Soccer/football thread 2022

[Priller]

With all the covid-related ranting elsewhere, it's clear that we're mostly a bit stir-crazy being stuck in the depths of winter. Aside from MotoGP starting soon, my other sports addiction is European football, and I'm curious if anyone else here follows any leagues and/or clubs from over there, or here in MLS. Who do you follow and why?

By way of introduction, I've been a Liverpool supporter since the mid-'90s when a visit to North Wales took me through the city (not an ideal time to pick LFC, to be honest). The social history of the club and city only solidified my support. I also support AS Roma, as Rome is my favourite place on earth and I've seen a few games at the Stadio Olimpico, but if Liverpool and Roma play each other (as they did a few years ago in the CL), I'll always cheer for Liverpool first. By consequence, I mostly follow the English and Italian leagues, though I also keep an eye on Germany, Spain and France. I also watch the Champions League. I'd love to love MLS, but it always leaves me cold, despite having season tickets to the Whitecaps for a few years in Vancouver. Weirdly, I prefer the CPL, and have really enjoyed the few Forge matches I've been to...

Lots going on this year to follow, including:

- Canadian MNT showing huge promise with a combination of solid team play and some world-class talents (Davies is established, but David will make a big money move in the summer, I'm certain)
- Man City establishing dominance in PL by wise use of big money
- Man Utd causing me great schadenfreude through their ongoing squandering of big money
- Tottenham and Arsenal struggling to keep up in the top four
- Juve falling off their perch in Italy (more schadenfreude, thanks)
- Ronaldo and Messi losing their luster after moving on from their Spanish mega-clubs
- Can PSG or City ever convert their oil riches into Champions League glory?
- Newcastle getting the biggest oil riches of them all, and therefore going from sympathetic underdogs to villainous overdogs in the blink of an eye
- Will Bayern ever stop winning the Bundesliga?
- Can the traditional Spanish and Italian powerhouses (Madrid, Barca, Juve, Milan, Inter) stop bankrupting themselves chasing the nouveau riche oil clubs?
- Can anybody figure out how to make VAR less awful?
- How can the European football pyramid sustain itself in the face of growing wealth disparity?

Anyway, hoping there's a few fans here, curious what responses pop up...

PS - As I typed this, I watched Messi miss a pen against Madrid after Mbappe drew the foul...

 

[jc100]

Liverpool fan here. I’ve seen them play but we’re talking Robbie Fowler and John Barnes so …back in the day. They should end up 2nd in the league this year behind rentateam quite easily but if there’s a miracle they are in for a shot at the quadruple I think.

Klopp is a legend! He’s worked wonders.

 

[Priller]

Liverpool fan here. I’ve seen them play but we’re talking Robbie Fowler and John Barnes so …back in the day. They should end up 2nd in the league this year behind rentateam quite easily but if there’s a miracle they are in for a shot at the quadruple I think.

Klopp is a legend! He’s worked wonders.

If they can beat City in the remaining game, there's hope, albeit slim. They're fully healthy for the time being, but that can change fast with so many games upcoming.

Can't tell you how much I love Klopp as a sporting figure. Just that fact that he allows for football *not* to be the most important thing in life makes him such a joy to cheer for. He also embraces the chaos of supporters, which most managers try to keep at arms length because fans can't be micromanaged. My biggest fear is the void he'll leave when he moves on. Dortmund still hasn't recovered, any any subsequent manager has to be compared to Klopp...

EDIT: Seeing Barnes and God play together would have put that right around the time I fell in love with the club...

 

[jc100]

Klopp is an interesting person, comes across as an all around nice bloke and a bit of a philosopher about him. Great for Liverpool. Also I can’t stress how amazing it’s been to see an Egyptian with an “unpopular” surname unite a city that’s usually not thought of as being very tolerant of the non-white. Salah is a magician. The whole squad is capable and quite deep.

