2012-13 Soccer Thread

[Funketown]

Figured we might as well start up a thread to talk about the 2012-13 season, whether it UCL, EPL, La Liga, USA qualification, etc.

 

Great game between Southampton and Man City today; both teams had opportunities in the last 20 minutes or so but eventually Man City held on for a 3-2 win.

 

Messi scored two goals within 10 minutes of his 2012-13 La Liga campaign.

 

I'm really hoping Clint Dempsey can find a decent transfer. He's ~30 years old and probably only has a few good seasons left, and he deserves the opportunity to play in the Champions League. Obviously it's an ugly situation, so hopefully things work out soon.

[TooLiveBrew]

I guess I get that Dempsey wants to play CL soccer, but he's just another in a long line of footballers who use ugly tactics to force transfers while they still are under contracts they agreed to with their current clubs. For all the economic inequality in MLB, at least when a guy is under contract with his current team you don't see moves forced like this very often. Club football is really in need of financial reform, but I seriously doubt anything effective comes to pass anytime soon.

 

Really fun to have the '12-'13 season underway, & good call in starting a thread for it, Funketown. That Soton-Man City game was really fun to watch, especially the second half of course.

[bacon06]

I can't wait for Seria A to start (probably the minority in that) but as a Roma supporter, I am so excited to see Zdenek Zeman's tactics back in Rome. He plays an all out attacking 4-3-3 style which is known for being played at a frantic pace and putting 8 players on the line at kick off. His Pescara team in Serie B scored 90 goals last year while winning the league.

 

Good article about Zeman from the Wall Street Journal:

 

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303830204577444361592390248.html#articleTabs=article

[homer]

Go Leeds!

 

They usually stink, right? I want to pick an underdog.

[bthurley19]

For those on Dish Network and DirectTV, they both just launched the new channel beIN Sports that has the rights to all the La Liga, Serie A, and Ligue 1 matches. It's on free preview on Dish for the whole month and then moves to the Top 250. Watched Real Madrid and Barca's games yesterday, not a bad presentation for the first week.

[Kelbysdaddy]

Stoked for the United match today! It'll be interesting to see how rvp fits in with the front line.

[Samurai Bucky]

For those on Dish Network and DirectTV, they both just launched the new channel beIN Sports that has the rights to all the La Liga, Serie A, and Ligue 1 matches. It's on free preview on Dish for the whole month and then moves to the Top 250. Watched Real Madrid and Barca's games yesterday, not a bad presentation for the first week.

 

You beat me to it. Hopefully, DISH will devote the bandwidth so it will be in HD.

[trwi7]

Down goes United! Down goes United!

[Funketown]

Down goes United! Down goes United!

 

Great way to start the season, along with the Man City game. From what I hear, Everton looks to have a very solid club this year and should finish in the top half. Obviously a top four finish is still a huge longshot with the quality of ManCity, ManUtd, Spurs, Chelsea, Arsenal, and even Newcastle. Maybe they can sneak into the Europa league though.

[TooLiveBrew]

Everton was well organized on defense for most of the game, and Fellaini was a beast on the attack. Fellaini was clearly the most impactful player in this one for me... just seemed like he was able to do almost whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted.

 

Even though he didn't play particularly well, I still have yet to watch a game where I wasn't thoroughly entertained by Nani's skill.

[kalle8]

I can't wait for Seria A to start (probably the minority in that) but as a Roma supporter, I am so excited to see Zdenek Zeman's tactics back in Rome. He plays an all out attacking 4-3-3 style which is known for being played at a frantic pace and putting 8 players on the line at kick off. His Pescara team in Serie B scored 90 goals last year while winning the league.

 

Good article about Zeman from the Wall Street Journal:

 

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303830204577444361592390248.html#articleTabs=article

 

Last year i went to see sampdoria vs pescara ( the game who gave pescara serie A) is always funny to see zeman teams live, he s a character too and he hates juventus as every italian true soccer fan does!

 

As i will be in the U.S. For the first two matches of my beloved Inter i ll try to find a place to watch the games.

[bacon06]

Last year i went to see sampdoria vs pescara ( the game who gave pescara serie A) is always funny to see zeman teams live, he s a character too and he hates juventus as every italian true soccer fan does!

