The Soccer Thread

[Fappin Raptor]

Week 2 lineup.

[CaribbeanJoseph]

Thanking you Theo my boy, that performance just took me top of my league :redsmug:

[Chrispy]

[wr50l]

Apple fag. ^

[Sharkweather]

I finished with an even 0 points on the predictor, nifty.

[1ke]

[Prodigal Son]

So, the other night when Arlo White tweeted the refs stats, that made just about everyone I know feel like we were going to be in for a ridiculous fucking night. The refs record is 100 games, 545 yellow cards, and 56 red cards.

Well, he added 9 more yellow cards and 2 more red cards in this game.

Mike Fucito got the brace on two pretty nice goals.

Sounders won 4-1.

[youtube]Bna-BiK78sE[/youtube]

[killgod]

MILAN, Italy -- Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti is hoping to sell standout striker Samuel Eto'o to Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala because the offer is just too good to turn down, and it coincides with new financial fair play standards being introduced by UEFA.

Anzhi is reportedly prepared to pay Inter between C20 and C30 million ($29 and $43 million) for the 30-year-old Eto'o and give the Cameroon international a three-year contract worth C20 million ($29 million) net per season.

"When an offer like that comes around, it's difficult to match or refuse," Moratti told Wednesday's Gazzetta dello Sport.

Anzhi officials were in Milan for meetings with Eto'o's agent and Inter on Wednesday, the Gazzetta and the ANSA news agency reported. Eto'o will reportedly undergo medical exams for Anzhi in Rome some time over the next few days, after which the deal will be completed.

Moratti added that UEFA's new financial rules have forced clubs to evaluate their budgets and spending more closely.

This season's club accounts are the first ones that formally have to be given to UEFA for inspection -- by June, 2013.

"Financial fair play is serious," Moratti said. "Whoever doesn't respect the parameters will find themselves excluded from European competition."

Anzhi, from the troubled southern Russian province of Dagestan, is owned by billionaire businessman Suleiman Kerimov.

Inter is eyeing Diego Forlan of Atletico Madrid or Ezequiel Lavezzi of Napoli as a replacement for Eto'o, with Moratti saying he doesn't expect a deal with Manchester City for Carlos Tevez.

Meanwhile, playmaker Wesley Sneijder appears set to remain at Inter.

"There was never any sort of deal for Wes," Moratti said. "If Eto'o goes he stays, but seeing as Sneijder was untouchable even before this possibility, he's even more so now."

Also Wednesday, centre back Lucio extended his contract with Inter for two more seasons, through 2013-14. And Inter announced it has signed 18-year-old Paraguayan winger Rodrigo Alborno Ortega from Libertad to a contract through 2015-16.

Watch out for bananas.

[Rudi]

Its looking more and more likely that Tevez will end up staying at City after this transfer window, and the Nasri rumor is still running rampant If we managed to snag Nasri and keep Tevez, wow.

[Bigpapa42]

Its looking more and more likely that Tevez will end up staying at City after this transfer window, and the Nasri rumor is still running rampant If we managed to snag Nasri and keep Tevez, wow.

You can still only play 11 players on the pitch at once. The depth of the squad would be amazing. But its not like Tevez, Nasri, Dzeko, Silva, Augero, Balotelli, Johnson, Barry, de Jong, and Toure can all play at once. Which either means that the squad will constantly rotate (which doesn't always work that well) or some top class players are going to earn $150k+/week to sit on the bench... and I doubt they will be happy about it. Too much talent isn't the worst problem to have... but it is a problem. When a couple of points can win or lose you a title, squad chemistry is huge.

[Rudi]

We would have to run with 3 attacking forwards...Itd be something like Tevez-Dzeko-Aguero at forward then Silva and Nasri outside mids and Toure in the middle. Balotelli will quickly fall out of favor due to his behavior problems I bet, and Adam Johnson will too just because.

[Bigpapa42]

We would have to run with 3 attacking forwards...Itd be something like Tevez-Dzeko-Aguero at forward then Silva and Nasri outside mids and Toure in the middle. Balotelli will quickly fall out of favor due to his behavior problems I bet, and Adam Johnson will too just because.

Tactically, that can create some problems. Unless your forwards are tracking back heavily (Tevez would, the other two not so much), then you are leaving space in the middle of the pitch between the forward line and Toure/De Jong. A side with quality in the middle will exploit that. If you wingers pinch in to cover the center, they leave the fullbacks exposed. Mancini needs to put in the work to make the system effective. The quality of the side will win them a lot of matches but that alone isn't likely to win titles.

Football is still as much about tactics as talent. Barcelona have one of the most skilled sides in the world... but what makes them amazing is the system that they adhere to so well. Macini needs to have the squad working together systematically.

The win last weekend was impressive in a sense... but they need to be able to do that against better sides. Consistently.

[Bigpapa42]

Maybe it's because I'm going to be living in Spain for the next 6 months, but I'm really looking forward to La Liga this year.

For once Spanish football has finally opened up to me.

Over the past 3 seasons, I've probably watched as much La Liga as Prem or Bundesliga. One thing I've come to appreciate is that quality in the mid-level clubs. Its obvious that Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico, and even Valencia have talented sides. But you forget how good the ones a bit further are capable of. They tend to have some really really good players.

The title race in La Liga is going to be very interesting this year. I think Madrid have put together a side that should challenge Barcelona on the pitch as well as the table. Barcelona lost some of their depth while Madrid has gotten deeper. That could be the key.

[Rudi]

Bout to watch some of these Champs league games

[mgoblue2290]

And that midfield would be bossed around every weekend. The reason the City midfield works so well is that you have 3 guys, De Jong, Toure, and Barry who sit behind the front three and win the ball/command the midfield. You leave Toure out there with just Silva and Nasri and you're going to lose the midfield battle, and then the attacking trio up front is useless.

But it works on Fifa 11!