The Ali Dia Football/Soccer Thread

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 12 Sep 2014, 00:28

Some feel good news: Palestina has qualified for the 2015 Asian Cup for the first time in their history!

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 12 Sep 2014, 09:41

Miguel98 wrote:Paulo Bento has been fired. Finally. Time to put Vitor Pereira in the place where he belongs.

He actually resigned. Vitor Pereira? I don't know... Well, they tried Queiroz and Bento so I guess Pereira wouldn't hurt much more. I prefered Fernando Santos, but he was slapped with a 8 match ban from the dugout due to being sent-off in the World Cup last-16. Let's see who can manage a team that has now booted out his two last managers by playing as poor as it gets in the field.

Un an unrelated note here are my supported teams in this year's Champions League by order of favoritism:

Ludogorets;
APOEL;
Maribor;
Malmo.

watka · Post by **watka** » 12 Sep 2014, 12:29

DanielPT wrote:
Miguel98 wrote:Paulo Bento has been fired. Finally. Time to put Vitor Pereira in the place where he belongs.

He actually resigned. Vitor Pereira? I don't know... Well, they tried Queiroz and Bento so I guess Pereira wouldn't hurt much more. I prefered Fernando Santos, but he was slapped with a 8 match ban from the dugout due to being sent-off in the World Cup last-16. Let's see who can manage a team that has now booted out his two last managers by playing as poor as it gets in the field.

Un an unrelated note here are my supported teams in this year's Champions League by order of favoritism:

Ludogorets;
APOEL;
Maribor;
Malmo.

I'm very much an APOEL man, I bought a replica shirt after they got to the Champions League quarter finals in 2011-12. What's more is that it unexpectedly came with a free (cotton) scarf and a DVD, I was delighted!

As for Spurs, I'm not a Tottenham fan in the slightest but even I have some sympathy if they have to play miles away in that lifeless stadium. Bear in mind as well that its nowhere near the train station, mind you Tottenham fans should be used to that...

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 12 Sep 2014, 13:04

watka wrote:I'm very much an APOEL man, I bought a replica shirt after they got to the Champions League quarter finals in 2011-12. What's more is that it unexpectedly came with a free (cotton) scarf and a DVD, I was delighted!

And look at the group they're in this time! Barcelona, Paris SG and Ajax...three powerhouses of European football against little APOEL! I noticed recently they'd signed John Arne Riise, hopefully having a Champions League medal winner helps a little!

watka · Post by **watka** » 13 Sep 2014, 11:22

Riise was terrible at Fulham, so I doubt it!

Aerospeed · Post by **Aerospeed** » 13 Sep 2014, 19:31

Looking at his form right now, Diego Costa seems to be the striker Fernando Torres never was. At this rate, I would be surprised to see any team other than Chelsea winning the Premiership. If any other team should, Man City would probably make a good case.

Post by **Miguel98** » 13 Sep 2014, 19:35

Real

Spends millions on players and is now currently losing (again) to Atletico. :lol:

They just don't learn.

takagi_for_the_win · Post by **takagi_for_the_win** » 13 Sep 2014, 21:25

So Stoke had 25 shots and 13 corners today, while Leicester mustered just 8 shots. Take a guess who won 1-0.

roblo97 · Post by **roblo97** » 13 Sep 2014, 21:54

takagi_for_the_win wrote:So Stoke had 25 shots and 13 corners today, while Leicester mustered just 8 shots. Take a guess who won 1-0.

Leicester?

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 13 Sep 2014, 22:46

takagi_for_the_win wrote:So Stoke had 25 shots and 13 corners today, while Leicester mustered just 8 shots. Take a guess who won 1-0.

Well, that's what happens when you don't take your chances! You had 45 minutes without Cuchu in the way and you didn't take advantage. He may not be quite as rapid as he once was, but Cambiasso can be a key player on the day. He's a fantastic holding midfielder who's also a good passer of the ball - he'll get things moving in terms of build-up play.

takagi_for_the_win · Post by **takagi_for_the_win** » 13 Sep 2014, 23:08

Biscione wrote:
takagi_for_the_win wrote:So Stoke had 25 shots and 13 corners today, while Leicester mustered just 8 shots. Take a guess who won 1-0.

