General Football Discussion

[SPL]

The press forget to mention Rafael handled the ball on the line and that would have been a red card and penalty. So another season of not winning the CL for the rich boys of Manchester and still they have won it less times than the little club from Amsterdam.Their luck was to be drawn in the easiest group this season.

You probably have quessed I do not like Man u

[Tom_]

Spot on, Orange & SPL. Imagine if Suárez had gone up to the ref after the game and got in his face like Ferdinand did? The press would be all over him.

Actually I found the red card was harsh (haven't seen any replays) but if the ref thought it was a tackle rather than an attempt to control the ball he has little choice. I also thought Manchester's goal could've been offside (I think it was van Persie who initially got to the deflected shot, before scuffing his shot) but no-one's talking about that. Or that Rafael should've been sent off.

Ah well, media coverage. I actually don't see it as the newspapers' fault, they're writing what their audience want to read. When I was in Australia I found it very hard to support Australian teams (particularly in the cricket) because the coverage is so biased. For example, the press in Australia basically claimed that Australia won the 2006 World Cup in Germany! The logic goes like this: they were unlucky to lose to Italy, and Italy won the World Cup, therefore if it wasn't for a bad penalty call Australia would've won the World Cup. No kidding.

[SE6Ajacied]

Not exactly a Man Utd fan either but thought the decsin re Nani was tough as well. The English press can certainly be jingoistc and hypocritical but noot sure this was particularly similar to de Jong's "tackle" at the World Cup which surely bth deliberate and appalling.

Somebody else got pretty upset about the sendng off last night as well http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-no ... e-21687292

[Orange14]

I only saw the second half but Steau looked quite good against Chelsea at home. They won via a PK in the first half 1-0. Interesting to see how they do at Stamford Bridge next week.

[saddlerian]

just a quick note for some to watch.....West Bromwich Albion Manager, Steve Clarke, (EPL) was at the game yesterday...just a day trip....who was he watching??? He was very tight lipped on arrival in Birmingham...but Albion will be losing a striker and central defender this season....I wonder who he's after!!!!!!

[SE6Ajacied]

What a sad sack....

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2013 ... azi-salute

Sadly, and in completely unrelated news Paulo Di Fascisto seems to be lining hmself up for further jobs in the UK despite his petulant flit from Swindon Town.

[martinkohout]

What a sad sack....

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2013 ... azi-salute

"'I am not a fascist and would not have done it if I had known what it meant,' Katidis said on his Twitter account."

Granted he's only twenty. But is it actually possible for someone who was born in the twentieth century not to know what a Nazi salute means? Even if he's as ignorant and/or apolitical as most footballers? Good for the EPO.

[Kowalczyk]

Last minute... One goal down...

Goalkeeper goes forward for a corner kick...

The opposition breaks...

Will the goalkeeper be back in time...? Oh yes he will!!

http://youtu.be/mFy0sC9VNQ8



K.

[King Litti]

Watching this repeatedly in a hang over: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwbrCxffHAQ

Amazing result. Moisander led the heroic defence, stopping endless corners and crosses.

[Orange14]

Don't know how many of you watched the Dortmund-Malaga match yesterday. What excitement as Dortmund scored two in stoppage time to win it and the tie. They are my sentimental favorites for the CL this year as they play honest football and it's fun to watch Jurgen Klopp on the touchline urging his team on!

[souras84]

Of course the final 10-15 minutes were a complete joke looking at the referee calls...

[Orange14]

^ yeah, Craig Thompson is not a very good match official. I don't know why he keeps getting picked for CL games. I've not seen him call a good match yet.

[SE6Ajacied]

Imlove watching Brazilian football - so slick and skillfull

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/vide ... lian-video

[Kowalczyk]

80,000 Germans to Wembley...

Don't mention the war, folks.

Bit of a challenge for the RAF...

K.

[King Litti]

The final is going to be weird. Lewandowski and Götze are already sure to play for Bayern next season. I feel they should have waited for the end of the season to close the deal, but it does raise the tension and drama of the game even higher which is interesting.

Kind of disgusted that Bayern can just buy off the two best players of their main rivals just like that. Even though we often do pretty much the same thing in the Eredivisie, but maybe at least in a smaller scale and we do have a lot of our own youth in the squad.

Edit: I got a little carried away. It seems the Lewandowski move to Bayern was just a rumour. And of course there is still two games to play, but really hard to believe that Real and Barca can turn things around.

[Ayman]

Teacher asks his class: which city is the farest from Europe?
Student: Madrid.
T: Why is that?
S: Real Madrid have been saying "Europe here we come" for ten years, and they still havent arrived . Haha madrid

[Orange14]

Always happy to see a scrappy underdog team win a big cup final. Congrats to Wigan on their solid play in defeating ManCity and probably sealing Mancini's fate. Now they just have to win their next two matches to stave off relegation.

[martinkohout]

Cheers to Wigan Athletic, upsetting Manchester City 1-0 in the FA Cup final with a goal in the 91st minute!

[SE6Ajacied]

Good for Wigan on a football level but Dave Whelan their chairman isn't particularly liked......

[SPL]

Good old Wigan Mancini will be out of the job by the end of the week

[Cruijff]

Go Wigan!

[Tom_]

In my uneducated opinion City is a pathetic excuse for a club, and I'm always happy to see them fail. They were cowardly against us in the CL and they were pretty poor yesterday. Well done Wigan!

[Jojo]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... gUevnYJOvI

Football at his best. Last minutes of the Premiership playoffs semi-finals. This is why we love this game

[Orange14]

@Jojo - thanks for the link! They mentioned the end of this match during the ManU/Swansea game but said they could not show the final part here in the US because they didn't have the broadcast rights to it. Unbelievable finish. I think Watford won promotion about five years ago on a final goal as well.

[souras84]

Falcao to Monaco??? Money rules... Sometimes, South American players amaze me with their decisions...