Futbol '22-'23

[Wombatz]

yeah i expected rüdiger to play and be sent off

[Wombatz]

so you're still pretending to harbor any hopes?

[surfer]

so you're still pretending to harbor any hopes?

Madrid's lack of ball pressure really has come back to bite them. But the moment I lost hope was when Vini Jr was through on goal seemingly and Kyle Walker had the pace to catch him and win the ball. If they cant counter especially along that flank I really dont see a way back for them.

[roger.haddad.]

What a game. This City side really is one of the best teams I've ever seen. Obviously that's painful for me to say since they've been the villain in the story of my Reds during our golden run but there are times where I just have to enjoy the beautiful game. This was one of those times. I don't think any team was going to beat them today.

I love a good plot twist so I'll hold out hope for Dzeko getting a hat trick in the final

[Wombatz]

ah, that's brilliant. first win ever at bayern to secure 3rd place for rats and decide the liga against bayern ... maybe tüchel can come to spurs after all? and the cup final still to come! who would of thunk, the way the season started

[roger.haddad.]

ah, that's brilliant. first win ever at bayern to secure 3rd place for rats and decide the liga against bayern ... maybe tüchel can come to spurs after all? and the cup final still to come! who would of thunk, the way the season started

Any time Bayern suffers it's indeed a good day. CongRATS to the rats for getting it done.

[Wombatz]

of course dortmund fans are the worst anti-rat sycophants and threw rocks at traveling rat family fans (including classmates of my son) because only a good hooligan fanbase makes a proper football club, so fuck them too

[roger.haddad.]

Ok yeah fuck them too. I started chiming in to the Leverkusen games since I'm a Xabi Alonso stan but otherwise I have no allegiances in Bundesliga. Someone I know played at FC St. Pauli for a couple of years so if they ever go up again maybe I'd cheer them on as well.

[surfer]

ah, that's brilliant. first win ever at bayern to secure 3rd place for rats and decide the liga against bayern ... maybe tüchel can come to spurs after all? and the cup final still to come! who would of thunk, the way the season started

Congrats Lutz. I saw they won, but didnt watch. I'm always interested in hearing about how Gvardiol is doing. but I do not believe Tüchel will be coming to Spurs, looks more and more like Arne Slot.

Wish I has something clever or insightful to say about City and Pep. I do share the same feelings as Roger that this is one of the best teams: best collection of players designed for a singular purpose, and coached by someone with crystal clear vision, great man management (they got rid of Cancelo, Sterling, and so many players other teams would have hung onto long past their usefulness), pretty good tactical acumen, and unlimited backing. Of course it leaves me cold, it leaves everyone cold; you can appreciate the aesthetics of it without passion. Like listening to a computer play a Rachmaninov piano concerto. It seems too easy, especially now that they've fully incorporated Haaland into the attack. If they run out of ideas around the opposition box, whereas in years past with the strikerless setup, they had to chess play their way in, now they just float it into Erling and he can outjump everyone. Or play it long over the top. They have all the options now.

That said, Inter are going to park the bus and do them in the Final.

[roger.haddad.]

...Of course it leaves me cold, it leaves everyone cold; you can appreciate the aesthetics of it without passion. Like listening to a computer play a Rachmaninov piano concerto. It seems too easy...

^This is definitely something I think about a lot with this team.

I contrast that with some of Mou's teams that win cup titles and the whole city is behind them and they celebrate like it's the end of the world. Even this Roma team, winning a new, 3rd tier European trophy lit the whole of Rome up. Maybe when you become a serial winner like Pep it's hard to replicate that sort of excitement. And yeah, w the resources they have at City, maybe it's hard to take the moments in when they're the only logical conclusion you can expect.

It's also always funny to me that PL fans will shit on other leagues ("farmer's league," "2 horse race" kind of shit) when City has basically become the Juve/PSG of England. Lyon in France before that. The only blip on the radar has been Leicester in 2016. Everything else is the usual stuff. Liverpool sure they hadn't won it in 30 years but they were a "top 4" team so idk. Obviously it meant a lot to me but I can appreciate that it wouldn't make the case for there being healthy competition in the league overall.

