⚽️The Footy Thread: German Super Cup, International Champions Cup, Copa Libertadores

[Armada]

 

[noskey]

bart & segura are idiots... They made a low ball stupid *** bid for one of the crown jewels of young players in Europe (though not from their academy) & now everyone is on the scent. I'm not familiar with Elko Born of the De Telegraaf, but I know that paper is a fairly reliable source of transfer rumors... Just absolute idiocy from the execs at the club I love.

Replace "Bart and Segura" with "Kroenke and Wenger" and you just echoed the last 12 years of Arsenal football Welcome to the incompetant side of management

 

[flyeed]

Salah winning the Puskas feels like a hand out because he’s not winning any individual awards or team trophies after an excellent individual season. That goal isn’t even close to the best of the season and is not on the same planet as Bale’s in the CL final.

 

[Verde Shuttles]

Facts

I swear Salah scored better goals than that last season

 

[Armada]

 

[Belgium]

Salah winning the Puskas feels like a hand out because he’s not winning any individual awards or team trophies after an excellent individual season. That goal isn’t even close to the best of the season and is not on the same planet as Bale’s in the CL final.

It wasn't even Salah's best goal that season. I think he scored a better one against us.

 

[B Sox]

Mo definitely had better goals than the one he won for...

 

[Armada]

Alves making the world 11 again is a joke and a bad one at this point

 

[flyeed]

Ruh Roh Modric wins another one and can be the one to break the reign of Messi/CR7 for the BDO. Imo CR7 should have won this but I’m not complaining. In terms of club standing and PR this is great for the stature of Madrid after losing CR7, to now have the FIFA player of the year and hopefully BdO winner in a few months while CR7 plays in a league with reduced prestige and exposure.

 

[Verde Shuttles]

Tebas & Rubiales got big static

 

[Armada]

VAR FC BEST FC

 

[jape]

i aint mad at it like i used to be

umtiti should be in the top 11

 

[sfc415]

The only way VAR would be bad if it took the same amount of time as the reviews in American sports. I'm 99.9% sure they artificially extend those reviews by 5 minutes to get extra commercials in

 

[Verde Shuttles]

If La Liga can handle VAR, everybody can

 

[d nice]

Do they show these awards shows on tv in Europe? Or are these closed events? It's just weird having these during the season and on a weeknight no less.

 

[whtascene]

That goal Puskas award, nah....

 

[PRIME]

I know that its referring to their LEAGUE but PSG deff took that L in UCL

Arsenal was eliminated in the CL but they got a statue of the “invincibles” in front of the Emirates (obv you aren’t an arsenal fan but still)


We still undefeated in my eyes b

 

[Verde Shuttles]

I died at the Harry Kane voice work

 

[Belgium]

McGree must be pissed he didn't win after scoring this ridiculous goal

 

[cs02132]

Wow Bayern, PSG, and Juve already dominating their respective leagues. Who would have thought?

I see cats post parlays, the winners of these leagues might be one of the safest ones

I bet juventus to win serie a for $200 a couple years ago. Placed it in like September and had to wait until the season was over

 

[Coupé It]

FIFA awards are a joke tho, they had credibility when they were fused with the ballon d’Or but not anymore since they left...

Salah makes the top three best players in the world but doesn’t make the list for the top FIFA XI? What?

Then on top of that, Salah beats Ronnie and Bale for best goal, with that goal? That wasn’t even Salah’s best goal, wtf is gong on here?

 

[gir]

busy weekend with baby and work but still caught the chelsea match, have to say I think chelsea's attack the last 2 matches has looked as toothless as last year. More possession definitely, but not creating more clear cut changes IMO than we did last year.

 

[Kimchi Papi]

I don't like too many sports pundits but one I do like (but not always agree with) is Gab Marcotti. In his weekly "musings" column, he said of Chelsea/Sarri -

Maurizio Sarri's Napoli scored 317 goals in all competitions over three seasons. That's a lot by any measure so unlike some, I don't buy this belief that Chelsea will falter unless either Eden Hazard clocks in with 40 goals this year or Alvaro Morata/Olivier Giroud breaks his slump or they sign a striker in January. Scoring goals and creating chances isn't an issue for Sarri's teams and while they were held to a scoreless draw at the weekend away to West Ham, they continue to create chances. (Incidentally, they're also averaging more than two goals a game in the league.)

