The Ultimate Football Thread 2013-2014 Vol. 4 EPL, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A etc

eiddyfouw said:
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Hell has frozen over.
 
Never been a fan of Arbeloa but he looked great today going forward and on defense

A goal and a great assist

Ramos getting a red brought out the A game of many of the players. I don't think they would have held possession like they did in tight situations if they thought it's not a big deal since they can just win the ball back anyways. It was a damn nice thing to watch :pimp: .
 
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FYI, on the Brazil Sao Paolo/Corinthians stadium folks...

A crane FELL on a portion of the stadium (take a very close look at the pics posted earlier in the thread) and damaged it. I'm pretty sure the stadiums are safe, it seems as though the cranes however weren't. Its very plausible that the crane, although inspected and rigged appropriately, could've attempted to carry too much weight and was calibrated incorrectly for a maneuver. We've had similar accidents here in the US and recently.
 
see david, thats why we (the fans) want kagawa in the nummber 10 pure sexy confident magic there were times during the match i was just smiling because of how awesome it was to have him where he wants to be, you can see it in his body language the confidence he shows is great i want more
 
Prettyboy RY7 said:
Meulensteen for sure, Phelan was just a Yes man to Sir Alex, probably the worst assistant Manager in Sir Alex's reign,

Renee was very knowledgable when it came to tactics, And was one of the main reasons for Cristiano's big development
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i don't think Phelan was just a Yes man,cos he did have a say in team selection and tactics...
he was quoted as saying that he ran Utd for 5 years while Sir Alex took the credit...not sure how much of that was true :lol:

Meulensteen was that dude though...he was the 1st team trainer and a disciple of the famed Coerver coaching method...
all the players benefitted from his work and he knew everything about the Utd players - their fitness levels,conditioning,technical ability,etc.



United into the knockout phase :pimp:
i guess the plane scare in Cologne didn't affect their performances today... :nerd:
hopefully they can avoid defeat in the last match to top the group...
 
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IMASOLEMAN18 said:
see david, thats why we (the fans) want kagawa in the nummber 10 pure sexy confident magic there were times during the match i was just smiling because of how awesome it was to have him where he wants to be, you can see it in his body language the confidence he shows is great i want more
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THIS

Was a delight to see Shinji play like that
 
Prettyboy RY7 said:
IMASOLEMAN18 said:
see david, thats why we (the fans) want kagawa in the nummber 10 pure sexy confident magic there were times during the match i was just smiling because of how awesome it was to have him where he wants to be, you can see it in his body language the confidence he shows is great i want more
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THIS

Was a delight to see Shinji play like that
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I know he wasn't on the assist or score sheet, but he was definitely heavily involved. It was great seeing him making the right runs, making the right pass before the assist.

But we all know Moyes, this weekend, Moyes will be back to parking Kagawa on the left (if he even gets game time).
 
B Fresco said:
FYI, on the Brazil Sao Paolo/Corinthians stadium folks...

A crane FELL on a portion of the stadium (take a very close look at the pics posted earlier in the thread) and damaged it. I'm pretty sure the stadiums are safe, it seems as though the cranes however weren't. Its very plausible that the crane, although inspected and rigged appropriately, could've attempted to carry too much weight and was calibrated incorrectly for a maneuver. We've had similar accidents here in the US and recently.
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I know the crane fell but earlier this year, Brazil were massively behind schedule. They missed very single deadline they were supposed to meet. Do you know how much money needed to be spent for the infrastructure to speed everything up? It was theoretically impossible. I think a lot of corners were cut & I hope there aren't any accidents during the WC & Olympics.
 
DLo13 said:
Through the group...but awful, awful performance by Chelsea.

Only Chelsea games that I've missed live this year are the Basel games...my bad. :lol:

Somebody needs to buy this dude Salah. From all the times I've watched him in CL/EL and for Egypt, he would have no issue playing in a top 4 league,
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Obviously transfer rumors should be taken with a grain of salt but the Mirror is reporting Spurs interest in Salah.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/tottenham-target-mohamed-salah-transfer-2857592

Chelsea now rumored to be linked to Porto striker Martinez & Sevilla midfielder Ivan Rakitic.

http://metro.co.uk/2013/11/27/chelsea-close-in-on-deal-for-porto-striker-jackson-martinez-4204303/

http://www.express.co.uk/sport/foot...erpool-in-the-race-for-Sevilla-s-Ivan-Rakitic
 
My thoughts go out to Pat and his family

@AFCAcademy Yennaris has completed a loan move to Bournemouth
- Arsenal are now favourites to sign Barca's 17 yr old Paraguayan ST Tonio Sanabri. Roma were in the lead, but apparently cant match our offer
- watching nearly 12 games of him he's a poacher, but faster. not creative enough to be an advanced forward tho.
- Man City have won the race to sign Kelechi Iheanacho as Arsenal, Porto, Utd & Roma were rejected due to work permit issues.
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SPIRO BLOG: CANNY BLANC UNITING PSG


Ligue 1 > Spiro Blog
28/11/2013Increase Font Size Reduce Font Size Print Article Send Article via Email
Laurent Blanc's willingness to listen to his players and share tactical responsibility is helping PSG remain strong and united, says Ligue1.com's Matthew Spiro.
The scene that took place on the Parc des Princes pitch early in the second half of Paris Saint-Germain's Champions League match against Olympiakos on Wednesday was both unusual and revealing. Although the hosts led 1-0, Marco Verratti had just been sent off and the Greek side was beginning to get on top.