 

[bastak]

Roma fan (clearly)

Grew up in the Middle East in the early to mid 90s and Serie A was the only European league on TV in those days. Premier League started to show up on TV towards the mid to late 90s. My older brother was a huge Maradona / Argentina fan, and we both enjoyed watching Batistuta kill it with Fiorentina. When Batigol moved to Roma in 2000, that team was just magical to watch and I found myself hooked. First with Totti, Montella and Batistuta, then Cassano and his mad antics, the rock in midfield that was Daniele De Rossi, the Spalletti era when you didn't know if you'd win 4-1 or lose 7-1, and the incredible talent that have played there over the years - Aldair, Cafu, Emerson, Samuel, Marquinhos, Lamela, Menez, Rudiger, Perotti, Manolas, Salah, Nainggolan, Alisson, etc...

I've lost interest recently... For me, Roma became really hard to watch after Totti, De Rossi and Nainggolan moved on. I tried, but just couldn't bear to watch a midfielder like Bryan Cristante over Nainggolan, for example. Or even Dzeko. I felt like I was wasting my time... I used to watch every single Roma game religiously and now just watch football casually in general. I do still get into it more during the knock-out stages of the Champions League, the Euros and World Cups. If I were still in the Middle East I'd definitely watch a lot more - much easier/cheaper to access on TV, and the timing works out better over there. These days I follow MotoGP religiously instead...

Highs for me as a Roma fan: the 3-2 comeback win against Bayern at home, the 3-0 home win against Barcelona to move through to the CL semis, the 1-1 draw away at Man City with the Totti dink, the 1-0 away win at Real Madrid in the early 2000s.

Lows are the horrible 7-1 drubbings, all those 2nd place finishes, the loss of incredible talent year after year, no european cup wins...

 

[Priller]

Klopp is an interesting person, comes across as an all around nice bloke and a bit of a philosopher about him. Great for Liverpool. Also I can’t stress how amazing it’s been to see an Egyptian with an “unpopular” surname unite a city that’s usually not thought of as being very tolerant of the non-white. Salah is a magician. The whole squad is capable and quite deep.

I remember when he first started to emerge as a star in Liverpool, a song popped up that ended, "If he scores another few, then I'll be Muslim too!" Not sure Liverpool is a hotbed of xenophobia these days, as the Tories have mostly cornered that market...

Roma fan (clearly)

Grew up in the Middle East in the early to mid 90s and Serie A was the only European league on TV in those days. Premier League started to show up on TV towards the mid to late 90s. My older brother was a huge Maradona / Argentina fan, and we both enjoyed watching Batistuta kill it with Fiorentina. When Batigol moved to Roma in 2000, that team was just magical to watch and I found myself hooked. First with Totti, Montella and Batistuta, then Cassano and his mad antics, the rock in midfield that was Daniele De Rossi, the Spalletti era when you didn't know if you'd win 4-1 or lose 7-1, and the incredible talent that have played there over the years - Aldair, Cafu, Emerson, Samuel, Marquinhos, Lamela, Menez, Rudiger, Perotti, Manolas, Salah, Nainggolan, Alisson, etc...

I've lost interest recently... For me, Roma became really hard to watch after Totti, De Rossi and Nainggolan moved on. I tried, but just couldn't bear to watch a midfielder like Bryan Cristante over Nainggolan, for example. Or even Dzeko. I felt like I was wasting my time... I used to watch every single Roma game religiously and now just watch football casually in general. I do still get into it more during the knock-out stages of the Champions League, the Euros and World Cups. If I were still in the Middle East I'd definitely watch a lot more - much easier/cheaper to access on TV, and the timing works out better over there. These days I follow MotoGP religiously instead...

Highs for me as a Roma fan: the 3-2 comeback win against Bayern at home, the 3-0 home win against Barcelona to move through to the CL semis, the 1-1 draw away at Man City with the Totti dink, the 1-0 away win at Real Madrid in the early 2000s.

Lows are the horrible 7-1 drubbings, all those 2nd place finishes, the loss of incredible talent year after year, no european cup wins...

