European Football Thread

[Szumi]

And Ray Hudson is on commentary, meaning this day can't get any better.

[Baddar]

It wasn't the greatest of games, and neither side took it too seriously, making loads of changes. 2nd leg should be interesting though.

It does render CDR 1st Leg ties a bit pointless though. I see how they benefit the small teams, but it's not just these that rested players. Valencia rested a load of players too.

[Baddar]

Torres just put Atletico 1-0 up in the first minute against Real, who now need to score 4.

[Cymbols]

Gregory van der Wiel just scored a lovely own goal against Evian. Decent game too, 2-2 with 25 to go.

[Monkey D. Lars]

As of right now, Feyenoord has missed 5 of their last 5 penalties.....THEY NEED HODOR!

[Colly]

That's a weird way to spell Shola.

[Cymbols]

Gregory van der Wiel just scored a lovely own goal against Evian. Decent game too, 2-2 with 25 to go.

Ended 4-2 to PSG, with David Luiz, Verratti, Pistore and Cavani scoring.

[Colly]

Just to annoy me. I've done a wacky 'win by three' bet for PSG, Real, Barca, Atleti, Juve and Anderlecht, Real started it well, Anderlecht are two up against 10 men. I think 3 should get me a return...

[Cymbols]

Good job you didn't go for AC Milan. Just lost 1-0 to Atalanta and looked pretty terrible in doing so. Also, Massimo Maccarone played for Empoli in their 0-0 draw with Inter, talk about a throwback to like, 2005.

[Colly]

I wouldn't touch either Milan, they're rubbish.

[The Legendary Fisherman]

Anyone here follows the Portuguese League?

[Baddar]

We've got one or two members from Portugal (Benfica fans, IIRC) but they don't frequent the boards as much now.

Nerf is our European Football "expert".

[EddieG]

I think Rafa might watch a bit of portuguese football as there's quite a number of Brazilian players there.

[Lineker]

Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin is buying a 20% stake in Spanish football club Atletico Madrid for €45m ($52m; £34m) as he looks to diversify his business empire further. He heads China's biggest property company Dalian Wanda, which has been buying up big foreign brands amid a weak domestic real estate market. This includes US cinema chain AMC and luxury British yachtmaker Sunseeker. It will be the first Chinese company to invest in a top European football club.

[The Legendary Fisherman]

I think Rafa might watch a bit of portuguese football as there's quite a number of Brazilian players there.

Yeah I asked because I am Portuguese so. And before you ask yes I am a supporter of Benfica indeed. I know most people barely know anything besides the Big 3 (Benfica, Porto and Sporting) and some of the middle clubs like Braga. Football and Wrestling you can say are my two favorite things to watch.

[MDK]

I think Rafa might watch a bit of portuguese football as there's quite a number of Brazilian players there.

Yeah I asked because I am Portuguese so. And before you ask yes I am a supporter of Benfica indeed. I know most people barely know anything besides the Big 3 (Benfica, Porto and Sporting) and some of the middle clubs like Braga. Football and Wrestling you can say are my two favorite things to watch.

You are now our correspondent for all things in Portuguese football!

You get paid a pack of peanuts a day.

[The Legendary Fisherman]

I don't mind doing it. Heck I will do it some later as there is some Portuguese League Cup matches today. If you wanna ask about a specific player or team feel free to do it. I will probably do the same regarding other leagues like the Premier League or even the MLS.

[Thrilla]

A general question about the standing of the Portuguese League, where would you rank it out of the European leagues? I think most people would say the Premier League, the Bundesliga and La Liga are the top three (I would say in that order as well, others may differ), then perhaps Serie A is a clear fourth and Ligue 1, Russian Premier League and Primeira Liga are battling for fifth. Would you view it the same?

[The Legendary Fisherman]

A general question about the standing of the Portuguese League, where would you rank it out of the European leagues? I think most people would say the Premier League, the Bundesliga and La Liga are the top three (I would say in that order as well, others may differ), then perhaps Serie A is a clear fourth and Ligue 1, Russian Premier League and Primeira Liga are battling for fifth. Would you view it the same?

Right now I would put it on par with the Russian League mainly because of the dominating clubs and how they perform in Europe. Same with the Dutch Eredivisie.

I would rank it as:

1 - Barclays Premier League

2 - La Liga

3 - German Bundesliga

4 - Ligue 1

5 - Serie A

6 - Russian Premier League

7 - Portuguese Liga 1

8 - Dutch Eredivisie

9 - Greek Superleague

10 - Turkish Superleague

Of course the late three would be bumped out in a world scene by the Brazilieirao, the Argentine Premier League and the Major League Soccer.

[Lineker]

If you wanna ask about a specific player or team feel free to do it..

I heard that this Eusebio fella is pretty good.