Champions League!

[jazzypom]

Comments

[mrscrapbag]

smh dortmund idk how to react anymore. we still have a chance of advancing but only if they work on the defense. the goals we conceded was appallingly shitty. since it's a home game is it too much to ask that we score and keep a clean sheet in the 2nd leg? i guess we should find a new GK too because Roman just ain't cutting it. oh well, on to the derby..

also, i saw this gif and messi's expression kills me! lmao

yeah Roman is snakebit

[jazzypom]

Snaaaakkkkeee bit. He's been broken, he needs to be put in fallow for a long while. Let the little soccerroo step up as first choice keeper, I think.

When the ball isn't at Messi's feet, he just seems lost. What's nice about Messi though is that he seems to appreciate the little things of the sport? You find that goalkeepers tend to tease him and he responds well, even though he doesn't seem to understand English (that most goalies seem to speak, you notice?).

RE: yeah Roman is snakebit

[lied_ohne_worte]

True, when he isn't playing, he just slinks about and doesn't look at all like he could be the best player there is (or is that Ronaldo, I keep losing track).

Re: RE: yeah Roman is snakebit

[jazzypom]

Nah, Ronaldo pouts and seems to be impatient with his teammates when things don't go his way. Messi just wanders about like a Barcelona clad wraith until the ball gets to his feet again. Since he's gotten Neymar though, he doesn't seem to be that alone any more.

Dortmund woes back again

[jesscp]

Ugh. It could have been FAR WORSE but props to my boy Marco for turning up and actually attacking. Our defence was pretty non-existent and Roman needs to be rested again because the GK mistakes he made last night CANNOT happen in the Derby on Saturday. Juve were good but idk, I expected more from them. They had so many chances and seemed to bottle it at times. Ah well at least we were spared an Annihilation. That's 2 times now that Marco has breezed a goal due to poor defending, I am hoping he can do it again in Saturday

Re: Dortmund woes back again

[jazzypom]

Atlético is a good team to know. They play that hunting in pack/wolf pack football that Dortmund played to great effect a season ago, but Atlético is forged in the image of their maker, Simeone. They argue with the referees for balls and choices as if it's their God given right under creation to have the ball, and they tend to walk the fine line between technique and temper. When it's in balance (like against Real Madrid) it's the nicest thing to see. But their emotional stability is like a game of jenga- once one player breaks away in terms of discipline (again, that temper bit) the team can crumble.

It will be interesting to see which Atlético shows up tonight!

RE: Re: Dortmund woes back again

[waterpulse]

Lol they're not balanced against Real Madrid, they're way more violent and rough than they'd be against a lower side.

Re: RE: Re: Dortmund woes back again

[jazzypom]

They stop the channels from midfield and smother any service that Bale or Ronaldo might get in terms of them bombing forward to get a goal. Barcelona and Real Sociedad can beat Atlético Madrid more than Real Madrid at this moment in time.

So I'd say that there's some sort of technique with Atlético to be beating Real Madrid on different occasions than just being 'violent and rough'.

[mrscrapbag]

welp. apparently Vermaelen got injured again while training. src

at this point this is just sad..

[the4thjuliek]

HAHAHAHAHA! This is killing me!

Sorry Vermy, I love you but this is your punishment for ditching us to go to Barca.

Our ex-captains are feeling our wrath:

RVP - Ditches us for United, wins the league and is now a flop.

Cesc - Goes to Barca and underwhelms, comes back to join Chelsea and is currently going through the Annual Cesc Fabregas Meltdown (deluded Chelsea fans blame 'injury') and has magically aged 30 years.

Vermy - Goes to Barca and is practically dead. I'm happy for Polly though.

[chrysa]

awwww don't hate, Sis. We need to thank Barca this time. :'D For giving us the gift of Alexis at a super discount price and basically paying half of that back even by taking one of our players who would've been been out injured the entire season.

Karma: it has done its job.

As for Cesc, he can stay a pumpkin until he retires, for all I care about. If we can't win, I hope City wins this season, with Lampard on their side :') Chelsea doesn't get the Invincibles AND Cesc doesn't get to be King Titi's assist record. :')

[waterpulse]

I refuse to believe any English transfer rumors involving Varane because I refuse to believe Real Madrid are dumb enough to let him go anywhere except the starting lineup. ):

Fabio Cannavaro has been sentenced to 10 months in prison for breaching orders to keep out of his property after it was seized by authorities.

Anyway I was listening to a podcast yesterday and idk if this is common knowledge but apparently MLS doesn't have free agency?? So like if you sign for NY Red Bulls, when your contract expires, they still have your playing rights and the only way you can play for another team is if you leave the league entirely. Owners do it to keep the cost down b/c all MLS is owned by one giant entity who don't want clubs bidding over players and driving up the money, and this is cause for such unhappiness with the players (understandably) that they might strike.

which podcast is this?

[jazzypom]

I'm interested.

I don't know much about MLS, in that seems so foreign to what I know. I think the players are also striking re: wages too?

Can anyone who understands MLS weigh in?

RE: which podcast is this?

[waterpulse]

It's World Soccer Talk, one of the more recent ones if the the most recent show. They also mentioned how the MLS wad broke not that long ago and they dug themselves out and put all these restrictions in place so they didn't overspend (or maybe they're just greedy lol). I might have gotten the details of the funding wrong but they're definitely different than the European clubs and don't have individual owners, so the MLS as an organization would discourage transfers.

Re: which podcast is this?

[jazzypom]

Yeah, I think after the 1980s when they were spending money on Pele and various to get to America but it was mad, and they did go broke. But to get into the MLS franchise the owners have to stump up $100 million, as well as build a self sustaining stadium and the rest of it. It's mad, not like the notion of starting from conference and working their way up, that's for sure. Once you're paying $100 million, you're in the league. But the average soccer player earns about $36,000 a year, and I think their travelling (because they do a lot of travelling) expenses are docked (I don't know, someone correct me). I do remember for Beasley and his friend (name draws a blank), they had to live with Beasley's parents when they were playing for Kansas wizards (before they got the better contracts). It's not as well paid as over here is for an average squad member.

this is shocking.

[untxi]

RE: this is shocking.

[lied_ohne_worte]

Horrifying.

RE: this is shocking.

[the4thjuliek]

Yup, and they're migrant workers from South Asia who have been cheated by the recruitment agencies into working in Qatar. It's modern-day slavery.

There's a petition going around: Click here

RE: this is shocking.

[lonelyclubband]

This is so depressing :((...