Was wondering if you'd pop up with that profile pic. It's funny, a very close friend who grew up in Libya and Lebanon (he's Palestinian) is a big fan of Italian football in general for the same reason. He tends to be much more of a front runner, and also cheers for whichever Italian teams are in the Champions League.

Roma tried to break away from being just a Roman team, and subsequently alienated many of the local supporters. The bitterness of Totti and de Rossi's departures spoke volumes. Totti even spoke out against it, which in hindsight turned out to be right. It sucked the passion out of the club, leaving them to be just another mid-tier Euro club struggling to keep up with the bigger 'brands' of Juventus et al. I didn't mind Fonseca, but he was given almost nothing to work with, especially with the Monchi disaster. I personally dislike Mourinho, and was really disappointed when he was hired. He's made the club even more miserable, if possible. But they're paying him so much they can't afford to fire him, so he'll stick around for another year minimum...

As a Liverpool fan, I'm forever grateful for Salah and Alisson, though.

 

[jc100]

For years I used to watch Italian league football instead of premiership simply because it was more entertaining. These were the “Gazza” years too though.

 

[Priller]

For years I used to watch Italian league football instead of premiership simply because it was more entertaining. These were the “Gazza” years too though.

Football Italia with James Richardson? He's still punning it up on the Totally Football Show podcast, one of my favourites...

 

[bastak]

The bitterness of Totti and de Rossi's departures spoke volumes. Totti even spoke out against it, which in hindsight turned out to be right. It sucked the passion out of the club, leaving them to be just another mid-tier Euro club struggling to keep up with the bigger 'brands' of Juventus et al.

As a Liverpool fan, I'm forever grateful for Salah and Alisson, though.

That's exactly right. Sucked the life out of the club - even Florenzi had heart and passion, and he was sent out on loan to Valencia IIRC. There are those players that are the occasion, more than the match. Was never a Barca supporter, but when Ronaldinho was there, WoW! I just had to watch their games because that guy was the main event. Have we seen an entertainer like that since?

Haha, true, Salah is phenomenal. He was lacking a little in his finishing at Roma but with Liverpool, under Klopp, he's been magnificent.

 

[Chaos]

I only really follow international soccer.

There is a strong possibility that Canada will make the world cup and Italy won't. Never did I think that would be the case.

Canada is virtually a lock at this point. Italy can still make it but they have work to do. It's their own fault though. They stopped winning games after winning the Euros.

 

[Jayv]

Liverpool fan here. I’ve seen them play but we’re talking Robbie Fowler and John Barnes so …back in the day. They should end up 2nd in the league this year behind rentateam quite easily but if there’s a miracle they are in for a shot at the quadruple I think.

Klopp is a legend! He’s worked wonders.

Watched Ian Rush, Dalglish and co at The dell back in the day

I only watch premier league, not a fan of the other leagues including MLS. Crazy how competitive the PL is from 6th to 18th place, Man City’s team is so deep with talent that they could fill a team with their substitutes and still be a top 6 team.

Dazn loses the right to PL in Canada after this season, hopefully fubo isn’t any more expensive.

 

[robertv19]

For years I used to watch Italian league football instead of premiership simply because it was more entertaining. These were the “Gazza” years too though.

Loved Gascoigne.
I’m a Boro supporter and I sat in his seat in the locker room at the Riverside Stadium when he was playing for us in 1998.

And his contribution to the 4-1 thrashing of the Dutch in Euro 96. What a game!

 

[robertv19]

I only really follow international soccer.

There is a strong possibility that Canada will make the world cup and Italy won't. Never did I think that would be the case.

Canada is virtually a lock at this point. Italy can still make it but they have work to do. It's their own fault though. They stopped winning games after winning the Euros.

Doesn’t it come down to either Italy or Portugal making it and the other not?

 

[robertv19]

Dazn loses the right to PL in Canada after this season, hopefully fubo isn’t any more expensive.

