football thread No11

[Takhisis]

FFS! Curse Argentinian reporting! Checking the map it is obvious once I found out it was at Cosmos.

 

[Grendeldef]

Football is much more exciting these days than it was when I was a kid - apart from the actual games.

Meanwhile RIP Bobby Charlton - his death was mentioned on the news even here.

 

[Grendeldef]

Klaksvik ftw.
I'll be soon buying their jersey if those are sold somewhere. Not the greatest of European cups but still their continuous performance is impressive and clear 3-0 win today. They deserve the support just for kicks.

 

[Takhisis]

Saudi Arabia set to host 2034 World Cup as Australia withdraws interest​

Selected quote:

“Well if sportswashing is going to increase my GDP by one percent, then I will continue doing sportswashing,” MBS said in an interview with Fox News which aired on September 23.​

So it's done.

2022 In Qatar (Asia), then 2026 in North America (Mexico-Canada-USA), then 2030 in Europamericafrica (Spain-Portugal-Morocco+3 games in Uruguay, Brazil Paraguay and Argentina), and 2034… again in Asia? Truly these devious minds are brilliant.

 

[JohannaK]

Terrible

 

[Takhisis]

It appears that half of Buenos Aires has decided to up and move to Rio de Janeiro for tomorrow. And then in a few weeks Argentina's supposed to be playing away at Brazil.

What could possibly go right?

 

[Takhisis]

Good Lord! Fluminense has managed to win a continental title. They nearly managed to bottle it against one of the worst finalists in history, a Boca Juniors team which never won a single knockout match. All it took was to appoint Fluminense's home ground as the neutral venue. The Brazilian police contributed its usual stick-on-the-head-first hospitality. Well…

 

[Takhisis]

Well, last night Argentina managed to win the Little People's Football World Cup™, in the final match of which Paraguay abandoned the match and refused to return to the pitch even when offered a replay with different referees, claiming that the referee was cheating against them. Paraguay's complaint was not about their favoured kick-'em-off-the-park but about how many fouls were counted against them to award Argentina penalties. Some of the other teams (reporting is contradictory) backed them in their decision but eventually Argentina was awarded the title by walkover.

Not to be outdone, the big boys at Cruzeiro-Curitiba decided to have a conflagration of their own. Having Cruzeiro, Vasco, Santos and Corinthians all scrabbling for relegation is certainly interesting.

 

[Caesar of Bread]

I suggest renaming this to “soccer”

 

[AdrienIer]

No

 

[Takhisis]

*Bangs gavel on Caesar of Bread's head*

Motion dismissed with prejudice.

 

[Grendeldef]

I suggest renaming this to “soccer”

This is as good of an idea as Trump's suggestions to cure covid by internal light & bleach but meanwhile in the Europeland two top level teams of the Engs had a marvellously entertaining game of football - the object of players' attention is called 'a ball' due to it's shape and it's mainly moved around by bodypart called 'a foot' so the name of the game is somewhat self-explanatory; to most of us. Obviously the teams are not owned by the Engs nor were most the players Engs either but things happen.
I can understand the Chelski's no retreat, no surrender attitude as nothing much has worked on this season but Pep must have been drunk or lost a heavy bet beforehands to go along with that. Nevertheless, public appreciated the best game of the season by entertainment value.

 

[Takhisis]

Colombia 2 - 1 Brazil
Argentina 0 - 2 Uruguay
Bolivia 2 - 0 Peru
Chile 0 - 0 Paraguay
Venezuela 0 - 0 Ecuador

Several streaks broken!
Argentina concedes its first goals this qualifying cycle, suffers its first defeat at home to Uruguay in any qualifiers ever, and its first defeat as reigning champions.*
Uruguay takes second place!
Bolivia earns its first points at all this qualifying cycle. Peru sinks.
Brazil are fifth! Colombia has won its first qualifier victory against Brazil ever.


7 goals in 5 matches.
Current standings and points:

Argentina 12
Uruguay 10
Colombia 9
Venezuela 8
Brazil 7
Ecuador 5*
-----
Paraguay 5
-----
Chile 5
Bolivia 3
Peru 1

Next week: Brazil host Argentina, for greater morbidity.


*it cannot have helped that Argentina's politics interfered to 1) change the venue of the match from where they'd won their previous two home matchs and France) continuously pressure the players and coaching staff to support the incumbent in next Sunday's presidential election, but the merit is still Uruguay's for completely outplaying Argentina.

