General Football Thread

[Colly]

The logo of computer chip manufacturer Intel will be printed on the inside of Barcelona players' shirts as part of a unique sponsorship deal.

It is hoped that the Intel Inside branding will be revealed when a player lifts his shirt to celebrate scoring.

The team's superstars including Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta would be under no obligation to display the logo, Barcelona officials told a news conference.

Manel Arroyo, the club director responsible for media and sponsorship, declined to say how much the four-year deal was worth.

However, Spanish media and Forbes magazine have estimated that Intel would pay around £15m for the length of the deal.

It is Intel's first move into football sponsorship, and the firm is set to provide technology to players and coaching staff as part of the tie-up.

Deborah Conrad, Intel's chief marketing officer, said: "We did not want to put the players under any obligation to show the logo a specific number of times but we do know that such goal celebrations are a big part of the culture of the sport."

Qatar Airways' logo will remain on the outside of the players' shirts.

Barcelona is the second-richest football team in the world with £384m in annual revenue.

Bizarre.

[METALMAN]

Remember when Barcelona didn't have any sponsors? Jeez.

[Adam]

What a massively pointless idea.

[TCO]

If you're going to sell out, you might as well go the whole way with it!

[Crybaby Bunting]

What a massively pointless idea.

Not really, Intel's slogan is Intel inside, and the logo will be going inside the shirt.

It's smart advertising, especially when it'll be inside every replica shirt too.

[Lineker]

It is quite Intel-igent.

[TCO]

What a massively pointless idea.

Not really, Intel's slogan is Intel inside, and the logo will be going inside the shirt.

It's smart advertising, especially when it'll be inside every replica shirt too.

The advertising opportunities in porn are endless. Fair bit cheaper with access to millions of technology users, their target market, to boot!

I should definitely be Intel's marketing manager.

[Colly]

What a massively pointless idea.

Not really, Intel's slogan is Intel inside, and the logo will be going inside the shirt.

It's smart advertising, especially when it'll be inside every replica shirt too.

It doesn't actually say it'll be on the replica shirts though, and may well not be as the logo would be even less visible given fans are unlikely to have any incentive to show it off. Might as well sponsor someone's shinpads.

[Adam]

What a massively pointless idea.

Not really, Intel's slogan is Intel inside, and the logo will be going inside the shirt.

It's smart advertising, especially when it'll be inside every replica shirt too.

Like Colly says, it's not forced to be on the inside of the replica shirts (and wouldn't make a lot of sense to be either) and I don't see how it makes it a good idea just because their slogan is "Intel Inside". It's not like we'll automatically see their logo on 11 different shirts for 90 minutes every game, it'll only happen if a player scores and decides he wants to look daft by pulling his shirt up to reveal some company logo to celebrate the fact he's just scored a goal.

[Colly]

It would almost have made sense had they sponsored Boro in 96, but bearing in mind that celebration is now a yellow card offense (I believe?) it feels a bit mad. Unless Messi 'coincidentally' adopts a new celebration of baring 6 inches of torso.

[Lineker]

Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness reveals he convinced Pep Guardiola to become the European champions' new coach during a trip to sell sausages in the United States, and was almost accidently found out by Sir Alex Ferguson.

Hoeness held talks with the former Barcelona coach last year in the USA, although only after first flying out as part of a private business venture for the family's business.

"It was partly a business trip for my company," Hoeness, who runs his family's sausage factory, tells Bild. "I knew that Pep was about to fly to Barcelona for his holidays...so we decided I would meet him in the States, where the risk of being spotted was smaller. I wanted to take him out for a meal, but that night, Alex Ferguson was dining in the very same restaurant. It certainly would not have been funny had he seen me and Pep together."

[Matt]

I don't understand what Ferguson has to do with anything :/

[Berober]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-25433028

That made me chuckle, reading about upset blues fans. Lineker did good for once!

[Lineker]

...blue is their colour; there is a blue half :/

[Lineker]

Former Newcastle United defender Olivier Bernard has become the owner and chairman of non-league Durham City. The Citizens, who play on an artificial pitch, are in Northern League Division One - English football's ninth tier.

[brenchill]

Milan eye AVB swoop

[GoN_]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Hb2_xDneoA

[METALMAN]

Another review.

[Colly]

Couldn't decide which thread to drop it in, but RIP David Coleman. No one will ever commentate an Olympic opening ceremony quite like him.

[Lineker]

A broadcasting legend. Sad loss.