Thiago Silva influence

Skipper Thiago Silva began gesticulating to PSG's coaching staff, but sensing that his message was not being received, the Brazilian became more and more animated. Eventually Blanc's assistant Claude Makélélé ran around the outside pitch to speak to goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu, who passed on the defender's message. Silva told Makélélé that a tactical change was required as he felt the defence was too exposed.



Moments later, Blanc replaced Zlatan Ibrahimovic with Marquinhos and asked the youngster to slot in alongside Thiago Motta in front of the defence. That Olympiakos still equalised - before conceding Edinson Cavani's last-minute winner - is by the by. The fact is at a key moment of a key game, Blanc changed tactics because a player asked him to.

There are different ways of interpreting that: some may say he showed weakness by allowing himself to be dictated to by a player. Others will commend the PSG coach for being open-minded and intelligent enough to listen to his captain's thoughts and, after a moment's deliberation, act on them. I would argue strongly for the latter.

Thiago Silva is the Brazil captain. He was the best defender in Italy at AC Milan, is the best defender in France today, and quite probably the best defender in the world. He is also an experienced, considered, down to earth and smart man. When somebody like that feels so strongly about something, it would be foolish to ignore him.

Blanc man-management



When Blanc was a player, he did not hesitate in speaking out in the changing room or during the game if he felt the need. The cleverer coaches will have listened to him.

When the former France defender was appointed PSG boss in the summer, the biggest concern among fans was that he might be unable to command the respect of the dressing room and deal with the egos. It certainly hadn't been easy for Carlo Ancelotti and Leonardo. Blanc, however, has been very canny in this respect. One of his first acts was to sit down with his senior men - most notably Thiago Silva and Ibrahomivic - and to hold open discussions with them. He made it clear that they were central figures, not merely top players but also good people who had plenty to bring to the global project.

Influential Ibrahimovic

Never before in his career has Ibrahimovic appeared so committed and so passionate about helping his club achieve success, and I don't think that's a coincidence. By implicating the Swede and the Brazilian in PSG's grand plans at every opportunity, Blanc has displayed a masterclass in motivating.



Raymond Domenech may be a maligned figure, but his assertion that establishing a clear hierarchy within a team of footballers is crucial in order for that team to gel is fascinating. Domenech explains in his book Tout seul (all alone) that his failure to do just that before Euro 2008 meant France were doomed. The young players didn't respect the older ones, the older ones didn't feel they had the influence they wanted etc.

This is where Blanc has triumphed. At PSG, that hierarchy has clearly been established. Ibra and Thiago Silva are top dogs. Other senior men like Thiago Motta, Edinson Cavani, Salvatore Sirigu, Maxwell and Blaise Matuidi get to have their say. But I doubt any of them challenge the Swede or the Brazilian. And Blanc makes the final choice.

Unbeaten run

The capital outfit are now unbeaten in 35 matches in all competitions and they look to be loving life together this season. Paris look good to win the league title and they should, in my mind, be considered serious contenders for the Champions League.

The reasons for PSG's meteoric rise are manifold, and of course the massive investment from Qatar remains the primary explanation. Yet Blanc's humility, intelligence and man-management skills should not be dismissed - they are also playing a central part.
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Good post on Blanc. I had my misgivings about him being hired thinking Ibra was going to walk all over him but he does seem very focused this campaign. More so than in previous years. If the story is indeed true, than credit does go to Blanc for listening to a player like Silva & changing tactics. It's not something you do of every player or in every circumstance but when it's player like Silva you at least listen.
 
Bendtner is a better striker than half of the ones in the EPL.

He's actually great in the air, strong and can shoot pretty decently.

His speed is his only let-down.
 
Went to Bay Arena last night for the CL match between leverkusen and United. I knew I had good seats but i didn't think i was this close.. actually sat middle of the pitch right next to the tunnel and above leverkusens bench. Such an amazing atmosphere and couldn't have hoped for a better result. Leverkusen fans were great and seemed just as excited to be hosting a club like UNITED. I know united away support gets a lot of flack but they were amazing last night and deff out sung the home fans (for good reason). Coolest thing about my seats was how easy it was to interact with the players.. got to talk to just about the entire team (i think they were a bit surprised to hear ppl in the crowd with american accents or speaking english for that matter).... Stayed after the game for the players to come back out for cool down and met half of the squad. SAF was also in attendance.. sat maybe 5-6 rows behind me (but of course is a blocked off area).. (sorry for all the pics)
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Funny story.. as the players are coming by and autographing stuff... just talking to them and welbz is about to take off before I can make it over to him.. as he was stepping off... I yelled " fresh prince of manchester".. dude stopped in his tracks.. turned around laughing and asked if I wanted to take a pic (everyone else didn't seem interested in taking pics just signing)

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I do have some videos if you guys want me to post them as well...


Side note: Just found out my buddy got tickets to the Munich/City game Dec 10.. so ill be sure to post pics of that as well
 
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