Futbol thread.

[Hüftpriester]

Just another result for you to start hoping again lol

Next weekend Bologna will have a chance to pass Roma and enter the top 4. Thiago Motta is looking like a serious up and coming coach who could be on the move to a bigger club in short order.

 

[Onni Kalsarikännit]

Today all clubs of 1. and 2. Bundesliga had a meeting where they were deciding about getting an investor for both leagues or not. Something we had like half a year ago where most clubs voted against it and to noones surprise this time a majority of clubs voted for it. So we are an investor league from now on.

That's how you do democracy. You repeat the voting until the big guys get what they want.

 

[East_Clintwood]

Crazy scenes out of the Turkish top flight. The president of Ankaragucu absolutely decked a referee (with someone else going in for a boot to the head while he was down) after their opponents equalized in the 97th minute:

Also some photographer got an absolutely kino shot of it:

 

[Anchors-Away]

Brighton, West Ham, Chelsea, and Brentford are chasing Europa Conference League.

Brentford and Brighton are overwhelmed with injuries right now, so both are once again punching well above weight. Hammers seemingly are willing to let the league form slide in favour of Europa and Chelsea shouldn't be fucking in this conversation. All that money spent to choke against Everton. Winter transfer window will be very curious.

 

[Onni Kalsarikännit]

Today all clubs of 1. and 2. Bundesliga had a meeting where they were deciding about getting an investor for both leagues or not. Something we had like half a year ago where most clubs voted against it and to noones surprise this time a majority of clubs voted for it. So we are an investor league from now on.

That's how you do democracy. You repeat the voting until the big guys get what they want.

And it's starting to get spicey.

One of the clubs who was allowed to vote is Hannover 96. They are a 2. Bundesliga club and are in a deep shitshow for quite some time now. Basically the club is split into two legal parts. On one side you have the core football club and on the other side you have some legal construction for the investor (Martin Kind), a billonaire who is bashing heads with the rest of the club for years now over all sorts of decisions. Bascially he wants more influence on the decisions but that's prevented by our 50+1 rule which prevents investors from taking over the whole club. The club itself already tried to get rid of the investor legally but got shut down by courts.

Allegedly the club side instructed Kind to vote against the new investor deal but it looks like that he voted yes. Nobody knows for sure bc the voting was held secretly but we know that 10 clubs voted against the deal and 9 clubs can be named (FC Cologne, FC Nuremberg, Hertha BSC and Union Berlin, St. Pauli, Düsseldorf, Magdeburg, Braunschweig and SC Freiburg). Two clubs didn't vote.

So a legal battle might ensue over if the vote of Hannover 96. Should their vote fall the whole deal falls apart.

 

[Hüftpriester]

Grazie, Giorgione. What a career.

Legend, King, Capitano

 

[DSP's Tax Lawyer]

Crazy scenes out of the Turkish top flight. The president of Ankaragucu absolutely decked a referee (with someone else going in for a boot to the head while he was down) after their opponents equalized in the 97th minute:
Ref Punch.webm

Also some photographer got an absolutely kino shot of it:
View attachment 5559469

All turkish games at every level are suspended indefinitely and the dude was arrested. Absolutely crazy. Turkish FA is probably going to rake this president over the fires until this situation never happens again

Brentford and Brighton are overwhelmed with injuries right now, so both are once again punching well above weight.

Brighton also have Europa League and are advancing to the next round. Brentford are this weird team that hit a few good games and miss a few but their place in the table, along with the likes of Fulham and Wolves, shows you how strong the teams at the top are as well as teams at the bottom. If they are safe by miles, teams at the bottom suck and if they are way off the top, then teams at the top are good. Read into that how you may.

Hammers seemingly are willing to let the league form slide in favour of Europa

6 points off the 5th Champions League spot

Chelsea shouldn't be fucking in this conversation.

Shouldn't but they are. Tied with Brentford on points and like 7 points back from Europe. Also their loss against Chelsea shouldn't be a shock. Without that 10 point deduction, Everton would be 4 points ahead of Chelsea

Grazie, Giorgione. What a career.
View attachment 5561143View attachment 5562138
Legend, King, Capitano

Safe retirement sweet prince. Legend of the game

 

[Neko GF]

Dortmund had the opportunity to do the funniest thing ever and send PSG down the Europa league and they blew it. They're actually useless.

 

[Onni Kalsarikännit]

Oh wow, fuck you Newcastle. You could have done something really funny tonight.

 

[Hüftpriester]

Safe retirement sweet prince. Legend of the game

I'm biased but for me he's the best central defender of his generation. He wasn't graceful like Maldini but he was just as effective.

 

[DSP's Tax Lawyer]

I'm biased but for me he's the best central defender of his generation. He wasn't graceful like Maldini but he was just as effective.

It was his partnership with Bonucci that was just unreal.



