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[flyeed]

 

I meant as far as their relationships with their players go 

Never really remember them doing anyone dirty in recent memory or having players leave on bad terms.

Ummm, they did my man Abi wrong... They promised him an extension when he was diagnosed with cancer if he came back & then reneged. Then they promised him a real job after he retired but only offered something ceremonial which he declined.

Speaks to the level of class Abi is/has... He doesn't talk any trash about the club when he really could.

But they did him wrong.

OK nvm then 

Most players seem to be really happy with Barca though.

But yea this isn't FIFA manager mode where you can re-sign a veteran player on an expiring for a few months and then force him out of the club to get a fee. It would be a terrible look as far as player relations go.

 

[Kimchi Papi]

Also, a lot of people misinterpret the meaning of Mes que un club. This has nothing to do with morality. It's a celebration of the clubs rich Catalan heritage. It dates back to when Barca president Josep Sunyol was shot dead during the Spanish civil war in 1936 (I think that year) & Franco's efforts to destroy the Catalan cultural identity.

 

[rolaholic]

I can't even imagine this current Barca incarnation with possibly Pogba next year :x :x :x :x :x :x

 

[Kimchi Papi]

Under different circumstances, I would say Pogba wouldn't be coming to Camp Nou but given the election this summer, I think Bartomeu wants to increase the likelihood of his chances of winning. He's delivered an historic treble, if he gets Pogba to sign a pre agreement I would think he should win.

Laporta is as big as a snake in the grass that Rosell & Bartomeu is. It's just a matter of choosing who everyone thinks is the lesser of 2 evils.

Either way, I honestly think Enrique will be leaving. It was a big blow to him when his former team mate & good friend Zubi got fired. There were reports that Enrique felt like the rug was pulled out from under him when Zubi got fired & wasn't comfortable with the goings on of the club behind closed doors (which is one of the reasons Pep left).

The only chance that he stays is if he gets real assurances that he has the run of his team & absolute support from the president & the board.

Enrique is truly a maverick & doesn't give an eff... He's the Spanish Roy Keane really...

Edit - I was wrong, Enrique signed an extension through 2017-2018...

 

[Kimchi Papi]

Not that I'm the biggest DC United fan but posting because I know there's more than a few in there...

United's proposed drawing & a map location of the soon to be site. I hope the drawing is true to what will be built. It looks really nice & not too typical of stadiums.

View media item 1573788View media item 1573787

 

[d3si]

​ByMahmoud Jaber
9 Jun 2015

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has revealed that Petr Cech could leave to rivals Arsenal if owner Roman Abramovich sanctions the move, but that he'd demand players in return.

The veteran goalkeeper played second fiddle to Thibaut Courtois for most of the 2014/15 season and is hoping to secure a move to a top club where he can start.

Arsenal have been tipped as favorites to land the Czech shot stopper, although Mourinho would strongly prefer to sell Cech abroad rather than strengthen a direct rival.

"I believe they have a top manager," he said of Arsenal. "I'm not making fun here. They will be even harder to beat next season.

"Every club that is interested in Petr, there are players in their squad I am interested in too," said Mourinho, hinting that he'd favor a part exchange deal, with the Blues interested in Arsenal pair Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

When asked whether he'd allow Cech to join Arsenal, specifically, the Special One was vague about where the decision over his future rests.

"My answer would be no way, but if the owner has a different answer, I have to accept."

Cech has hinted that he'd like to stay in London once talks about his future have been held with the Chelsea brass next week.

Compatriot and potential Arsenal teammate, Tomas Rosicky also suggested at interest from both parties.

“I know about some things from both sides but I will not interfere,” Rosicky said. “It could even turn against me. Both sides know what they are doing. Arsenal is a top world team.

“Players want to be transferred there, that is nothing new, it is a fantastic club.”

Tony Leen ‏@tonyleen · 2h2 hours ago
Good old Jose: Mourinho warns clubs wanting to buy Petr Cech they may have to give up one of their own players to land the keeper. (1/2)

Tony Leen ‏@tonyleen · 2h2 hours ago
Mourinho: "Every club that is interested in Petr, I can find a player that I like in that team too,”

Tony Leen ‏@tonyleen · 2h2 hours ago
Mourinho on Cech: "I will have to accept decision of the owner. My answer would be, no way. If the answer is different I will accept that.”

