The Soccer Thread

[Archer]

It could have been 10 Italians if that's what you wanted.

I was suprised that it wasnt lol

 

[calgaryballer]

Toni?!?!?! He was good the season prior for Bayern, sucked for Italy, and then was average for Bayern this past season. I think he's past it

 

[davie]

Anelka over Drogba? Errrrrrrrrrr

Which one of them was PremierLeague top scorer despite playing less?

I'll have goals from my strikers please.

 

[davie]

Toni?!?!?! He was good the season prior for Bayern, sucked for Italy, and then was average for Bayern this past season. I think he's past it

He didn't suck for Italy, Italy sucked if you're referring to Euro 2008. The tournament where they lost to the "classy, technically gifted" eventual winners - on penalties.

He didn't have his best season but he's a big target who'll hold the ball up, flick it on, and he's a great finisher (more consistent than Ibrahimovic despite not being as clever with his feet).

 

[davie]

I was suprised that it wasnt lol

Luca Toni
Alberto Gilardino
Francesco Totti
Marco Di Vaio
Filippo Inzaghi
Alessandro Del Piero
Antonio Cassano
Fabrizio Miccoli
Robert Acquafresca
Fabio Quagliarella

Done.

Noteworthy absences - Tommaso Rocchi, Sergio Floccari, Antonio Di Natale, Raffaele Palladino, Vincenzo Iaquinta, Ezequiel Lavezzi, Giampaolo Pazzini, Franco Brienza, Cristiano Lucarelli and Rolando Bianchi.

 

[davie]

Ibra had the most goals in Serie A......................................................

Put him in your top 10 then.

I don't want him in mine.

He scored 1 more than Di Vaio - who was playing for Bologna (they finished 17th).

 

[1ke]

Hull Signed Frazier Campbell. Good for Frazier, he should be able to see alot more of the field.

 

[calgaryballer]

He didn't suck for Italy, Italy sucked if you're referring to Euro 2008. The tournament where they lost to the "classy, technically gifted" eventual winners - on penalties.

He didn't have his best season but he's a big target who'll hold the ball up, flick it on, and he's a great finisher (more consistent than Ibrahimovic despite not being as clever with his feet).

I remember it as the tournament where they were destroyed by the Dutch, drew with the Romanians and beat France in one of the most boring matches of the tournament. In a match where Toni missed at least 5 chances to bury the game.

Yes they drew with the Spanish, but they had only 3 shots on goal and less possession.

 

[davie]

I remember it as the tournament where they were destroyed by the Dutch, drew with the Romanians and beat France in one of the most boring matches of the tournament. In a match where Toni missed at least 5 chances to bury the game.

Yes they drew with the Spanish, but they had only 3 shots on goal and less possession.

Destroyed by the Dutch who always look great in qualifying/group stages, but seem castrated once they're in any knockout games.

Good point about the Spain game. Let's eliminate penalties after extra time and just look at possession and shots on target instead.
NB - If one team had more shots on target and the other had more possession who would you give the win to?

 

[calgaryballer]

Destroyed by the Dutch who always look great in qualifying/group stages, but seem castrated once they're in any knockout games.

Good point about the Spain game. Let's eliminate penalties after extra time and just look at possession and shots on target instead.
NB - If one team had more shots on target and the other had more possession who would you give the win to?

I just don't understand how parking the bus against the Spanish and getting a 0-0 draw somehow redeems a terrible performance in the tournament

 

[Senser81]

I just don't understand how parking the bus against the Spanish and getting a 0-0 draw somehow redeems a terrible performance in the tournament

Even the US drew 1-1 with Italy in the World Cup...much more impressive than a 0-0 draw.

 

[1ke]

Destroyed by the Dutch who always look great in qualifying/group stages, but seem castrated once they're in any knockout games.

Good point about the Spain game. Let's eliminate penalties after extra time and just look at possession and shots on target instead.
NB - If one team had more shots on target and the other had more possession who would you give the win to?

I dont understand how the Dutch looking bad in the knockout stages has anything to do with them destroying the Italians in the group stage. Oh wait it doesnt.

 

[wr50l]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/8082147.stm

So Kaka's gone to Madrid for £56m ...

 

[davie]

I just don't understand how parking the bus against the Spanish and getting a 0-0 draw somehow redeems a terrible performance in the tournament

It's not. I was just pointing out that they only lost on penalties to a team that was good enough to win the awful tournament that was Euro 2008.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/8082147.stm

So Kaka's gone to Madrid for £56m ...