So after Columbus won the MLS cup, I look at Inter Miami and where they finished. They got 34 points from 34 games. And since the Messi effect really jumped Inter Miami up from how shit they were before, I kinda wondered if they would have survived relegation in certain leagues which made me come to a pretty solid way of measuring how strong each league is. You can do this as well to check my work, but going back for 5 seasons, if you got a point a game, would you get relegated or not? I think La Liga would have you relegated once, Italy would have you tied once with the relegation team, and France would have you tied once as well. England and Germany would have you survive every season. Pretty cool little way to add to the discussion of who has the best league

 

[DSP's Tax Lawyer]

Time to further analyze which league's are best by judging their performances in Europe

England (47)
UCL- 2 group winners. 4 total teams
Europa League- 3 group winners. 3 total teams
Conference League- 1 group winner. 1 total team

Spain (65)
UCL- 4 group winners. 5 total teams
Europa League- 1 group winner. 2 total teams
Conference League- No teams. (Osasuna pulled)

Germany (50)
UCL- 2 group winners, 1 runner up. 4 teams total
Europa League- 1 group winner, 1 runner up. 2 total teams
Europa Conference League- 1 runner up. 1 total team

Italy (46)
UCL- 3 runner ups, 1 Europa League drop. 4 total teams
Europa League- 1 group winner, 1 runner up. 2 total teams
Europa Conference League- 1 group winner. 1 total team

France (29)
UCL- 1 runner up, 1 Europa League drop. 2 total teams
Europa League- 3 runner up. 3 total teams.
Europa Conference League- 1 group winner. 1 total team.



I wouldn't rate any other nations in this for spots. Portugal, Denmark, and Holland are the only other 3 that could be considered but Braga and Benfica dropped to Europa League, Sporting runner up in their group and nobody else was involved. Dutch teams are extremely top heavy and with Ajax dropping out, I think there's only a runner up and a drop to Europa league for them. So these are realistically the 5 teams we can compare.

Ranking

5th- France (29)
Clearly the worst of the 5. They did do decently in the lower European competitions but only had 1 group winner and it was in the lowest competition. PSG are still dangerous in Champions League and are one of 3 teams you don't want to see in the round of 16. And Lens did allow for anyone to potentially win the Europa League by eliminating Sevilla.

4th- Italy (46)
I think Italy has sent their strongest into the competition but can't believe they didn't win a UCL group. Inter definitely had the best chance. Milan squeaking by and getting Europa League was impressive though, with that group. Napoli and Inter are 2 teams you don't want to see in the round of 16. Fiorentina winning Conference League and Roma not collapsing is impressive as well. Knock out rounds is where Italy shines.

3rd- England (47)
Brighton, Liverpool, West Ham, and Aston Villa did their jobs in the lower competitions with full points. Arsenal and City got through with flying colors and Newcastle had a combination of first time in Europe + group of death + screwed over in PSG game. But Manchester United really dropped the ball. That was a group that they easily could have gone through as runner ups. Making up the difference between 2nd and 3rd (according to DSP's Tax Lawyers official rankings).

2nd- Germany (50)
Their teams in lower competition did advance, although not in flying colors. But having 3 teams advancing in the UCL definitely puts them above the other leagues and solidly in second. Bayern dominating isn't a surprise, Leipzig getting second in their group is also expected, Union just shitting the bed was unfortunate, but the Dortmund winning their group was insanely shocking. I think most people thought, when the groups were drawn, were expecting Dortmund to finish 3rd or 4th.

1st- Spain (65)
Spain seem to be very top heavy but winning 4 groups in the Champions League and 1 in the Europa League is incredibly impressive. They didn't get a chance in the Conference League with Osasuna, and Betis losing the final 2 days to not advance in a group with Sparta Praha and Rangers was kind of shocking. However, Barcelona struggling but still winning their group with Porto and Shakhtar, Atletico holding off a Lazio side and an underrated Feyenoord, Real Sociedad winning a group with Inter and Benfica, and Real Madrid going perfect in a group with Braga and Napoli shows they are dangerous.


These rankings will probably change come the knockout stages but this is where everyone currently stands



Points
UCL Group Winner- 15
UCL Runner Up- 10
Europa League Drop- 5
Europa League Group Winner- 5
Europa League Group runner up- 4
Conference League Winner- 2
Conference League Runner up- 1

 

[East_Clintwood]

Man if I had a nickel for every time that Luton's Tom Lockyer collapsed on the pitch with heart issues I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot but it's weird it's happened twice. According to the club he was responsive inside the stadium after getting treatment, and he's now in hospital for further testing.

In less dire news man City are absolutely fucking choking right now, blowing a 2-0 lead to end up drawing with Crystal Palace. Just look at that recent form:

 

[DSP's Tax Lawyer]

Man if I had a nickel for every time that Luton's Tom Lockyer collapsed on the pitch with heart issues I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot but it's weird it's happened twice. According to the club he was responsive inside the stadium after getting treatment, and he's now in hospital for further testing.