[Wombatz]

I'm always interested in hearing about how Gvardiol is doing

didn't have a good game, lost most one-on-ones, sloppy positioning, some nice work carrying the ball forward. (he's seldom as eye-catching as in the national team, probably his individual instincts are better than his tactical acumen.) the worrying thing is that laimer was the best player again and he'll leave along with nkunku, without whom the attack doesn't gel, plus probably a couple of others, so they'll have to start all over again, and even boss mintzlaff is gone now to head the complete lemonade state, again a huge part of the knowhow ... at least i have more trust in marco rose than i had a couple of months ago, not just because of the results, but he seems a good guy (much needed after the toxic nagelsmann) ... still, after a decade of basically no misstep that couldn't be immediately rectified, the situation appears more fragile each year.

nagelsmann back in position for the spurs job, supposedly in tandem with eintracht sporting director krösche who'd been fired by rats for lack of international connections ... please no ...

[surfer]

nagelsmann back in position for the spurs job, supposedly in tandem with eintracht sporting director krösche who'd been fired by rats for lack of international connections ... please no ...

What really?!?!? Source? edit: its being reported softly but its hard to tell how much is fire, how much is just football rumor echo chamber, and how much is Levy using this as a negotiating tactic against Feyenoord. I think its probably mostly the later

[Wombatz]

re city, the interesting question now is: from his time at bayern, i always thought pep was an utter cynic, or whatever the greek word is for someone who believes that everybody else is so stupid that bullshitting them becomes a moral duty ... but things like that spiel about de zerbi having changed football forever make me wonder if maybe he's seriously mad the way kings used to be.

[surfer]

I think its both. I think deep down he is a cynic, and really only concerned with being the most silver-laden coach in European football, total control and perfectionism in a monomaniacal package. Monomaniacs egotists arent overly concerned with morally dubious or ethically odious owners. I think this is undebatable.

People who have existed in this odorless bubble of perfectly manicured grass and geometric cones where their every wish and desire is fulfilled by obedient players and depthless funders must suffer from a degree of delusion and displacement from reality. Without any sort of accountability or grounding undoubtedly he's going to be a "bit mad".

Guardiola's comments about Di Zerbi: there is a way you can overpraise in a clearly exaggerated manner someone lower down the food chain from you, a) because they're not really a threat to your team and b) it actually draws attention to your own accomplishments and "genius". Its a sort of humble brag: "Please, let's not discuss my team's impending treble, the real accomplishment is what Di Zerbi has accomplished at Brighton. Not me, he's the most influential coach of the last 20 years" It just ends up drawing attention back to himself rather than the anodyne non-statemens most coaches trot out on the eve of a Cup final.

By the way, Pep said similar statements about Big Sam recently

[Wombatz]

otoh, german press and pundits can't deal with tüchel at all because he's too honest ... after the game he said he himself obviously had no clue why bayern collapsed against leipzig because else he'd already have implemented the solution and he'd have to dissect all the processes first because this made no sense ... so talk is of his helplessness because, quote some former bayern player turned pundit, he can think that but he cannot say it, plus he should protect the team (whatever that means, he did not lean into any players). press conferences are seen as awkward ... he does come across a little more cuttingly raw in the original german, but really it's like the bullshitting and stock phrases were a sign of superior management. since this whole feedback loop of peer commentary is super important at bayern he might quickly be gone after a shaky start to the next season. in time to replace brendan rogers at spurs?

[roger.haddad.]

Dortmund doing their best Liverpool impression today. Bummer.

[Wombatz]

sorry i thought that was pretty funny too. haller missing the penalty was so rough, the last guy you want to miss ... and bayern firing their board room before the game to make sure there won't be any undue celebrations ... bundesliga should have just canceled the season in overtime.

[roger.haddad.]

Yeah Bundesliga bringing the goods at the end of the season lol.

Poch at Chelsea. We'll see if he lasts.