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[Kimchi Papi]

**** bale hasn't even learned Spanish yet...wtf

In the latest issue of FourFourTwo, there is a feature on Bale & it talks about he & his childhood friend whose is his PA take Spanish lessons 3 times a week. I think he should stick it out. He's having an off back end of the campaign. He'll be fine.

 

[omariwestafari]

Wambach doesnt like it

I feel like its unfair

 

[Beans]

If my baes Sydney Leroux and Alex Morgan don't mind, I don't mind either

Foreal tho, outside of the USA Women, you guys do any homework on any other countries that have some lookers? I hear the Scandinavian countries got some cuties. I'm not a NT thick guy so my standards are normal

France

 

[Beans]

Rumors circulating about Sterling leaving 'pool... so much so that Carragher went off on him last night on MNF...

 

[Sinner]

 Of course Jose didn't think it was a red.

 

 

[8pm at msg]

Seems like everyone is turning on Raheem now....

Seems somewhat unfair to me.

 

[Thierry Henry]

If my baes Sydney Leroux and Alex Morgan don't mind, I don't mind either

Foreal tho, outside of the USA Women, you guys do any homework on any other countries that have some lookers? I hear the Scandinavian countries got some cuties. I'm not a NT thick guy so my standards are normal

Brazil

 

[blackmomo]

Carragher is a complete nob though. Him and Scholes seem to be two of the most salty pundits in England.

 

[sonoftony]

Glad to see La Liga Dominicana de Futbol start their inaugural season

For now they starting with 10 teams but I can't wait to see watch this league grow from here on out.

http://ldf.com.do/

 

[Thierry Henry]

Glad to see La Liga Dominicana de Futbol start their inaugural season

For now they starting with 10 teams but I can't wait to see watch this league grow from here on out.

http://ldf.com.do/

I've been telling fools we not only play baseball.

 

[User 37837]

Seems very unfair how pool handled the Sterling situation

 

[Sinner]

What's the deal though?  Have 'Pool offered him a good deal and is it a case of him just dragging his heels on it?  Maybe the fans are just sick of it... either commit or move along...?  One thing's for sure, the longer this goes on the more the animosity will grow. 

 

[Kimchi Papi]

Raheem doesn't owe Liverpool anything either. He owes it to himself to make as much money as he can & go to a club that gives him the best chance at winning & becoming a better player. With apologies to @TomDiginson, that ain't happening at Liverpool.

The transfer committee has totally bungled that team & there's seems to be a malaise in the psyche of the players too. The players just don't know how to collectively pull together to win.

I'm not sure Rodgers is culpable for it either.

 

[sonoftony]

Glad to see La Liga Dominicana de Futbol start their inaugural season

For now they starting with 10 teams but I can't wait to see watch this league grow from here on out.

http://ldf.com.do/

I've been telling fools we not only play baseball.

They gonna learn

I cant wait for us to be as dominant in footy as we are in baseball. It'll take a decade or two ot three but I see it happening

 

[d3si]

Cesc will be banned for three games :x

The Chelsea boss was enraged at the prospect of his star serving a three-match ban following the Spaniard's sending off against West Brom.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was left fuming at the prosect of losing Cesc Fabregas for the beginning of next season following his dismissal in a 3-0 Premier League defeat at West Brom on Monday.

With the home side 1-0 up, Spain midfielder Fabregas was shown a straight red card by referee Mike Jones after firing the ball into a crowd of players during a break in play, striking Chris Brunt on the head.

Fabregas is now facing a three-match ban, ruling him out of the opening fixtures of next season.

"Three-game bans for this? Jesus Christ," raged Mourinho. "Three-game bans for this? Okay.

"Of course it's harsh. If we get three games with this... Imagine ... Jesus."

Champion Chelsea ends the season with a home clash against Sunderland on Sunday.

 

[Kimchi Papi]

Jose might be facing a ban too if those reactionary comments are indeed his.

Scumbag terry should've gotten a red for this foul yesterday too.

 

[8pm at msg]

Funny thing is there seems to be no hesitation to label Sterling as selfish, overrated, or he should be grateful that Rogers and Liverpool are giving him an opportunity.

 

[Kimchi Papi]

Platini & uefa are about to relax FFP rules that will allow rich owners invest more money into their clubs & treat it as "income in" that will allow them to spend more freely in the transfer market than current rules permit. Should be an interesting summer transfer window.

Barca are out of it of course unless they can get someone to agree to come in January.

 

[Kimchi Papi]

I've long said there was a malaise that fell over Barca starting with Pep's last year. Their play on the pitch looked like they didn't train very hard. I especially suspected this during Tata's time as manager.

Messi didn't even look all that in shape either until this year. He looks a lot more slim & trim than he ever has. He's also stopped eating pizza as his pregame meal...

No wonder he threw up pregame...

Looks like with Enrique's arrival, physical fitness is a top priority again.

[COLOR=#red]Barcelona success in La Liga down to secret hero Rafel Pol[/COLOR]

Comparing Barcelona's squad from the 1-0 win that clinched the league title on May 17 to the list of names from their fatal 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid on the same date last year tells a story.

On the day that the Catalans conceded the 2013-14 La Liga title, their first-choice keeper Victor Valdes wasn't even in the country, opting to travel to Germany to carry out his recovery from a cruciate ligament injury that ended his season in March.

