General Football Thread

[Adam]

Paolo Di Canio is an absolute tool who needs to stop being given airtime by the media.

And it pains me that he has turned out this way as a manager, because he was one of my favourite ever players.

[Hobo]

Rene Higuita has done the scorpion save again while playing in a friendly in India!

[Lineker]

An Argentine football club has accused Brazilian security officials of beating and pulling guns on its players during the half-time interval of a cup final.

Tigre's players refused to play the second half of the second leg of the Copa Sudamericana final.

The move left Sao Paulo to be declared winners of the tournament at their home ground.

Sao Paulo officials and players accused the Argentines of spoiling for a fight, and then running away.

The controversy at Sao Paulo's Morumbi stadium comes just 18 months before Brazil hosts the 2014 World Cup.

The Argentines said they were attacked by about 20 men following scuffles involving players and officials as the teams left the pitch at half time.

Following Tigre's refusal to play on, the referee signalled the end of the match - in which Sao Paulo had been leading 2-0 following a goalless first leg at Tigre's stadium - and the Brazilian team's players began celebrating. They were handed the trophy by officials from the South American Football Confederation.

Thousands of celebrating fans then filled one of Sao Paulo's main streets.

Tigre players reportedly stayed in their dressing room for several hours after the incident before going to a police station to register an official complaint.

"They pulled two guns on us, the rest of the match is not going to be played," Tigre coach Nestor Gorosito told Fox Sports at half time, referring to Brazilian military police and club stewards.

"They ambushed us and one of them pulled out a revolver and put it against [goalkeeper] Damian Albil's chest. Their security and police also hit us, there were about 20 of them."

Argentine media carried photographs of a blood-stained dressing room and comments from players saying they had been hit with sticks.

"They were going to lose by a big score," Sao Paulo president Juvenal Juvencio told the club's website. "Our biggest victory is the fact that the Argentines ran away."

Sao Paulo goalkeeper Rogerio Ceni said of Tigre: "They came here to fight, not to play."

[Rafael]

Basically what Ceni said, they came to fight, not to play, and Sao Paulo's security just didn't help things at all. First, they wouldn't let Tigre do the warm-up in the field about 30 minutes before the match. If anyone pulled a gun, the cops did, not the security. Anyways, the game was going to be something like 5-0.

[Lineker]

The Football Association of Zambia (Faz) says it will approach Fifa about getting recognition for striker Godfrey Chitalu's feat of scoring 107 goals in 1972.

The move comes after Lionel Messi broke German Gerd Mueller's record of 85 goals scored in a calendar year, the Argentine now has 88 to his name in 2012.

Faz spokesman Eric Mwanza told BBC Sport it has the records to prove Chitalu should be acknowledged for his goals.

"We want to make it very clear that it is not a question of authenticating, or trying to verify or see if he actually scored the goals - that is not in question," he insisted.

"What is in question now is why has he not been recognised, and that is what we are looking at now.

"We are sending communication to the Secretary General of Fifa, Mr Jerome Valcke, to look again into the matter of Godfrey Chitalu."

After his playing career Chitalu went on to be a coach eventually leading the Zambian national team.

He died along with 29 other people, of which 18 were Zambian internationals, in a plane crash off the coast of Gabon as the team travelled to Senegal for a World Cup qualifier.

Mwanza also added that 1972 was not the first time that Chitalu had been so prolific.

"In the season preceding 1972 he'd scored about 89 goals," he explained.

"In 1972 he scored 107 goals - that includes the league, African club championship matches, national team matches, and international friendly games."

The president of Faz, Kalusha Bwalya, says he clearly remembers Chitalu's prolific season.

"There's no doubt, my father was in the FA and I've seen a lot of games in my time," he stressed.

"Kabwe Warriors, for whom Godfrey Chitalu played, is a legendary team in our country.

"Their front line had Godfrey Chitalu scoring all the goals - and even for the national team, this man did a lot.

"So I think it would be important for people to recognise his feats."

Bwalya, played under Chitalu when he coached the national team in 1993, says he does not want the talk of Chitalu to detract from Messi's goals in 2012.

"I think it's phenomenal to do what Messi has done," he said.

"Some of us have seen players like Pele, Platini, Maradona and Van Basten, as a former footballer, in the modern-day it is so difficult to score even 20 goals - so don't take anything away from Messi.

"He is out of this world."

One unofficial Zambian football website claims that Chitalu in fact scored 116 goals in 1972 but has discounted the first nine he scored in the African Cup of Champion Clubs.

He reportedly scored the goals over two legs against Majantja of Lesotho in the first round of the tournament but the site does not count the goals for unknown reasons.

[Colly]

Bit mean waiting until now. Still wouldn't put it past Messi to get there in the 3 games left or whatever it is...

[Adam]

It's not happening is it. Were all his goals in a professional environment? I doubt the Zambian League was fully pro back then...or even is now.

Nice try, Zambia.

[Monkey D. Lars]

Merry Christmas!

[Colly]

From the Mirror so taken with a pinch of salt, but apparently Man City have approached the FA regarding trialling safe standing. As EWBs official safe standing ranter the possibility the league champions are doing this makes me a very happy camper. Bring it on.

[Summers]

Villa have been pushing for that in the Holte for awhile now.

[Colly]

Villa signed up to the FSFs campaign yonks ago, I think they were the only Premiership side to do so to date. Seems to be gathering momentum, yay!

[ZJ Penn]

Messis signed a new contract with Barca. Wonder what the release fee on that is...

Edited December 18, 2012 by ZJ Penn

[brenchill]

I wonder how much he would actually go for? He has to be worth at least £120m, maybe more.

[EddieG]

A release fee that would shock Bill Gates.

[Adam]

We're one of the 13 clubs who have backed Safe Standing, but I'm still personally against it. Oh well.

[Matt]

Why? Fans stand anyway, it's impossible to stop them, surely it's far better to have dedicated safe standing areas. I can't see a single reason against it

[Colly]

I was going to ask the same question, not knocking your opinion but I'm curious as to the reasons behind it, I can't think of a single drawback from a fan or clubs point of view.

[Adam]

Mine is less from the fan's viewpoint - I think in grounds that have paid to upgrade to all-seater it'd be another expenditure just to rip seats out and replace them with this new-style terracing. Also, I don't personally find it appealling as I couldn't physically stand up for two hours without needing a break. I prefer sitting down. Terraces are good a few times a year at away games but beyond that I feel as though they're a thing of the past.

I'm not vehemently against it or anything, I just wouldn't go for it myself if it were down to me.

[Colly]

So you aren't actually against it, you just wouldn't stand in them? Thats pretty much my plan, I wouldn't move from my decent seat on the halfway line, but I'd still love it if they put rail seats in the Gallowgate just for the increase in noise in an increasingly sterile sounding ground, mainly due to the confusing mix of people who want to stand and sing being stuck in a corner with people who have been sitting for years. I'd definitely aim for them for away games or the odd cup game.

As for increased expenditure no one would be forced to put them in, and the increased revenue you can get (a rail seat only takes up about 2/3's of the room a standard seat does so you can get more in) would surely be an incentive.

[Monkey D. Lars]