 

[Takhisis]

Neverton handed a 10-point penalty for financial imbecility! Oh dear.

 

[Bonyduck Campersang]

Azerbaijan 3 Sweden 0, despite Azerbaijan losing a man to a red card around 60 minutes in

 

[Takhisis]

Next week: Brazil host Argentina, for greater morbidity.

So here we go again! Last night we were forced to witness the umpteenth exhibition of police brutality with Brazil giving its accustomed unhospitality to away fans.
Apparently fighting started with Brazilian fans booing Argentina's national anthem and so Brazil's police started with their tried-and-trusted tactic of taking sides and beating one side up while protecting the other and giving it a free hand in tearing up stadium seats to throw at the other.
Brazil's police is in the habit of thrashing people up for the sake of it, but specifically in the case of Argentinian fans there's a history of this kind of thing stretching back for several decades. And the ‘security’ organised was just a line of people separating two crowds known to already be resentful. The experience of the Libertadores cup final less than a fortnight ago should've been an indicator that things were not right: Brazilian fans attacking Argentinians (the fans, always, and sometimes the players themselves too) in conjunction with the police had already been notorious and evident. Both in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.
In any event, first Messi, Martínez & Co. decided not to ignore what was going on, approached their fans' end of the field, appraise themselves of the situation, and walked off the field. Then, after some talks, the game was played anyway (starting half an hour late) and Brazil played at more or less nothing and ended up losing their first-ever defeat in a WC qualifier game. Also it's three defeats in a row for Brazil and four games without winning.

I'm not sure what's wrong with Brazil. Obviously losing Neymar was a blow, but the draw against Venezuela came before that injury and it's not as if they were a mere Neymar +10 team, they have good talents there.
Also, it's two out of two games between Brazil and Argentina in Brazil following the Copa América final in 2021 where there is heavy stuff going on. Brazil isn't in trouble just at player level, and had the number of slots not been stupidly increased they wouldn't be qualifying even for the inter-federation play-offs. :/

*it cannot have helped that Argentina's politics interfered to (…) France) continuously pressure the players and coaching staff to support the incumbent in next Sunday's presidential election

Indeed, last Sunday we did have an election and the now-defeated madman Sergio Massa spent a lot of time trying to force the players and coaching staff into publicly backing him, which they successfully resisted. Then, after the match, Lionel Scaloni announced late last night that he is not sure whether he'll be staying on as head coach.


Anyway, other matches.
Uruguay's triumphant streak continues with a 3-0 rout of a dismal Bolivia. Colombia grabs a one-penalty win away in Asunción to continue an unbeaten run. Ecuador edges ahead from Chile. Peru manages to again not-win against Venezuela.

Uruguay 3 - 0 Bolivia
Paraguay 0 - 1 Colombia
Ecuador 1 - 0 Chile
Brazil 0 - 1 Argentina
Peru 1 - 1 Venezuela

Current standings
1. Argentina 15 (+6)
2. Uruguay 13 (+8)
3. Colombia 12 (+3)
4. Venezuela 9 (+3)
5. Ecuador 8 (+2) [-3]
6. Brazil 7 (+1)
-------------
7. Paraguay 5 (-2)
-------------
8. Chile 5 (-4)
9. Bolivia 3 (-10)
10. Peru 2 (-7)

 

[Bonyduck Campersang]

My country's team has lost both their World Cup qualifying games this round so far, but I'm just glad they're playing at all!

 

[Grendeldef]

Yesterday the only local Euro game had to paused in Helsinki so the pitch could be plowed sort of clean as there was some decent snowing throughout the game mean while in Turku warming cables/pipes (I have actually no idea which the heating is done) seemed to be in better order as the (artificial) grass was green and lines visible in the women's Nation's League game. The Rumanians still didn't seem to appreciate football as a winter sport in these condition.

Locally, though, the most interesting & anticipated thing in relation to football was the several times postponed Viaplay Q3 commercial report publication as it holds the right for EPL, FA Cup, Bundesliga.. etc in Finland and due to ever rising price & crappier service people are hoping & waiting for the company to go belly up so the football rights can be auctioned to someone slightly less awful distributor.

 

[Takhisis]

Botafogo… Fogão? Foguinho?

@FredLC we need your professional opinion on developments in the Brasileirão this year.

 

[W|M]

summarizes it pretty well already