 

[Coupé It]

Neymar's kid Whiter than Rakitic's girl....

Makes sense. I'm tellin ya'll, that's not a real person

 

[Kimchi Papi]

Whelp, I guess I was wrong. Enrique signed an extension through 2017.

New elections coming... :x

 

[d3si]

Congratulations to Enrique. What a fantastic manager. Only 45 years old.

By Peter Thompson

Jun 9, 2015 10:59:18 AM

Bach: FIFA faces 'painful' reform

International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach stressed that it is "absolutely necessary" for FIFA for undergo reform.

Thomas Bach warned FIFA must be braced for a similarly "painful experience" which the International Olympic Committee (IOC) also endured in order to reform.

IOC president Bach stated there is "no comparison" between the bribery scandal which left the football world governing body's reputation in tatters and the Salt Lake City corruption.

The IOC expelled members over the awarding of the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics in 2002 and Bach believes FIFA should learn the lessons his organization had to in order to rebuild its reputation.

"We can only encourage FIFA to continue their reforms, which have obviously been initiated. We cannot give advice of what to do in detail. But we appreciate that there is a readiness for reform now and for substantial reform," Bach said. "We also know from experience the other part of the job - it means putting everything on the desk which can be a painful experience, but it is absolutely necessary to do this, as we have seen from our own history."

"I am still convinced that only by doing this at the time that the IOC could restore its credibility," he added. "So this is our experience and we can only put this at the disposal of FIFA, while acknowledging the fact that the structure of FIFA is very different from the IOC and that the difference in scope is huge.

"There is almost no comparison with regard to what happened with Salt Lake City and what is now at stake at FIFA. This is, yeah, very hard to compare. Maybe only in principal, but not in scope."

Long-serving FIFA president Sepp Blatter last week announced his intention to resign after 14 people, including nine past and present FIFA officials, were indicted by United States authorities on charges of racketeering conspiracy and corruption.

 

[ronaldo nazario]

I hate when that happens, I've been checking the Barca store through their site which is linked to Nike.com & it hasn't been on there...

I guess it's only available via overseas online retailers.

Yeah I've gone through the same thing looking for special shirts like that. In most cases Soccer.com and WSS have ended up getting them in stock and other times not. $40 for a t-shirt is pushing it for me. Subsides US website is offering it as well. From past experiences the shipping is definitely cheaper that route but still your nearing $50 for it.

 

[Kimchi Papi]

Odegaard highlights vs Ibra's Sweden friendly yesterday which ended in a 0-0 draw.

Ibra's post game comments on the young fella...

It’s not easy to say, but he has a father that controls everything completely. First he must grow up and become a man and then get rid of his father.

He did well, played straightforwardly and didn’t lose many balls. He has a long time to get even better. It’s good that he’s already playing for his country.

Terrible Nivea ad featuring Gareth Bale, Isco, Marcelo, & Dani Carvajal.

 

[PRIME]

Not that I'm the biggest DC United fan but posting because I know there's more than a few in there...

United's proposed drawing & a map location of the soon to be site. I hope the drawing is true to what will be built. It looks really nice & not too typical of stadiums.

View media item 1573788View media item 1573787

it's going to be so lit.

Right across from the Nats stadium too

I'll be over there as much as possible.

 

[lovehateself]

dont remember if the new LA FC stadium drawings were posted, but here they are.

gonna be right next to the Coliseum, right in the middle of South Central ( on MLK blvd) 

2018 cant come soon enough

traffic in this area gets real bad too

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

http://prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com/...50-million-stadium-near-downtown-los-angeles/

 

 

 

[flyeed]

 

[rolaholic]

I wonder how much they paid a respectable actor such as Tim Roth to shill for Blatter and Fifa in that propaganda piece 

 

 

[Kimchi Papi]

New German national team logo incorporating their nickname.

View media item 1573953View media item 1573955

 

[Kimchi Papi]

If Prem teams don't do well in the CL and the EL in the next campaign, there is a danger it will lose it's forth CL spot for 16-17 campaign. Contrary to the belief of some in this thread, the coefficient has nothing to do with the success of 1 or 2 teams in the league but the league itself as a whole & how it performs not only in the CL but the EL too (during a 5 year period).