 

As i will be in the U.S. For the first two matches of my beloved Inter i ll try to find a place to watch the games.

 

They should really allow him to smoke on the sideline. I don't think he can last the full 90.

[Funketown]

Okay, who had Swansea City atop the standings after two weeks?

 

I'd love to see one of the mid table teams like Everton of Fulham somehow nab a spot in UCL. I'm not sure Fulham has much of a chance to do that without Dempsey (with Dempsey it was already a long shot), but Everton looks really good so far. I'd still peg the odds on Everton finishing in the top four at 2-4%, but stranger things have happened.

[TooLiveBrew]

Everton looks pretty legit. Fellaini is just so much fun to watch, and of course... Tim Howard! I definitely hope they can stay in the title hunt all season.

 

I'm assuming it won't be, but just for fair play's sake, I hope Rooney's injury isn't serious.

[Funketown]

Martin Skrtel made one of the worst back passes I'd ever seen today, putting Carlos Tevez in one on one with Pepe Reina. Tevez would score the tying goal costing Liverpool a much needed two points at Anfield. Luis Suarez also scored on a perfectly struck ball on a set piece about 5 yards outside the box.

 

Real Madrid has now dropped five points in only two matches. Last season they only dropped 14 points all season!

[TooLiveBrew]

It's been an interesting deadline day so far, and the Dempsey saga has only gotten uglier. I wonder if LFC & FFC will come to terms at the last minute, because otherwise I'm not sure what Dempsey will do. I guess just play for Fulham until January?

[Funketown]

Dempsey to Spurs. Honestly with the mess that Liverpool has been the last few years, I would rather see him with Spurs. They're a clear contender for finishing in the top four this season. I'm assuming Hugo Lloris will be an upgrade over Brad Friedel, though I know nothing about Lloris other than the fact that lots of clubs regard him highly. Dempsey will reunite with Dembele as well. Modric is obviously a huge loss, and Van der Vaart a significant loss. I've never really cheered for a particular club, but maybe I'll have to pick Tottenham.

[TooLiveBrew]

Shirt sales in the US alone will help offset a significant amount of the cost to sign Dempsey. I'd love to have been a fly on the wall for the Moutinho negotiations, because if Levy was willing to spend ~£22M for the transfer fee, Moutinho's salary expectations must've been pretty high to kill that deal.

 

Dempsey really kinda just fell into Spurs' laps, so it'll be interesting to see how he's utilized in Villas Boas's system. It doesn't seem like he was a target of theirs all along and they were just waiting to see if the Liverpool deal would fall through.

[ewitkows]

I never saw any kids in Dempsey's Fulham shirt, I doubt it will be a big seller now that he screwed up and went to the Spurs.

AVB will wreck that team and they'll end up in that 10-12 range if he lasts the whole season.

 

My Spanish team Betis should stay up again this year, look forward to seeing them in the spring.

[WV Brew]

Sampdoria only 1 point off the lead. Look for a big year from Nicola Pozzi. Especially if he gets off the bench.

[Funketown]

Is CONCACAF the easiest federation to qualify from? They get 3.5 bids and only have two teams in the top 40 of the current FIFA rankings. That or AFC, who gets 4.5 bids.

 

CONMEBOL qualifying is awesome to follow, because it's brutally difficult. They only have 4 teams in the ELO top 10 and 6 in the ELO top 20, yet they only get 5.5 bids this year.

 

USA vs. Jamaica tomorrow should be 3 points, but you never know. Dempsey will suit up as far as I know.

[bacon06]

Road qualifiers in CONCACAF are never a sure thing. Especially with Count Dracula reffing tomorrow. Someone usually gets a straight red when that guy is in the middle.

[Funketown]

Well that sucked.

[TooLiveBrew]

To anyone who missed the Real Madrid--Man City match today... go watch it archived somewhere. What an unbelievable final 40' or so!

 

This .gif file pretty much sums up the intensity...

 

http://abload.de/img/ejsubh.gif

 

Absolutely unreal finish, and easily one of the best matches I've ever seen.

[trwi7]

I hope he has a good dry cleaner.