Topic: Soccer Discussion: 1.67% Chance of Being the Best Thread on the NWR Forums

[rygar]

Champions League draw days are almost as fun as the group games. It's a little early for predictions since form and fitness can take a real dip in two months, but there are some very intriguing ties on paper.

Arsenal-Bayern
Atleti-Leverkusen
Barca-PSG
Dortmund-Benfica
Juve-Porto
Leicester-Sevilla
Monaco-City
Napoli-Madrid

Poor Arsenal, but I'd rather be home on the second leg, and face Bayern over Barca, so they still made out better than the 2nd place team in their group. There was also a lot of talk if it was more advantageous for Madrid to come in second (it was), but at least Dortmund pulled a somewhat easier draw and gets the second leg at home (so received a benefit for winning its group). League fanboys/fangirls will be really interested to see how the defending Primer League champions match up against the 4th best team in La Liga. Their form against City on the weekend suggests they may be righting the ship a bit, but Sevilla has a rich European pedigree coming off three Europa League titles, and Spanish teams have largely feasted on the British in Europe.

[rygar]

It wasn't pretty, it wasn't a good advertisement for the league, but the Seattle Sounders won the only piece of domestic silverware they had yet to win. Stefan Frei unquestionably man of the match, with one of the best saves you'll ever see to keep it tied late in extra time. Here's to winning the treble next year, and CONCACAF Champions League in 2018.

EDIT: Seriously, watch this save: https://streamable.com/xa1k Not to mention Frei used to play for Toronto FC, before the front office gave up on him and traded him to us for almost nothing.

Congratulations.  I missed the game because I was away but that was a great save. I'm not sure I've ever seen a fadeaway rainbow header before, lol. 

Are you familiar with Club America (CONCACAF CL winner) at all? Madrid is playing them on Thursday in the FIFA Club World Cup.

[NWR_insanolord]

I'm quite familiar with them, one of tne of the teams Club America beat in the CONCACAF Champions League en route to winning it this year was the Sounders. They're very good, this was the second straight year they won that competition.

[rygar]

Do you remember their style?

[NWR_insanolord]

Not in any real detail. Our series was back in February, so I don't remember that much about it except a couple great goals scored by Clint Dempsey direct off free kicks. I'm guessing they'll probably play somewhat differently against Real Madrid than they did against us anyway.

[rygar]

Ha, I get what you are saying, in fact I was just hoping you weren't going to say they defended like monsters and had a blistering counter attack.

[NWR_insanolord]

No, that's not their usual play style. They're the best team in the region and they play like it, they're usually fairly aggressive, so when they play super defensive and counter against Real Madrid they won't have a ton of experience playing that way.

[rygar]

I forgot to mention yesterday that Madrid had two players from CONCACAF start on the weekend: Navas (Costa Rica) and up-and-coming Mariano (Dominican Republic).

[rygar]

http://www.espnfc.com/fifa-club-world-cup/story/3019342/video-assistant-referee-used-for-first-time-at-fifa-club-world-cup

Video replay was used for the first time in a FIFA sanctioned event.

[rygar]

Julian Green is moving from Bayern to Stuttgart in the January transfer window.

[NWR_insanolord]

It seems like a great move for him. He was never going to break into the lineup at Bayern, and he's now at the age where he needs to be getting real minutes for further development. I saw someone compare it to DeAndre Yedlin going to Newcastle: going to the second division to get significant playing time, but to a team that seems very likely to gain promotion to the top flight next year, with the hope of earning a spot there.

And speaking of Americans in Germany, how about this from Bobby Wood?

Comes off the bench to score his second goal in as many games for Hamburg, which turned out to be the game winner.

[rygar]

I mostly agree with the caveat that I'm a bit concerned at the age and inexperience of the manager. Maybe he turns out great but he is bound to have growing pains in his first job. Yedlin is very fortunate to have Benitez to help him develop.

Edit: very nice goal

[NWR_insanolord]

The Sounders trading for Harry Shipp is a move I love and never would have guessed they'd actually make. I've been a big fan of his since he was in Chicago, and saw him play in person there. He wasn't that effective in Montreal, but a lot of that seems to have been him not meshing well in their very counter-attack heavy system. In Seattle's more possession-based attack, with guys like Ozzie Alonso and Nicolas Lodeiro surrounding him, I think he has the potential to get back to the point where he's getting USMNT hype like he was a couple years ago.

[rygar]

Pulisic named to 2016 UEFA Champions League Breakout team.

[NWR_insanolord]

It's nice to see it's not just Americans onboard the Pulisic hype train.

[rygar]

I was already excited to see Toure in the lineup. That was a really cool move to give him the penalty kick.

[Soren]

Congrats to Swansea for hiring, then firing Bob Bradley without at least giving him a transfer window to work on the tire fire of a team they have otherwise known as Gylfi Sigurðsson and 10 other jamokes. I hope they end up somewhere in League 2 in a couple of years.

[NWR_insanolord]

Firing two coaches in less than half a season doesn't bode well for whoever comes in after him. It'll be interesting to see where Bradley ends up next. I'd expect LAFC to make him a big offer, but I don't know if he's going to want to come back here just yet.

[NWR_insanolord]

Rumor has it that Dortmund are interested in acquiring Arsenal and USMNT prospect Gedion Zelalem, which would further cement them as America's favorite Bundesliga club. They could theoretically play an all-U.S. midfield of him, Christian Pulisic, Junior Flores, and Joe Gyau, though the latter two are more likely on their way out.

[NWR_insanolord]

In 15 years the Chinese Super League is either going to be the best league in the world or the ultimate cautionary tale.

[Soren]

Unless they have plans on dumping the 5 foreign player per team limit (and only 4 max on the field at one time) it will probably be just another (more lucrative) retirement home.

[NWR_insanolord]

Will they still be bringing in the kind of money to keep doing that if the league doesn't make it big, though? They have all this money because of government subsidies, and I don't know how long they're going to keep that up without results.

[rygar]

Will they still be bringing in the kind of money to keep doing that if the league doesn't make it big, though? They have all this money because of government subsidies, and I don't know how long they're going to keep that up without results.

The league may ultimately be a bust as a sporting endeavor but I doubt that's the main attraction to the investors. They can make so much money in related side projects and prestige gains that will never end up on league books. I think they'll end up happy no matter what happens (and despite whatever is publicly said).

[rygar]

I personally don't think American football is viable long term because of the concussion problems. Unless Congress indemnifies the NCAA and high schools, they are going to have massive liability issues. This could have pretty big impact on international football, but maybe not in 15 years.

[rygar]

James Rodriguez is probably my favorite player in the world to watch. I want Madrid to keep him because of the ridiculous depth it gives them, but there isn't really a role for his skill set in the regular starting line up (unless Zidane wants to press the ball). I almost want him to go so I can watch him play more.