European Football Thread

[Lineker]

Ronaldo

Two stupid yellow cards, pushes the ref and has now been given a five game ban.

[FLiam]

28 minutes ago, Lineker said:

Ronaldo

Two stupid yellow cards, pushes the ref and has now been given a five game ban.

I was cracking up laughing as I was watching this. 

Although, arguably the yellow card for simulation may have been a little harsh.

On another note, that Asensio goal was all sorts of good.

[MDK]

You could say it has been a taxing year for him

[Lineker]

‘This is what you call persecution’: Ronaldo hits out over five-match ban - https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/aug/16/cristiano-ronaldo-persecution-five-match-ban

[MDK]

10 minutes ago, Lineker said:

‘This is what you call persecution’: Ronaldo hits out over five-match ban - https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/aug/16/cristiano-ronaldo-persecution-five-match-ban

He really does think he is the second coming

[Adam]

With rhetoric like that, he'd fit right in at the new-look Man Utd under Jose. Well, I say new-look...

Also, why is the Super Cup match about to kick-off, at 11pm!? At first I thought it might be being played in America or something but nope, it's in Madrid.

[Matt]

Madrid making Barcelona look like amateurs in the opening minutes. Cracking goal from Asensio (sp?) too.

[The Lusophone]

6 minutes ago, Dwight K. Schrute said:

With rhetoric like that, he'd fit right in at the new-look Man Utd under Jose. Well, I say new-look...

??

[Baddar]

Can't see Barca touching Real in the league this season.

[Baddar]

On 17/08/2017 at 04:30, Baddar said:

Can't see Barca touching Real in the league this season.

To add to this, Suarez is gonna miss the first month of the season through injury.

[The Lusophone]

1 hour ago, Baddar said:

To add to this, Suarez is gonna miss the first month of the season through injury.

Couldn't happen to a nicer racist vampire.

[Lineker]

Quote

Barcelona supporters called for Josep Maria Bartomeu to resign as they waited for the presentation of the new €145m signing Ousmane Dembélé at the Camp Nou, increasing the pressure on the president with the transfer market heading into its final three days and the Catalan club refusing to give up on Philippe Coutinho.

“We are negotiating with a player, with the possibility that he can come,” the Barcelona sporting director, Robert Fernández, said. “We hope it ends well, we can reach an agreement and present another new player.”

Liverpool have insisted repeatedly that they will not sell and Fernández did not name Coutinho, but his words came in response to a question about the Brazilian.

In the past couple of days sources in Barcelona have expressed their hope that they will be able to convince Liverpool to sell once the Anfield club have signed an alternative, but they believe that will take a huge fee to do so. Coutinho has told Liverpool that he wants to leave.

“My intention is for one more player to arrive – two, if possible,” Fernández said. “We’re negotiating [for them].”

Dembélé is the fourth player to arrive at Barcelona so far this summer, following Nélson Semedo, Paulinho and Gerard Deulofeu. He joined for €105m plus a further 40% to be paid according to a series of targets – half of them collective, the other half individual – taking the total transfer fee to a potential €145m. He has signed until 2022, with a €400m buyout clause.

Bartomeu had hoped that Dembele’s arrival would reduce the pressure as he faces a vote of no confidence brought by the former presidential candidate Agustí Benedito. That comes amid fierce criticism of his management of the club and in the wake of Neymar leaving for Paris Saint-Germain, who triggered his €222m buyout clause. Instead, the presentation was held up by more than an hour because of delays in Dembélé’s departure from Dortmund being formally signed off. The delay frustrated fans while even the commentator on Barcelona’s international English-language TV channel admitted that he, like the fans, was becoming impatient and, given a lot of space to fill, started talking about everything from French O Levels to the Game of Thrones. As they waited, a significant proportion of the 17,814 supporters at the Camp Nou chanted for Bartomeu’s resignation.

When Dembélé finally arrived almost an hour late, he signed the contract, changed by his new locker – previously occupied by Jérémy Mathieu and Marc Muniesa – and ran out on to the pitch where he posed by a club car, as if he had just won Family Fortunes, and performed a few kick‑ups, trying a flick that did not come off. If that was mostly funny, the chants were troubling for the president, another demonstration that this signing alone might not be enough. There is a footballing need for signings and a political one too.

The signing of Dembélé was widely welcomed, but few believe it is enough. While Neymar played on the left of a front three, that is not the Frenchman’s typical role. “I’m not here to substitute Neymar,” he said. “Barcelona needed a player in my position and I’m here to help. I’m two footed. I prefer to dribble with the left and shoot with the right. Neymar is one of the best players in the world and I’m still young. It’s only my second season as a professional.”