[COLOR=#red]Premier League could become victim of arrogance toward Europa League[/COLOR]

2014-15 was a disastrous campaign for English clubs in European competition. No Premier League side reached the quarterfinals of either the Champions League or the Europa League, which had a serious impact upon England's coefficient score. By this measure, England endured their worst European campaign in a decade.

UEFA's coefficient scores aren't the most romantic way to view European football, but they offer a fascinating insight into the strength of respective leagues, not to mention determining the allocation of European places for upcoming seasons. Currently, they don't make good reading for the Premier League.

As recently as 2012, the Premier League was considered the strongest division in Europe. Next season, the fight will be on to retain a top three place -- and therefore its fourth Champions League slot. If the worst happens, and that place is lost, there will be serious questions about the genuine quality of a league which markets itself as the best around.

The intricacies of the coefficient scores aren't fascinating, although it's simpler than often described. Individual teams are awarded two points for a victory and one for a draw (with half points at the qualification stage), and then receive bonus points for reaching various knockout stages of either European competition.

Each team receives a score -- used for seeding purposes -- and the league coefficient for each season is an average of every team from that league's score. England had seven teams in European competition this season, for example, so the coefficient ranking takes into account all seven -- from Chelsea to Hull.

Determining the league's overall score, meanwhile, is taken over a period of five years. This is why England should be fearful ahead of next season. It's not simply that 2014-15 was a bad campaign; it's that 2010-11 will no longer count, and that was England's strongest season over the past five years.

Meanwhile, Serie A is enjoying an unexpected resurgence. Having lost its position as the third-best league to the Bundesliga at the end of 2010-11, Serie A is keen to regain its fourth Champions League spot. They're essentially in the complete opposite situation to England -- 2014-15 was its best performance in a decade, and they'll be delighted to see a poor 2010-11 campaign wiped from the records.

Once 2010-11 no longer counts, England will start next season on 62.0 points, with Italy on 58.9. This 3.1 gap is relatively minimal. For context, Italy finished 5.4 points ahead of England this season alone, so a repeat performance from both countries next season will see the Premier League lose its fourth Champions League slot for 2017-18. The Bundesliga can't sit tight either, starting only 4.8 points ahead of Serie A, although it would take an alarming collapse for that margin to be overturned.

It's worth considering, though, that Italy outperforming England hadn't previously happened since 2005-06, and there's nothing to suggest 2014-15 is anything other than an anomaly at this stage. Nevertheless, the threat is real.

It's worth the Premier League considering quite why Serie A performed so well this season. Italy managed 19.0 points -- only 1.2 behind La Liga, which seems strange given Spanish clubs won both European competitions. Juventus' run to the Champions League final certainly helped, but the crucial thing to remember is that the country coefficient is an average of every team's performance.

Therefore, Italy's fine ranking was primarily because no individual team performed badly. Roma was the lowest scorer with 12.0 points, and even that was more than three Premier League sides -- Tottenham, Liverpool and Hull, the latter scoring just 2.5 points. Serie A's fine performance came as something of a surprise, considering Napoli lost in the Champions League qualifiers to Athletic Bilbao, and Roma had a disastrous Champions League group stage, winning just once.

Crucially, however, both clubs took the Europa League seriously when being demoted to Europe's secondary competition, and this is the major reason why Serie A has performed so well. It's something the Premier League could learn from, considering the attitude towards the Europa League in English football ranges from indifference to hatred.

It's questionable whether things will be better next season: Tottenham and Liverpool simply seem tired of the Europa League, Southampton might not have the resources to cope, while West Ham's performance - they've qualified through the fair play table -- is anyone's guess. A couple of early dropouts, and there will be real pressure upon the Champions League sides to perform, and maintain England's fourth spot in that competition.

This, of course, is the irony of the situation: Premier League clubs need to take the Europa League seriously to help maintain a Champions League slot. If not, then that Champions League place will instead become a Europa League place, and the consequence of ignoring the competition will be having to spend more time participating in it. The Premier League could, frankly, become a victim of its own arrogance.

Why, though, is there this kind of attitude towards the Europa League in England? Supporters dislike playing matches on Thursdays and then Sundays every other week, because the traditional Saturday kick-off remains sacred, but this shouldn't cause significant problems for the teams themselves. Matches are now routinely switched to Sundays anyway and players are accustomed to playing in midweek.

