Global Football Odds & Ends

wonderland

New Member
Jul 20, 2005
525
I see Premier is going back to five subs. I always thought four subs was the better solution across the board.
 

67YAZ

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Dec 1, 2000
8,730
The Athletic reporting that Mike Dean has red carded himself, will retire at the end of the EPL season.
 

pedro1918

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Mar 5, 2004
5,139
Map Ref. 41°N 93°W
In case you have an extra $5M hanging around:

Diego Maradona's Match-Worn "Hand of God" Jersey to Sell at Auction


Playing against England in the 1986 World Cup, Maradona’s first goal was scored with his hand and later became known as the “Hand of God.” His second goal that day is often described as the greatest individual goal ever scored, and has earned the sobriquet the “Goal of the Century.”

After the game, Maradona swapped shirts with England midfielder Steve Hodge, who has owned the jersey ever since. The shirt will soon be sold for the first time over, with bidding opening at Sotheby’s on April 20, while also being on display at Sotheby’s New Bond Street gallery in London.


https://hypebeast.com/2022/4/diego-maradona-argentina-hand-of-god-goal-of-the-century-england-world-cup-jersey-sothebys-auction
 

SocrManiac

Tommy Seebach’s mustache
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Apr 15, 2006
8,634
Somers, CT
Ronaldo’s family expanded with twins- a girl and a boy. The baby boy didn’t survive.

Those who know me are aware of my history with this. I am devastated for his family. I can’t wrap my brain around the mourning process in parallel with the joy of the daughter or the constant pain and guilt that joy will bring.

There are no words.
 

Vinho Tinto

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Dec 9, 2003
7,047
Auburn, MA
Just saw this and it’s absolutely horrible news. While he has achieved so much in his career, he becomes like anyone else in feeling helpless when we cannot help our children.
 

67YAZ

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Dec 1, 2000
8,730
He’s the kind of agent who’d fake his own death to get a better deal for his player and himself.
 

Mighty Joe Young

The North remembers
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Sep 14, 2002
8,401
Halifax, Nova Scotia , Canada
So .. with Railo’s reported demise how might this affect the summer transfer market? Would the likes of Haaland jump to another agency with promises of even richer future rewards. Given that the elite clubs have had to grease the palms of agents of his ilk will this make it harder to sign a player?
 

Zososoxfan

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Jul 30, 2009
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Atletico refuse a guard of honor. If there's a team that's going to continue to push the bounds of respect and fair play, we know what it is. To me, they come off as nothing more than sore losers. They ran the race, they lost, now they're pouting.
You're not wrong, but I don't have a problem with this. That's a tradition, not a rule. And I certainly would consider not doing it for my rival.
 

SocrManiac

Tommy Seebach’s mustache
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Apr 15, 2006
8,634
Somers, CT
I realize the door is far wider open in Spain as it's been denied in the past. It still just reeks of a systemic problem with sportsmanship at Atletico. Just fucking do it. When the choice is essentially "acknowledge fair play" or "behave like a toddler," acting childish is rarely the right answer.
 

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
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Jul 22, 2006
8,232
Falmouth
How would we feel if the Montreal Canadiens or Boston Bruins refused a handshake line after a playoff series?
It's not remotely the same thing...football teams shake hands after a game anyways.
It would be if the Bruins won the Cup and then at the banner raising ceremony the Habs all lined up and cheered.
 

Mighty Joe Young

The North remembers
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Sep 14, 2002
8,401
Halifax, Nova Scotia , Canada
Reports are coming out that Mbappe has re-upped with PSG for another two years. This could put a spanner in the works for this summer’s striker carousel.

So who does Real target now? Haaland, Salah , Lewandowski , Kane?

I would think that’s the appropriate order of interest. This could be very bad news for City.

edit: Mbappe’s mother is denying the claim.
 
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Vinho Tinto

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Dec 9, 2003
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Auburn, MA
But hey, no problem playing in a tournament built on slave labor.
This is what the PM had to say about scheduling the friendly:

"“This was a decision by Sport Canada, Soccer Canada. I think it wasn’t a very good idea to invite the Iranian soccer team here to Canada,” said Trudeau when asked by reporters about the decision to grant the Iran delegation visas. “That’s something the organizers are going to have to explain.”

https://prosoccerwire.usatoday.com/2022/05/17/justin-trudeau-canada-vs-iran-friendly/

I haven't seen him make similar comments about Canada taking part in the Qatar World Cup.
 

Mighty Joe Young

The North remembers
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Sep 14, 2002
8,401
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This is what the PM had to say about scheduling the friendly:

"“This was a decision by Sport Canada, Soccer Canada. I think it wasn’t a very good idea to invite the Iranian soccer team here to Canada,” said Trudeau when asked by reporters about the decision to grant the Iran delegation visas. “That’s something the organizers are going to have to explain.”

https://prosoccerwire.usatoday.com/2022/05/17/justin-trudeau-canada-vs-iran-friendly/

I haven't seen him make similar comments about Canada taking part in the Qatar World Cup.
Thats just weird from Trudeau. Maybe it’s a sign that , with the NDP agreement in the bank he’s moving to shore up the Grits right flank (sorry for the political digression)
 

PedroSpecialK

Comes at you like a tornado of hair and the NHL sa
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Dec 12, 2004
27,164
Cambridge, MA
That would make sense - the reasoning seems to be an amalgam of the Islamic Republic not allowing women into football matches (against which most of Team Melli has spoken out on IG/Twitter), the downing of PS752 (a direct result of USA sabre rattling, but I digress), and general "these specific people are bad" sentiment. But I do see this as very much a politically-motivated reversal of course to MJY's point.