Well, that's what happens when you don't take your chances! You had 45 minutes without Cuchu in the way and you didn't take advantage. He may not be quite as rapid as he once was, but Cambiasso can be a key player on the day. He's a fantastic holding midfielder who's also a good passer of the ball - he'll get things moving in terms of build-up play.

Unfortunately it was one of those games where we could've played until Monday and still not score. Crouch seemed determined to blast every shot 7 feet over the bar, Bojan did an incredible job of shooting straight at the keeper with every effort and Diouf didn't do much from what I saw either. Credit where it's due, Ulloa looks a fairly handy grabber of goals but that was very much 3 dropped points from a Potters perspective.

go_Rubens · Post by **go_Rubens** » 23 Sep 2014, 01:08

Manchester United :lol:

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 23 Sep 2014, 09:30

go_Rubens wrote:Manchester United

Stop. Laughing.

dinizintheoven · Post by **dinizintheoven** » 24 Sep 2014, 10:25

DanielPT wrote:
go_Rubens wrote:Manchester United

Stop. Laughing.

On the contrary, prepare to laugh even more.

Manchester United have five points from five games.

Meanwhile, an update from the United Counties League Division One: twice-in-a-row Rejects Of The Year (by a massive margin) Woodford United are now into double figures! A massive ten points from only seven games - and this from a team that scored a mere three points in two entire seasons - have more points per match than the red half of Manchester.

This season's UCLD1 rejects are looking likely to be Stewarts & Lloyds Corby - played eight, lost eight...

Alextrax52 · Post by **Alextrax52** » 24 Sep 2014, 20:30

So cupsets not really happening in the league Man City thrashing Sheffield Wednesday 5-0 and Tottenham and Chelsea winning. Liverpool just got through but we are still in there. Only real upsets were Shrewsbury knocking out Norwich and Arsenal also getting dumped out

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 24 Sep 2014, 21:43

Some great cup results, as Genk continue being rejectful (i hope they keep doing that), but most notable result is Westerlo losing 6-1 against Olsa Brakel, of all teams (nope, they haven't got any claim to fame), who i think are third or fourth division. Now losing against a team a few divisions lower is one thing, but 6-1? The hell?

Post by **tommykl** » 24 Sep 2014, 21:47

This wrote:Some great cup results, as Genk continue being rejectful (i hope they keep doing that), but most notable result is Westerlo losing 6-1 against Olsa Brakel, of all teams (nope, they haven't got any claim to fame), who i think are third or fourth division. Now losing against a team a few divisions lower is one thing, but 6-1? The hell?

Oh Westerlo. Aren't you supposed to be decent once in a while?

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 24 Sep 2014, 23:07

tommykl wrote:
This wrote:Some great cup results, as Genk continue being rejectful (i hope they keep doing that), but most notable result is Westerlo losing 6-1 against Olsa Brakel, of all teams (nope, they haven't got any claim to fame), who i think are third or fourth division. Now losing against a team a few divisions lower is one thing, but 6-1? The hell?

Oh Westerlo. Aren't you supposed to be decent once in a while?

Yeah they are kind of synonymous to 'small sympathetic giant-beating but still rather boring midfield team', so getting embarrassed is totally conflicting with their image. Usually it's Anderlecht who got beaten by a ridiculously small team (a feat they narrowly avoided this time). In another non-typical result, Cercle scored 7 times. Again, very conflicting with their 'oh that's right, they exist too' image.

watka · Post by **watka** » 27 Sep 2014, 01:13

Go Cercle!

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 27 Sep 2014, 10:54

In other news, Inter finally ended their miserable streak against Atalanta, winning 2-0. And I missed the game. Well, I guess this means every time we play Atalanta from now on, I'll have to miss it on purpose, because it's the first Atalanta match I've missed since 2010...and we won that one too. And none inbetween.