I hate to bring up the chance and happenstance argument again, but it applies: creating chances is far more difficult than finishing them. The goals will come. More of an issue, perhaps, is the defending, which really hasn't been tested yet this year. We'll have a clearer idea on Saturday when Jurgen Klopp's attacking juggernaut rolls into Stamford Bridge.

He also said of Sanchez at United -

Manchester United were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Wolves, but this time it's not Jose Mourinho who is on trial. Reactions were split between praising Wolves -- deservedly so, Nuno Espirito Santo had the upper hand tactically and in Ruben Neves, they have perhaps the best player outside the top six in England -- and questioning Alexis Sanchez.

The Chile international lasted just over an hour before being substituted, and flashed only intermittently over that time, raising the question of whether Mourinho is getting the best out of him, and, inevitably, if he has a mindset where he wants to give his best. Three goals in 23 appearances in all competitions isn't much of a return. And despite enjoying a whole summer off for the first time in years, he has yet to score this season.

You get the feeling that the Sanchez deal was a short-term move that United made without clear long-term thinking.

That doesn't mean United made a mistake in signing him; I praised the move when it was announced, and at the time, it made sense. It's true that he signed a huge contract (although probably not the crazy number thrown around in some corners of the media), but his arrival also allowed United to shift Henrikh Mkhitaryan, offsetting a big chunk of that. Plus, of course, it forced Manchester City to look elsewhere as they'd been courting Sanchez since the summer of 2017.

More importantly, at the time, United's thinking was that Sanchez could have been a game-changer, especially in the Champions League. At the time, United were set to face Sevilla in Europe, which meant a place in the last eight looked pretty certain. (It didn't work out that way, as we know all too well.) And once you're in the quarterfinals, anything can happen when you have a shut-down goalkeeper in David De Gea and a manager with plenty of experience in the competition.

It was a gamble, sure, but one that could have paid off handsomely, not just in terms of money (though that's important too at United) but also in terms of giving Mourinho political capital and restoring some lustre.

Yet it backfired badly, and not just because of Sanchez. And it left a legacy of a guy who doesn't quite fit in a 4-3-3.

You can make Sanchez run up the flank as an orthodox winger, but you're barely scratching the potential of what he can give. Ideally, Mourinho would make him a more central part of his plans (not necessarily by moving him inside, but by tweaking the patterns and style of play) except right now, he has hands full at the back and in midfield. And so too often he looks like a foreign object in a United shirt.

It's yet another challenge for Mourinho who has more than enough of them on his plate right now.

I agree with both assessments he made as well as what he said about Barca's line-up... Playing both at the same time was a terrible mistake. Crazy Barca could only muster a tie at home against Girona. Even crazier is the team doesn't look very fit & it's just the start of the season. This team is so ill configured.

Barca still had enough chances to win and will view this as two points dropped. Arthur and Vidal are two guys whom they will have to turn to at some point so it makes sense to give them minutes, though maybe not in the same game.

 

[Armada]

FIFA awards are a joke tho, they had credibility when they were fused with the ballon d’Or but not anymore since they left...

Salah makes the top three best players in the world but doesn’t make the list for the top FIFA XI? What?

Then on top of that, Salah beats Ronnie and Bale for best goal, with that goal? That wasn’t even Salah’s best goal, wtf is gong on here?

Dont forget T-Boat Courtwas being voted the best keeper but not being in the best 11...how you the "best keeper in the world" but cant feature in the "best 11" in the world which BTW for some reason still includes DANI ****IN ALVES......And includes Eden Hazard taking up a midfield spot just off the fact he had a great world cup which is fantastic but these awards if applied objectively are supposed to take in how you performed the entire year in all competitions and Hazard did not have a World 11 year the entirety of last year.

 

[Kimchi Papi]

This morning's sport thinks Barca will get Frenkie at a good price.