There is only one legitimate excuse for Premier League clubs, as the physicality of the division shouldn't be dismissed as an easy cliche. Combined with poor, boggy pitches and the lack of a winter break, the Premier League is simply a more draining division than other European leagues -- Serie A, in particular. Fewer days' rest before league matches is a significant disadvantage, and this becomes a regular problem if you're playing Europa League football. Preparation is also hampered by longer travelling times compared to clubs based in more central European countries.

But these problems must be ignored, and overcome ahead of next season. England needs a strong performance from each of its eight European performers -- for the good of the Premier League as a whole.

http://www.espnfc.com/blog/tactics-...ue-could-be-victim-of-europa-league-arrogance

 

[leavemeglazzies]

This is awesome, a meme from the last year or so:

A couple of days ago:

 

[Coupé It]

If Prem teams don't do well in the CL and the EL in the next campaign, there is a danger it will lose it's forth CL spot for 16-17 campaign. Contrary to the belief of some in this thread, the coefficient has nothing to do with the success of 1 or 2 teams in the league but the league itself as a whole & how it performs not only in the CL but the EL too (during a 5 year period).
http://www.espnfc.com/blog/tactics-...ue-could-be-victim-of-europa-league-arrogance

It should, quite honestly that 4th position is held way to sacred in the EPL. Couple years with no 4th place trophy would do the league some good.

 

[Kimchi Papi]

Mundo Deportivo is reporting that Barca has signed an extension with qatar airways on their shirt sponsorship for an additional 4 years running thru 2020. The deal is worth €60 mill a year a season.

Looks like Bart had a busy week...

http://www.mundodeportivo.com/futbo...0404715859/acuerdo-firme-con-qatar-hasta.html

 

[sfc415]

Non football related question for @Coupelt88 and all the other Portuguese living on the East Coast: do any of you take United Airlines to visit Portugal? It seems like that's one of the few airlines that flies out from NJ to Lisboa (I have to be in NJ for a business trip and am planning to fly out to for a friend's wedding right after). I'm scared of taking United because of all the horror stories about flight cancellations, old @#$ planes, lost luggage, etc

I usually avoid all these garbage American airline companies, but this is a last minute trip and United is $400 cheaper than any other option right now...If there's frequent delays and cancellations on the round trip to Portugal I'll have to suck it up and pay the extra $$$ because I HAVE to be back to work on time

 

[ROYGBiV]

Enrique a good manager? You guys must have forgot what he did at Roma. great players make the coach...

 

[rolaholic]

Agreed in this case. There's at least a handful of coaches that most likely could've won the treble with that Barca squad tbh . If he keeps up this success level for me season then I'll be impressed.

 

[Coupé It]

Non football related question for @Coupelt88 and all the other Portuguese living on the East Coast: do any of you take United Airlines to visit Portugal? It seems like that's one of the few airlines that flies out from NJ to Lisboa (I have to be in NJ for a business trip and am planning to fly out to for a friend's wedding right after). I'm scared of taking United because of all the horror stories about flight cancellations, old @#$ planes, lost luggage, etc

I usually avoid all these garbage American airline companies, but this is a last minute trip and United is $400 cheaper than any other option right now...If there's frequent delays and cancellations on the round trip to Portugal I'll have to suck it up and pay the extra $$$ because I HAVE to be back to work on time

Never take United, never have always have taken TAP airlines.

Take TAP.

 

[Kimchi Papi]

Enrique a good manager? You guys must have forgot what he did at Roma. great players make the coach...

Agreed in this case. There's at least a handful of coaches that most likely could've won the treble with that Barca squad tbh . If he keeps up this success level for me season then I'll be impressed.

I hate statements like this... It's the stupidest sentiment a sports fan can ever make...

Ask Shaq & Kobe what life was like before Phil came there or even Mike & Pip what Chicago was like before Phil got there.

Mike & Kobe have said Phil was an integral figure in winning their championships.

If that were true, then Tata should've won at least 1 trophy last campaign when he was at Barca.

By that logic Pellegrini should've won the Prem again given all the additions that were made to the team over the 2 transfer periods they had since winning the league in the prior campaign.

Talent will only take you so far. You need leadership & guidance to have the type of season that was just completed (& a little luck).

Players do make a difference but so does having a great coach/manager.