Jordi Alba managed to make the bench but didn't play, having injured his right biceps in the 2013-14 Copa del Rey final against Real Madrid and a similar knock from the cup meant Neymar was also unable to start the league decider.

Gerard Pique was given the all-clear to play Atletico but only at the last minute after battling a hip injury dating back to a previous encounter with the same side in the Champions League.

Only one regular player was missing from Barcelona's La Liga-winning starting lineup last weekend and the decision not to risk aggravating Luis Suarez's hamstring was an easy one to make, given two cup finals are still on the horizon.

The Uruguayan's minor problem aside, Luis Enrique's squad is in impeccable condition at the most crucial moment. Mentally fresh, inspired and operating at twice the pace of most of their rivals, if they lose out on the treble it certainly won't be due to a lack of fitness.

The contrast between Barca's current shape and their exhaustion from this time last year couldn't be more apparent, and one brilliant young man is credited with the change.

Physical coach Rafel Pol came to the Camp Nou with Luis Enrique after working under him at both Celta Vigo and Roma. The Mallorcan has an enviable curriculum, boasting an undergraduate in physical sciences from the University of Barcelona, masters in injury prevention in sport from the University of Castilla-la Mancha and professorship in physical preparation from the Real Federación Española de Fútbol.

Pol is also a genuine polymath, capable of turning his hand to multiple disciplines. He has written and lectured on his methods, holds a UEFA B coaching license and runs a publishing company with fellow Barcelona staff member Robert Moreno.

His 2011 book "La Preparación ¿Física? en el fútbol" was produced when he was still a relative novice but left enough of an impression on a prestigious figure he now works with to convince him to write the foreword.

That figure is Paco Seirul·lo, the head honcho of FC Barcelona's physical department, who has been at the club so long he worked with a gangly, 15-year-old Pep Guardiola when he was a player before forming part of the Catalan's coaching staff 23 years later.

Lauded by Guardiola, Seirul·lo's motto is that a good physical coach makes his players fall in love with training. His younger colleague appears to have achieved that over the past 12 months.

The only explanation for Barcelona's raw power at this stage of the year is that they have trained well throughout the season. For a while, that wasn't necessarily the case. Under Gerardo Martino, there was a divide between what the footballers expected from their daily sessions and what their coaches expected from them.

Around this time last year, El Pais journalist Lu Martin published an article that revealed much of where Barca broke down in 2013-14. Players complained that the methods of Martino's physical coach Elvio Paolorosso were old-fashioned and significantly beneath the level of sophistication and tempo they were accustomed to.

After a few particularly lax small-sided games, one veteran decided to speak up. "At this level of intensity we're going nowhere. Can't you see that this is embarrassing?" he asked.

Perhaps the most damning claim from that expose was that the data provided by Barcelona's physical coaches was often ignored, a stark contrast to Luis Enrique, who works extensively with Pol on information gathered from GPS-ready vests players wear in training.

Having the right tools doesn't necessarily mean the right results of course and that's where Pol's creative talent comes in. While Paolorosso's exercises led to bored and disenfranchised players, his successor has succeeded in engaging them mentally, in part by placing focus on the one item every Barca footballer wants to have as often as possible: the ball.

Nolito, one of the players Pol worked with at Celta Vigo, once noted that he had never met a physical coach who opted to use the ball as often.

At a club where that same small sphere holds an almost spiritual significance, his ideas fit like a glove. The shared ideology is no surprise considering where the Mallorcan served his apprenticeship before turning professional.

Pol's practical experience began with FC Levante Las Planas, an amateur side whose ground lies in the shadow of Barca's huge sporting complex in Sant Joan Despi, western Barcelona. A match report written by him on a game contested at the Blaugrana's training ground can still be found online.

The facility he now works at is one he is well acquainted with, even if the standard of players has changed quite dramatically.

The desire to write as well as train has never left the 28-year-old, whose second book is currently in production and will be released when he leaves Barcelona. If this season's treble aspirations are anything to go by, Pol won't be short of material to work with. His own work with the Barca players has helped to get them this far in the first place.

http://www.espnfc.us/club/barcelona/83/blog/post/2457210/meet-the-secret-hero-behind-barca-glory

 

[flyeed]

Maybe has to do with Enrique being a fitness/running nut himself?Thought Carragher "calling out" a 20 year old on "disappearing" in big matches his whole team was ghost in was lolz.

 

[jking0821]

Maybe has to do with Enrique being a fitness/running nut himself? Thought Carragher "calling out" a 20 year old on "disappearing" in big matches his whole team was ghost in was lolz.

God this so much this!

Kid is 20 years old imagine what you were doing at 20 and then look at Sterling. Give the kid some time.

 

[Kimchi Papi]

I think it has everything to so with Enrique being a fitness nut. He looks like he could outrun anyone on the squad still.

Twitter starting to chime in the Sterling exit talk... Like Ings is going to make that much of a difference though...

View media item 1540234

 

[rolaholic]

Jamie Carragher is such an *** clown :x

 

[Kimchi Papi]

Stevie G always came across like a daft pr*ck too... He refused to sign an LA Galaxy shirt at his last game at Anfield...

 

[rolaholic]

That doesn't surprise me one bit tbh,good 'ol Stevie Gerrard 

.

There's word that PSG are planning on going full on Galactico mode this summer by trying to swoop in on ADM,Pogba AND Leo 

. They're mighty ambitious but I doubt Messi ever leaves the Nou Camp.

*Found some recent Momani cartoons