Italy's richest man just got richer.

 

[T.Dot]

And guess where Kaka goes... :smh:

 

[calgaryballer]

The great owners of Liverpool charged 2 million GBP in expenses to the Kop holding company

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/jun/08/liverpool-tom-hicks-george-gillet

It seems it is a real danger that Liverpool goes into administration, and with shit like this, it would be no suprise

 

[calgaryballer]

It's not. I was just pointing out that they only lost on penalties to a team that was good enough to win the awful tournament that was Euro 2008.



Italy's richest man just got richer.

What's a great tournament in your opinion then? Are you just contrarian for the sake of it?

There was a lot of great football this past summer IMO. Holland's clinic in the early stages, Spain's passing football, the comebacks that the Turks pulled out, Russia's emergence (and Hiddink's role in it), etc

I bet you preferred Euro 2004 when Greece played a nice defensive style and bored the continent to death enroute to the title

 

[Archer]

What's a great tournament in your opinion then? Are you just contrarian for the sake of it?

There was a lot of great football this past summer IMO. Holland's clinic in the early stages, Spain's passing football, the comebacks that the Turks pulled out, Russia's emergence (and Hiddink's role in it), etc

I bet you preferred Euro 2004 when Greece played a nice defensive style and bored the continent to death enroute to the title

I actually loved that . Greece had a plan that tournement and it paid off , gotta love it

But i thought the last Euro`s were ok aswell

Major tournements always entertain me

 

[davie]

What's a great tournament in your opinion then? Are you just contrarian for the sake of it?

There was a lot of great football this past summer IMO. Holland's clinic in the early stages, Spain's passing football, the comebacks that the Turks pulled out, Russia's emergence (and Hiddink's role in it), etc

I bet you preferred Euro 2004 when Greece played a nice defensive style and bored the continent to death enroute to the title

It did amuse me that no one could break down a hard-working team willing to use just one striker.

Holland played well early as always, agreed. Spain beat on some bums (Russia 4-0? 4-1? in the group?). Other than that the only good thing about the tournament was that England weren't in it.

The 2004 tournament at least had a winner that was a surprise. Only Spain or Holland looked like winning 2008, maybe Germany but that's just because they've got the balls to handle knockout games properly. Even Italy didn't perform that well with Totti getting sent home for dealing with a Danish player appropriately, they still could have gone through but it just so happened that two Scandinavian teams got a high-scoring draw when necessary thanks to a soft goal to make it 2-2 very late in the game.

The 2006 World Cup was a good tournament ("yea you're just saying that because Italy won bla bla bla"). Argentina looked amazing at the start of that tournament, Zidane (not France) looked great throughout, Italy were good, Brazil were shit but always had good enough players (Ronaldo and Kaka) to threaten, Germany were the hosts and played some nice football.

 

[Senser81]

It did amuse me that no one could break down a hard-working team willing to use just one striker.

Holland played well early as always, agreed. Spain beat on some bums (Russia 4-0? 4-1? in the group?). Other than that the only good thing about the tournament was that England weren't in it.

The 2004 tournament at least had a winner that was a surprise. Only Spain or Holland looked like winning 2008, maybe Germany but that's just because they've got the balls to handle knockout games properly. Even Italy didn't perform that well with Totti getting sent home for dealing with a Danish player appropriately, they still could have gone through but it just so happened that two Scandinavian teams got a high-scoring draw when necessary thanks to a soft goal to make it 2-2 very late in the game.

The 2006 World Cup was a good tournament ("yea you're just saying that because Italy won bla bla bla"). Argentina looked amazing at the start of that tournament, Zidane (not France) looked great throughout, Italy were good, Brazil were shit but always had good enough players (Ronaldo and Kaka) to threaten, Germany were the hosts and played some nice football.

Russia was actually one of the better teams in Euro 2008. They made the semis. And no mention of Turkey, the most exciting team of Euro 2008? Did you even watch the tournament?

World Cup 2006 was a garbage tournament. Other than Zidane's performance against a lackluster Brazillian team, there wasn't any Joga Bonita.

Italy drew 1-1 against a short-handed USA, played pitifully against Australia and snuck by on a soft PK, then defeated France on PKs thanks in large part to Zidane's red card. Italy basically did just enough to win, which was effective but not necessarily memorable.

Portugal made it to the semis by scoring just 1 goal in the knockout phase, and that 1 goal occurred in the worst World Cup game ever played (Portugal-Holland).