He collapsed in the playoff finals this year as well. They can't really force him to retire so suggesting he retire during Luton's (probably) only season in the premier league is going to be tough


Everton have fully recovered their 10 point deduction after beating Burnley. If I were Leicester (more so than Leeds) I would be pissed. That point deduction could have been 2 points in the prior season and Everton would be in the Championship this season while Leicester have another season in the premier league with literally no competition for the relegation.

 

[Hüftpriester]

Victor Osihmen had one of the best assists of the season today. But during the celebration, someone accidently kicked him in the balls lol

 

[DSP's Tax Lawyer]

Draws for Europe

Champions League

Arsenal vs Porto
Barca vs Napoli
Real Sociedad vs PSG
Atletico vs Inter
Dortmund vs PSV
Munich vs Lazio
Man City vs Copenhagen
Real Madrid vs RB Leipzig


Europa League
Feyenoord vs Roma
AC Milan vs Rennes
Lens vs Freiburg
Young Boys vs Sporting
Benfica vs Toulouse
Braga vs Qarabag
Galatasaray vs Sparta Prague
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Marseille



Conference League
Sturm Graz vs Slovan Bratislava
Servette vs Ludogorets
USG vs Frankfurt
Betis vs Zagreb
Olympiacos vs Ferencvaros
Ajax vs Bodo/Glimt
Molde vs Legia Warsaw
Maccabi Haifa vs Gent

 

[Hüftpriester]

Next weekend Bologna will have a chance to pass Roma and enter the top 4. Thiago Motta is looking like a serious up and coming coach who could be on the move to a bigger club in short order.

Bologna were able to beat Roma and pass them in the table. They currently are 4th place in Serie A. They also eliminated Inter from the Coppa Italia today. Keep an eye on Motta this summer, what a manager.

 

[DSP's Tax Lawyer]

Bologna were able to beat Roma and pass them in the table. They currently are 4th place in Serie A. They also eliminated Inter from the Coppa Italia today. Keep an eye on Motta this summer, what a manager.

I wonder which club will try and snap him up. Do you think Juve would go for him?

 

[Onni Kalsarikännit]

Bundesliga had it's last matchday yesterday and today and is now going into a short winter break. For some weird reason they planned our season so that we didn't have a fully first half round bc the last matchday (the 17th match) will be the first matchday after this break.



As you can see we actually have a title race thanks to Leverkusen. 16 games unbeaten and they achieved even more: with all three competitions combined (BuLi, DFB cup and Europa League) they are now at 25 matches in a row without a loss and scored 81 goals overall.

Bayern has one match to catch up bc 2 weeks ago their match against Union got cancelled bc of massive snowfall in and around Munich. Here is a Bayern fun fact: Jamal Musiala made his 100th appearance for FC Bayern today. Never ever before played a 21 year old that many matches for FC Bayern.

Our current top 3 scorers are:
1. Harry Kane with 21 goals in 15 matches (plus 5 assists); if he keeps that pace he will obliterate Lewandowski's record of 41 goals.
2. Serhou Guirassy from VfB Stuttgart and with 17 goals; he was injured for a few weeks and came back not as strong as before but still very strong
3. Lois Openda from RB Leipzig with 11 goals; fuck RB Leipzig.

Heidenheim on rank 9 is playing their first ever BuLi season. They have one bearded guy who is a masterwizard in performing corner and free kicks which the Heidenheim players magically turn into goals. Nobody ever heard of him before and nobody knows from which dimension he came from.



The relegation battle will be either be very brutal or pretty soon be decided.

Darmstadt just doesn't have it to keep up with the rest of the league. They will 100% go down.
Mainz kicked they trainer Bo Svensson (who gave a very emotional good bye speech that literally teared up everybody) and are coached by an assistance coach at the moment. They are fighting fiercly but it never is enough.
Cologne (Köln) is fucked. 10 goals in 16 matches is really bad and they might not even get a new forward in the winter transfer window as they are facing a transfer ban (they are fighting it in the courts atm) and they are also completely broke.

If Union should start recovering and keep up with their perfomance (2 wins in the last 3 games, one loss) the last 3 teams are fucked.

Not in the screenshots are Wolfsburg (10th, 19 points) and Augsburg (11th, 18 points). Both teams struggle but Wolfsburg squad should be good enough to not get sucked into the relegation battle. Augsburg switched their coach a few weeks ago and are doing better since then.

 

[Hüftpriester]

I wonder which club will try and snap him up. Do you think Juve would go for him?

If Allah wills it, Juve will get rid of Allegri this summer and sign Motta. I could also see a premier league team bringing him in. Or maybe a club he has a history with like PSG or Barca (they look terrible this year under Xavi).