It is what it is, the IR has already been paid by Canada - so the only people hurt here are Iran's national team, the Iranian diaspora that had already made travel arrangements, and Canadians that are conscious of hypocrisy.
 

dirtynine

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Dec 17, 2002
8,394
Philly
Fun LigaMX final happening right now. 1-0 Atlas over Pachuca with about 35 minutes of regular time left. Lots of attacking.
 

dirtynine

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Dec 17, 2002
8,394
Philly
Atlas ices it with a goal in minute 93. A million chances for both sides leading up to it.
 
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InstaFace

The Ultimate One
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Sep 27, 2016
21,766
Pittsburgh, PA
Ugh, just saw this.
That would make sense - the reasoning seems to be an amalgam of the Islamic Republic not allowing women into football matches (against which most of Team Melli has spoken out on IG/Twitter), the downing of PS752 (a direct result of USA sabre rattling, but I digress), and general "these specific people are bad" sentiment. But I do see this as very much a politically-motivated reversal of course to MJY's point.

It is what it is, the IR has already been paid by Canada - so the only people hurt here are Iran's national team, the Iranian diaspora that had already made travel arrangements, and Canadians that are conscious of hypocrisy.
Soccer Canada should stick it to their political overlords and play the game anyway in Bermuda or something, any venue available on a week's notice. I bet a few fans would change their flight plans. Bermuda has a NL home game vs Haiti the night before, their national stadium holds 8500. Bahamas are away the night of the 5th, stadium in Nassau holds 15k. Doesn't look like Iran has any other friendlies scheduled, either. Make a nice apology and let them have a few days on the beach after the game.

I usually laugh when FIFA complains about "we can't have politics interfering with sport", but this is one instance where it's absolutely unnecessary, complaints are justified, and the CanMNT should have raised a huge stink (e.g. if they got wind before Trudeau's announcement, they could have had Infantino place a call making pointed remarks about the 2026 auto-bid). The Iranian team is completely unobjectionable, and unlike other countries I could name, Iran itself hasn't invaded anybody (Syrian / Lebanese proxies aside). It's not like there's some new, landscape-altering information. And this was absolutely "interference", it's clear Trudeau made a political decision rather than some bureaucrat observing that the proper procedures hadn't been followed.

Really annoying.
 

Zososoxfan

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Jul 30, 2009
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It looks like some of the players who took part in the PKs were still near the center circle when the mob arrived. I hope they're OK.

For a farmers league, the fans certainly take it seriously. I've always been impressed with French broadcasters. Do the fans typically make a good atmosphere at matches?
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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Jul 2, 2006
22,345
Philadelphia
French football has a serious hooliganism/ultras problem. The PL has its own pitch invasions but the number of crazy incidents over the past couple years in France, often with significant violence involved, is on a different level.
 

Royal Reader

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Sep 21, 2005
2,275
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Not a banner weekend for French football stadium security.

I don't know hardly anything about Ligue 1, but I know Saint-Etienne have the most titles out of any club, so it would seem to be quite the downfall for them to be relegated.
Now joint-most with PSG, and the last one was in 1981. Relegated in 1984, 1996 and 2001 with three-season exiles each time. Did manage to finish fourth just before the pandemic. It's a big enough club for them going down to be quite a big deal, but it's more like when Mike Ashley's Newcastle went down than anything genuinely shocking.
 

67YAZ

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Dec 1, 2000
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The Athletic reporting that RedBird, the investment fund specializing in pro sports teams that already have a stake in FSG, have agreed to a deal to buy AC Milan. The club is valued at €1.2b, though the current investment fund that owns the club will retain some stake.

winning the league is very valuable.
 

candylandriots

unkempt
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Mar 30, 2004
12,327
Berlin
Good for Alan Pardew. Unbelievable that he had to do this. Story at the link, but he was coaching CSKA Sofia, but quit after less than 5 weeks after fans threw bananas at their own black players. His assistant is also black, and Pardew’s statement was that “This small group of organised racist fans, who tried to sabotage the game, are not the fans I want to coach the team in front of.”

https://amp.theguardian.com/football/2022/jun/01/alan-pardew-quits-cska-sofia-after-clubs-fans-racially-abuse-own-players
 

DJnVa

Dorito Dawg
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Dec 16, 2010
53,850
Valencia are hiring Gennaro Gattuso as coach. Gattuso was on the Spurs radar last summer before sexist comments he made were publicized.
 

Zososoxfan

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Jul 30, 2009
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Valencia are hiring Gennaro Gattuso as coach. Gattuso was on the Spurs radar last summer before sexist comments he made were publicized.
Certainly interesting. I loved Gattuso as a player, disliked his sexist comments very much and was thrilled he didn't get appointed to Spurs, but I think he will add entertainment value to Valencia and La Liga.