I need to stop watching for my team to win? Okay then

FullMetalJack · Post by **FullMetalJack** » 27 Sep 2014, 10:59

Biscione wrote:In other news, Inter finally ended their miserable streak against Atalanta, winning 2-0. And I missed the game. Well, I guess this means every time we play Atalanta from now on, I'll have to miss it on purpose, because it's the first Atalanta match I've missed since 2010...and we won that one too. And none inbetween.

I need to stop watching for my team to win? Okay then

I may try that in the future if* we lose to Fulham today.

*When

EDIT: I don't enjoy being right about these things.

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 28 Sep 2014, 09:30

Check out this strike by Mattia Destro against Verona. Perfectly placed in the top corner from 40 yards out! :shock:

Post by **Ataxia** » 29 Sep 2014, 13:23

For those who didn't catch Graziano Pelle's goal at the weekend against QPR, check this.

The Dutch Bear · Post by **The Dutch Bear** » 29 Sep 2014, 19:06

Ataxia wrote:For those who didn't catch Graziano Pelle's goal at the weekend against QPR, check this.

Great goal, we miss him a lot here in Rotterdam. The only decent thing Feyenoord has done this year is beating Zorya 'MH17' Luhansk in the Europa League. Which they nearly bathplugged up by giving away a 3-0 lead and only saved themselves by scoring in the last minute of extra time. I was at that match and became at least five years older during the second half. Local radio commentary from the last goal: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=K2q00uec2pI You may get the atmosphere in the stadium at that moment.

watka · Post by **watka** » 29 Sep 2014, 23:03

Biscione wrote:In other news, Inter finally ended their miserable streak against Atalanta, winning 2-0. And I missed the game. Well, I guess this means every time we play Atalanta from now on, I'll have to miss it on purpose, because it's the first Atalanta match I've missed since 2010...and we won that one too. And none inbetween.

I need to stop watching for my team to win? Okay then

And then you go and lose 4-1 at home to Cagliari...

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 30 Sep 2014, 10:52

watka wrote:
Biscione wrote:In other news, Inter finally ended their miserable streak against Atalanta, winning 2-0. And I missed the game. Well, I guess this means every time we play Atalanta from now on, I'll have to miss it on purpose, because it's the first Atalanta match I've missed since 2010...and we won that one too. And none inbetween.

I need to stop watching for my team to win? Okay then

And then you go and lose 4-1 at home to Cagliari...

Yeah....

Alextrax52 · Post by **Alextrax52** » 09 Oct 2014, 21:08

Great way to put the world cup behind you Spain. Losing to Slovakia isn't great. But that Slovakia winner just WOW

Barbazza · Post by **Barbazza** » 09 Oct 2014, 21:09

As I don't really give a stuff about England, I always look for the small nations. Luxembourg could have had 2 points from 2 games but blew it at the end. Not all bad though, Liechtenstein got a point!

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 10 Oct 2014, 10:11

Freeze-O-Kimi wrote:Great way to put the world cup behind you Spain. Losing to Slovakia isn't great. But that Slovakia winner just WOW

Maybe they are coming back to be the serial underachievers we all knew and love.

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 10 Oct 2014, 12:48

DanielPT wrote:
Freeze-O-Kimi wrote:Great way to put the world cup behind you Spain. Losing to Slovakia isn't great. But that Slovakia winner just WOW

Maybe they are coming back to be the serial underachievers we all knew and love.

I had always preferred Fernando Morientes to Fernando Torres

Meanwhile Italy are playing off against Azerbaijan of all countries. It seems finally an Italy coach has the stones to leave Balotelli at home, which can only be a good sign. Prandelli's choices were always super-conservative and risked embarrasing narrow losses, but it seems Conte is more open to experimenting, and the group looks stronger now than at the World Cup, so I'm hoping for a good 4-0 or 5-0 gubbing by the Azzurri!

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 13 Oct 2014, 23:36

And Holland keeps on losing

I find this amusing, really.

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 13 Oct 2014, 23:59

Portugal also keeps on losing and I'll bet it will lose tomorrow again. I find that only slightly amusing.

shinji · Post by **shinji** » 14 Oct 2014, 22:14

World Champions, who cares? O'Shea's on the case.

watka · Post by **watka** » 15 Oct 2014, 00:30

What is going on in the internationals? England are the only top seeds to be first in their group! They are also the only team not to have conceded a goal, aside from Iceland!

