The first tie breaker in CL is head to head. Lyon had that going into today vs Benfica (4-3 from match day weeks 3 and 4). Benfica blowing a 2 goal lead late in MD 5 @ Leipzig cost them a spot in the knockout rounds.What is going on in Group G is insane. At the start of the second half it was:
Leipzig
Zenit
Benfica
Lyon
Then, Zenit gets a red card and Benfica is now up 3-0, giving them second place with the GD. BUT then Lyon scores two unanswered goals to tie Leipzig and now it is in second with the GD.
With Everton and Arsenal both looking for managers, the answer is not quite yet.He's now 60 and been let go from his last two jobs without finishing the season.
is it time for him to transition into international football?
I’d say “not so fast”.” I think he got caught in a situation at Napoli that was uniquely dysfunctional. And I think results at Bayern after he left have proven that the struggles he had there weren’t entirely his own fault (reports that he had “lost the dressing room” notwithstanding). Bayern’s currently languishing in seventh, which leads me to believe he would have been entitled to pull a Joe Morgan on the way out, and tell everyone ”they aren’t as good as they think they are.”He's now 60 and been let go from his last two jobs without finishing the season.
is it time for him to transition into international football?
The average Championship manager would likely be an improvement over Gregggg. Probably some League One managers too. I dearly wish we had the cachet to interest managers who weren't also enormous yank-o-philes like Klinsmann.That said, I would LOVE to see him take over team USA, even though that would never happen.
On the other hand, a bunch of relative minnows got to take the field against the big guns in all their glory, and in some cases took points off of them. While each making millions of euros for their clubs, in a 'season' that lasted half the year.Here's a breakdown of the qualifiers for the last 16, with 1 spot still up for grabs:
England: 4 (Liverpool, City, Spurs, Chelsea)
Spain: 3* (Barca, Real, Valencia, possibly Atletico)
Germany: 3* (Bayern, Dortmund, Leipzig, possibly Leverkusen)
Italy: 3 (Juventus, Napoli, Atalanta)
France: 2 (PSG, Lyon)
Only teams from the Big 4 leagues (that send their top 4 into the group stages) that didn't advance were Inter (who finished 3rd behind a Spanish and German team) and either Atletico or Leverkusen (finishing behind an Italian team).
Not exactly a year for a Cinderella run.
It was really well taken.Sessegnon gets his first UCL start and scores. 1-1 with Bayern late first.
The average Championship manager would likely be an improvement over Gregggg.
It’s not that the US lacks “caché”.The problem is the pay-for-play club system hinders the level of control the MNT Manager needs to oversee player development. And the club teams emphasize winning games over developing skills. That’s why (along with nepotism) the US can’t attract a coach worth a damn.I dearly wish we had the cachet to interest managers who weren't also enormous yank-o-philes like Klinsmann.
This was exciting. Sessegnon was one of the most exciting young players in the world 2 years ago, and then he got all screwed up in the morass that Fulham became. Personally, I just love fullbacks and think he could be unique one.It was really well taken.
I thought Couthino’s shot wasn’t in, then saw the replay and thought it was, but I guess it wasn’t.
Seemed like he was playing more on the wing last night, no? He was always among the most advanced players when I looked at him.This was exciting. Sessegnon was one of the most exciting young players in the world 2 years ago, and then he got all screwed up in the morass that Fulham became. Personally, I just love fullbacks and think he could be unique one.
While disappointing we won't get a Cinderella run, the upside is almost every match from here on out should be exciting and offer at least a chance of an upset.Here's a breakdown of the qualifiers for the last 16, with 1 spot still up for grabs:
England: 4 (Liverpool, City, Spurs, Chelsea)
Spain: 3* (Barca, Real, Valencia, possibly Atletico)
Germany: 3* (Bayern, Dortmund, Leipzig, possibly Leverkusen)
Italy: 3 (Juventus, Napoli, Atalanta)
France: 2 (PSG, Lyon)
Only teams from the Big 4 leagues (that send their top 4 into the group stages) that didn't advance were Inter (who finished 3rd behind a Spanish and German team) and either Atletico or Leverkusen (finishing behind an Italian team).
Not exactly a year for a Cinderella run.
This is the first time in UCL history that all the knockout clubs are from one of the 5 major leagues:The average Championship manager would likely be an improvement over Gregggg. Probably some League One managers too. I dearly wish we had the cachet to interest managers who weren't also enormous yank-o-philes like Klinsmann.
On the other hand, a bunch of relative minnows got to take the field against the big guns in all their glory, and in some cases took points off of them. While each making millions of euros for their clubs, in a 'season' that lasted half the year.
I don't feel bad for them, I feel bad for the teams that basically aren't allowed to qualify - the auto-bid for the 4th teams in those leagues (limiting the Champions Path to 4 group stage spots, and the League Path to 2) really killed the diversity. Who didn't love Legia Warsaw taking a point off of defending-champs Real Madrid a few years ago?
Biggest upsets of the Group Stage - feel free to rank 'em
I could include Ajax getting exactly 1 point in 4 matches against Valencia and Chelsea, but those are much closer to being peers.
- RMA 2 - 2 Club Brugge
- Olympiacos 2 - 2 Spurs
- Man City 1 - 1 Shakhtar Donetsk
- Leverkusen 1 - 2 Lokomotiv Moscow
- Genk 0 - 0 Napoli
- Barcelona 0 - 0 Slavia Prague
- Zenit St Pete 2 - 0 Lyon
- Lille 1 - 1 Valencia
(Atalanta lost at home to Shakhtar and on the road 4-0! to Zagreb, and got 2nd by the skin of their teeth - I won't call those yuuuge upsets because Atalanta is just not that strong, though they did also get a home draw with City)
I’m not sure being fired by an Italian team midseason when the squad is openly fighting with upper management is a data point against any manager. Ancelotti is famously a players coach, and now they want a guy who’s more...He's now 60 and been let go from his last two jobs without finishing the season.
is it time for him to transition into international football?