute. As Donovan's corner kick slid into the area, it was headed out by the Mexican defense, falling to the top of the area where Feilhaber hit a one-time, full-volley blast out of the air and into the upper left corner past a helpless Oswaldo Sanchez.

Feb. 7, 2007: USA wins 2-0
Donovan was sure to connect on his next dangerous opportunity, this time the result of a corner kick. His out-swinger found Conrad who used some savvy moves in goal-mouth traffic to elude his marker and rose to bury his header from eight yards out.

In injury time, Sanchez didn't have any chance of pushing Donovan's shot aside as the dynamic midfielder slipped behind the Mexican backline near the midfield stripe to run onto a Ricardo Clark through ball and dribbled around the Mexican "˜keeper before banging his shot into the open net with authority.

Sep. 3, 2005: USA wins 2-0
Eddie Lewis served the ball to the back post where Onyewu was able to rise over his defender and headed the ball off the left post. The ball deflected across the goalmouth past Sanchez to the right side and Ralston had an easy header tap-in to push it to the back of the net.

Five minutes later, the U.S. doubled their lead as Beasley started and finished off a perfectly executed corner kick. Beasley played a short corner to Landon Donovan and he pushed the ball back near the corner of the penalty box to Claudio Reyna. With two touches the U.S. captain slipped the ball into the right side of the penalty box for a streaking Beasley, who collected the ball about eight yards out and curled a left-footed shot over the outstretched arm Sanchez and into the left side netting.

March 27, 2005: USA loses 1-2
The U.S. struggled offensively, getting only three shots in the first half, but finally got in a bit of an offensive groove in the second half and Eddie Lewis cut the lead in half with a well-placed strike in the 59th minute.

April 28, 2004: USA wins 1-0
The goal for the U.S. came in the 93rd minute on a free kick from Bobby Convey that was sent into the area and headed on frame by Taylor Twellman. Mexican goalkeeper Oswaldo Sanchez did well to make that stop, his impressive sixth save of the night, but couldn't keep the rebound from falling to Pope to score his sixth international goal.

June 17, 2002: USA wins 2-0 (2002 World Cup)

Unfortunately, the USSF website doesn't have match reports for games played before '04, just the final score.

The final tally. One PK by the US in seven games.