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 15 Oct 2014, 09:28

watka wrote:What is going on in the internationals? England are the only top seeds to be first in their group! They are also the only team not to have conceded a goal, aside from Iceland!

It's called: "These qualifying format is so easy to get through that we don't mind to experiment and lose some matches"

watka · Post by **watka** » 15 Oct 2014, 12:25

DanielPT wrote:
watka wrote:What is going on in the internationals? England are the only top seeds to be first in their group! They are also the only team not to have conceded a goal, aside from Iceland!

It's called: "These qualifying format is so easy to get through that we don't mind to experiment and lose some matches"

You're just making excuses to cover Portugal's woeful start :lol:

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 15 Oct 2014, 13:16

DanielPT wrote:
watka wrote:What is going on in the internationals? England are the only top seeds to be first in their group! They are also the only team not to have conceded a goal, aside from Iceland!

It's called: "These qualifying format is so easy to get through that we don't mind to experiment and lose some matches"

I don't think it's so in Germany's case...they have a few injured, and of course Lahm retired, and they are genuinely struggling a bit without those key players present.

It's super close in the Scotland/ROI group. Poland defeating Germany and then drawing to Scotland has shaken everything up. Scotland and Germany are 3rd and 4th yes, but neither have played Gibraltar yet. Scotland will be the last team to do so. So the upcoming Scotland v ROI game will be crucial. If Scotland wins that, then realistically we are on 10pts after the first round of games, and that will likely put us on a par with Germany and Poland. So far this group looks wide open!

In other news, I only just realised I will be in Rome on the day of the Derby della Capitale. It's tempting to go, but the smart money would be on staying away. This is nothing like a Milan derby day. There is no respect for the other side like in Milano. Inter and Milan are still able I to unite over a common hatred of Juventus. Roma and Lazio though...it's utter vitriol. You could cut the atmosphere with a knife. Pure animosity towards each other. I'm not even sure I want to experience that frankly...

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 15 Oct 2014, 13:45

watka wrote:
DanielPT wrote:
watka wrote:What is going on in the internationals? England are the only top seeds to be first in their group! They are also the only team not to have conceded a goal, aside from Iceland!

It's called: "These qualifying format is so easy to get through that we don't mind to experiment and lose some matches"

You're just making excuses to cover Portugal's woeful start

Well, they won away at Denmark so it is not that woeful anymore... Still, Portugal ability to make a mess of qualifying rounds is immense and I am sure that like in the past three tournaments qualifying through play-offs is inevitable...

Barbazza · Post by **Barbazza** » 15 Oct 2014, 20:27

watka wrote:What is going on in the internationals? England are the only top seeds to be first in their group! They are also the only team not to have conceded a goal, aside from Iceland!

If Scunthorpe United were in that group, they'd probably be top as well. It's nothing to get excited about.

Alextrax52 · Post by **Alextrax52** » 15 Oct 2014, 20:35

Barbazza wrote:
watka wrote:What is going on in the internationals? England are the only top seeds to be first in their group! They are also the only team not to have conceded a goal, aside from Iceland!

If Tranmere Rovers were in that group, they'd probably be top as well. It's nothing to get excited about.

Fixed

Your right though. We should have beaten San Marino by more than 5-0 and when you consider that 3 of our goals were a penalty, an own goal and a goalie howler it doesn't make it better, Then we take 25 minutes after Estonia go down to 10 men to score a free kick the goalie should have saved and our team is captained by Wayne "wasteful" Rooney and managed by Roy Hodgson playing boring football and using negative tactics. No wonder more people watch the GBBO.

I said this on Facebook but i'll post it here, This'll be the story of England's Euro 2016 campaign

1 Top an easy group of minnows in qualification
2 Have Woy Hodgson say "we deserved to win" after every match
3 Get overhyped by the media about our chances of winning the cup
4 Have Woy Hodgson say "We've got a good chance" when we don't
5 Fail miserably to perform in the Euro's
6 Have Woy Hodgson say "we played well" after every defeat
7 Go home in disgrace after the group stage