Soccer thread (2014/15)

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

Man U still looks like crap.

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

Serious feast of Euro qualifiers this week.  Maybe Wales will finally make it through this year - between Bale & Ramsey, it almost doesn't matter if the remaining 9 suck.

And if one got points for singing the anthem, Italy is already through.  Buffon screws his eyes shut like Caruso singing an aria.   

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

Iceland over Turkey 3-0 

[ronnynat]

Iceland over Turkey 3-0 

And Cyprus beat Bosnia 2-1. Crazy.

[ronnynat]

That Arsenal-City game was awesome. Nice to see a team take chances against City instead of parking the bus.

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

Love the Welbeck signing. 

[Natsinpwc]

Wouldn't it be funny if Manchester U was relegated? 
Maybe not for their fans but at least for me.

[houston-nat]

Eibar, the Spanish town of 27,000 people whose tiny club just vaulted into the top league, currently has 3 points... Real Madrid also has 3 points.

I'm rooting for Eibar this year. So hard.

[HalfSmokes]

Eibar, the Spanish town of 27,000 people whose tiny club just vaulted into the top league, currently has 3 points... Real Madrid also has 3 points.

I'm rooting for Eibar this year. So hard.

I really wish US sports had relegation and promotion

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

Of course the Nats would have been playing low-A ball by 2011

I really wish US sports had relegation and promotion

[HalfSmokes]

Of course the Nats would have been playing low-A ball by 2011

but my pnats could be working their way towards aaa

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

The relegation/promotion battles at the end of the season in the European leagues are often more interesting than the actual championships.  I'm in. 

[HalfSmokes]

best alt uniform ever?

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

That is the tits 

[Dave B]

best alt uniform ever?

(Image removed from quote.)

Why did it take until 2014 for me to see that

[ronnynat]

Lampard

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

I wish I could make out the words of what the City fans were singing...I could only make out "Mourinho" and a word that rhymes with "runt" 

[OldChelsea]

2022 World Cup will not be held in Qatar, per FIFA - they say it gets a bit too warm over there: http://theweek.com/article/index/268540/speedreads-fifa-official-qatar-wont-host-2022-world-cup

[mitlen]

2022 World Cup will not be held in Qatar, per FIFA - they say it gets a bit too warm over there: http://theweek.com/article/index/268540/speedreads-fifa-official-qatar-wont-host-2022-world-cup

Does FIFA have to give back all the bribe money?

[Natsinpwc]

2022 World Cup will not be held in Qatar, per FIFA - they say it gets a bit too warm over there: http://theweek.com/article/index/268540/speedreads-fifa-official-qatar-wont-host-2022-world-cup

Obviously they had not seen the weather average temps previously 

[HalfSmokes]

from the article

Now, Zwanziger was only expressing his personal belief, not FIFA's official position. Yet FIFA President Sepp Blatter said back in May that awarding the World Cup to Qatar was a "mistake," and there is some speculation the organization could indeed relocate the games.

I would guess that there is no chance that the world cup isn't there unless FIFA officials trust the Qatarie justice system or are comfortable that their home countries won't extradite (they may have given bribes, but I'm guessing they can go after people for accepting them not to mention trying to get back the cost of their investment from fifa)

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

I wonder if Qatar will ever qualify for the WC without hosting it?  Doubtful, though with some creative shenanigans involving FIFA's bizarro citizenship guidelines they could probably gerrymander the national team with foreign ringers who play in the Qatari league. 

[Dave B]

I wonder if Qatar will ever qualify for the WC without hosting it?  Doubtful, though with some creative shenanigans involving FIFA's bizarro citizenship guidelines they could probably gerrymander the national team with foreign ringers who play in the Qatari league. 

I think I saw something on real sports about them recruiting players and giving them citizenship. They did the same thing with Olympic weightlifting. Got a bunch of bulgarians. Gave them new names and everything

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

Then you've got the "Russian" short-track speedskater, 'Viktor' Ahn.  And the Georgia womans beach volleyball team (100% Brazilian beach babes, albeit with the Jerusalem Cross emblazoned on their butts).  And Swedes who compete for the Portuguese cross country ski federation (?!).   

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

Anyone watching the Champions League games today?  Old man Totti just schooled Joe Hart.  How many players spend their whole career with their hometown team??