Really? Good to know. I do like DAZN though as my team plays in the Championship and they often show those games.
They are going to have to lower their fee if they lose the EPL games.

Fubo? Is that the new licensee for EPL games?

 

[Jayv]

Really? Good to know. I do like DAZN though as my team plays in the Championship and they often show those games.
They are going to have to lower their fee if they lose the EPL games.

Fubo? Is that the new licensee for EPL games?

They have the rights to serie a also.

fuboTV buys Canadian rights to English Premier League - The Globe and Mail

The New York-based streaming service, which launched in Canada in 2016, has taken away DAZN’s exclusive rights to EPL matches in a new three-year deal starting with the 2022-23 season this August

www.theglobeandmail.com

 

[Chaos]

Doesn’t it come down to either Italy or Portugal making it and the other not?

Italy and Portugal will play each other for a spot in the world cup if they both with their first playoff game.

Italy plays North Macedonia
Portugal plays Turkey

The winners of these games play for a spot in the WC

 

[jc100]

Watched Ian Rush, Dalglish and co at The dell back in the day

I only watch premier league, not a fan of the other leagues including MLS. Crazy how competitive the PL is from 6th to 18th place, Man City’s team is so deep with talent that they could fill a team with their substitutes and still be a top 6 team.

Dazn loses the right to PL in Canada after this season, hopefully fubo isn’t any more expensive.

Kenny Dalglish’s daughter stepped out in front of my bike as I was cycling to school as a kid and said “do you know who I am” at me. There, that’s my Liverpool story.

 

[Chaos]

Off topic, as I am not sure it came up at the time, but the Canadian Women are Olympic Champions. Which is (tied for) the best accomplishment you can have in Women's soccer.

Soccer in Canada is at an all time high in success.

 

[danp]

I can't wait to watch the Turkey vs North Macedonia match. I wonder which one of them will make it to the world cup.

 

[Priller]

I only really follow international soccer.

There is a strong possibility that Canada will make the world cup and Italy won't. Never did I think that would be the case.

Canada is virtually a lock at this point. Italy can still make it but they have work to do. It's their own fault though. They stopped winning games after winning the Euros.

As a long time sufferer of disappointment at the hands of the CMNT, I'm not going to call it done until it's official. Still, this team has an edge to it that I've never seen in a Canadian men's squad before, so it doesn't feel quite so fragile this time...

Watched Ian Rush, Dalglish and co at The dell back in the day

I only watch premier league, not a fan of the other leagues including MLS. Crazy how competitive the PL is from 6th to 18th place, Man City’s team is so deep with talent that they could fill a team with their substitutes and still be a top 6 team.

That's peak Liverpool right there. Dalglish is a personal hero, and Rush is one of the purest finishers of all time.

I really want to like MLS, but it just doesn't grab me. Not sure if it's the Euro-ripoff team names (Real Salt Lake!?), or the closed nature of the league, but it leaves me cold.

They have the rights to serie a also.

fuboTV buys Canadian rights to English Premier League - The Globe and Mail

The New York-based streaming service, which launched in Canada in 2016, has taken away DAZN’s exclusive rights to EPL matches in a new three-year deal starting with the 2022-23 season this August

www.theglobeandmail.com

This actually makes me happy, as Serie A and the PL are my two main leagues. When DAZN lost Serie A, I decided not to add Fubo, as TLN carries a bunch of the Italian games, but the reality is I haven't watched much this year. Next year I can dump DAZN, who will essentially become the NFL streaming service, unless you count darts and snooker...

I've been broadly happy with the technical side of DAZN, so here's hoping Fubo is as solid with no drop-outs etc.

Kenny Dalglish’s daughter stepped out in front of my bike as I was cycling to school as a kid and said “do you know who I am” at me. There, that’s my Liverpool story.

Hoping it wasn't Kelly Cates. I really like her on the various Premier League shows, like Kelly and Wrighty...

Either way, he is King Kenny, so his kids are technically royalty in Liverpool.