There are also doubts over the price. Fernández said that Barcelona had tried to sign him last summer, when he cost €15m, but had been unable to do so because he wanted to be guaranteed playing time. Now with Neymar’s departure, he has arrived – for 10 times as much. “I’m only 20. I don’t pay any attention to the price; the market has gone mad,” Dembélé said.

He is the most-costly player Barcelona have signed and the third most expensive in history, but they aspire to break that figure still.

 

[The Lusophone]

It's weird seeing Real Madrid be the youth orientated club between the two. I mean they've got history, the second great Real Madrid team - the Ye-Ye team of the 60s - was mainly home grown academy products - but this seems to be a bit different, like an actual fulfilment of the "Zidanes y Pavones" proclaimed during the first Galacticos era.

Watch them go out and sign someone for £200 million the minute something goes wrong though.

[MDK]

2 hours ago, Lineker said:

When Dembélé finally arrived almost an hour late, he signed the contract, changed by his new locker – previously occupied by Jérémy Mathieu and Marc Muniesa – and ran out on to the pitch where he posed by a club car, as if he had just won Family Fortunes, and performed a few kick‑ups, trying a flick that did not come off.

 

[MDK]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2017/09/06/caught-peeing-swimming-pool-la-liga-president-hits-psg-neymar/

Quote

“With Neymar to PSG, what we have done is caught them peeing in the bed, or in the swimming pool.

“Neymar’s gone on the diving board and now he’s peed from the diving board.

“We can’t accept this.”

It is okay to pee while you are in the pool though. 

[Colly]

From the diving board though? That's a bit extravagant. I peed in the Tyne once, lucky I didn't fall in to be honest, bit silly. 

[MDK]

5 minutes ago, Colly said:

From the diving board though? That's a bit extravagant. I peed in the Tyne once, lucky I didn't fall in to be honest, bit silly. 

'cause the bog on the Tyne is all mine, all mine

[The Lusophone]

7 hours ago, MDK said:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2017/09/06/caught-peeing-swimming-pool-la-liga-president-hits-psg-neymar/

It is okay to pee while you are in the pool though. 

It's ok when the state is pumping pee directly into the pool a la Real Madrid. 

[Lineker]

Quote

Football authorities in Spain are considering plans to stage La Liga matches overseas, with the proposal set to be discussed by the league’s 20 clubs.

La Liga president Javier Tebas has confirmed that discussions are ongoing as the Spanish top division seeks greater financial revenues from international audiences, including broadcasting and sponsorship deals.

“La Liga is global entertainment and we want to grow [the league’s] international appeal,” Tebas told the Financial Times.

“As part of that effort we are discussing the option of playing some of the league matches outside of Spain.”

Regular season La Liga matches could potentially be held abroad, most likely in the USA or China, as soon as next year.

Relevent Sports, a US-based promoter who founded the International Champions Cup (ICC) pre-season competition four years ago, is thought to have pitched the idea of overseas league games to several football leagues.

ICC matches were held in the USA, Singapore and China this summer, with Barcelona and Real Madrid meeting in Miami for an overseas clásico fixture.

Speaking at this week’s Soccerex event in Manchester, Relevent chairman Charlie Stillitano said “the future is to do official [league] games in the US, China and other places.”

“There are leagues that are talking to us about potentially doing something in the future,” he added.

The proposals are reminiscent of the Premier League’s controversial ‘39th game’ initiative, which were shelved in 2008 after widespread opposition.

Speaking in July, Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore said no plans were currently in place to stage league matches abroad.

“There is no [current] plan to do it,” Scudamore said.

“The clubs would like to do it but we are also realistic that says until the reaction is any more warm, it won’t happen,” he added.

“If it did, it wouldn’t be a 39th game ... but there is no prospect of it happening any time soon.

“We have no time set for it but I am a man of belief. I thought it was the right thing to do, I still do.”

Playing regular season games abroad has proved a success for the NFL, with 16 games held at Wembley Stadium since 2007 and five more scheduled to be played overseas in 2017 – at Wembley, Twickenham and Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca. The NBA have held games at London’s O2 Arena, with Major League Baseball (MLB) keen to follow suit.

Europe’s major football leagues have yet to arrange fixtures overseas, although the Supercoppa Italiana – Italy’s version of the Community Shield –has been played in the USA, China and Qatar.

[Gazz]

It must be boring being a Celtic fan, tonight was their 54th domestic league game without defeat. I can't imagine supporting a team where two, probably eight (CL qualifiers and group) at most games actually mean anything or have any kind of stakes.