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[mastamind89]

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

The UEFA Elite Club Coaches Forum is a yearly event where UEFA and Europe's top club coaches come together to discuss the state of the game on this continent. List of attendees from yesterday's event:
Arsène Wenger (Arsenal FC)
Luis Enrique (FC Barcelona)
Josep Guardiola (FC Bayern München)
José Mourinho (Chelsea FC)
Jürgen Klopp (Borussia Dortmund)
Roger Schmidt (Bayer 04 Leverkusen)
Manuel Pellegrini (Manchester City FC)
Filippo Inzaghi (AC Milan)
Míchel (Olympiacos FC)
Carlo Ancelotti (Real Madrid CF)
Laurent Blanc (Paris Saint-Germain)
Jens Keller (FC Schalke 04)
André Villas-Boas (FC Zenit)
Jorge Jesus (SL Benfica)
Massimiliano Allegri (Juventus)
Mircea Lucescu (FC Shakhtar Donetsk)
Unai Emery (Sevilla FC)
Nuno Espírito Santo (Valencia CF)
Rafael Benítez (SSC Napoli)
UEFA press release about the discussions from the day - http://www.uefa.com/news/newsid=586073.html

 

[herbshuttles15]

In all seriousness is the MLS a good watch?

 

[mastamind89]

September 3, 2014 | 0 Comments
Bundesliga Fanatic Exclusive: Exciting News for American Fans of the Bundesliga
by Gerry Wittmann



287


At last, at last, the 2014/2015 Bundesliga season is underway !!! What we fans all over the world have been waiting for — actual matches from the most interesting and fan-friendly football league in the world, with new additions like Xabi Alonso and old friends such as Shinji Kagawa returning to the league.

Alas, for most American fans, the joy of a new Bundesliga season following this summer’s display of German footballing excellence at the World Cup is tempered by the fact that the Bundesliga’s licensed TV provider in the U.S.. GolTV, has become over the last few years unavailable to many, many Bundesliga fans across the massive nation. GolTV has lost its berth on the major satellite networks, DirecTV and DISH network, along with many regional cable TV providers. Frequently, Bundesliga fans have had to resort to illegal, unreliable live streams or just suffer to feed their hunger for live Bundesliga matches week after week over the last few years.

BUT NO MORE !!!

Beginning September 1st, a new licensing agreement between GolTV and KlowdTv of Alexandria, Virginia went into effect that allows live- streaming of all GolTV programming, in English and Spanish, to desktop and mobile devices. KlowdTV will also have native Chromecast and AppleTV integration to allow you to watch Bundesliga on your TV with a simple click of a button!. What this means for American-based fans of the Bundesliga is that they will be able once again to view live, legally licensed GolTV content (along with that of other networks) and get their fix of Bayern, Borussia Dortmund, Schalke, Hamburg and the other Bundesliga clubs each matchday in HD quality for a cost similar to a Netflix subscription. Also included in that price is top-level live MMA, sports news, and adventure sports.

Bill O’Hara, Chief Executive Officer, stated

We are extremely excited to bring Bundesliga action back to the devoted fans in the United States, especially in HD quality. We are happy and grateful that the Bundesliga Fanatic, the established English language voice of German football, is helping to raise awareness of the KlowdTV programming lineup.”

On MatchDay One, GolTV broadcast live Friday’s Bayern-Wolfsburg match, Saturday’s Schalke-Hannover and BvB-Baeyr Leverkusen matches, and Sunday’s doubleheader featuring Paderborn-Mainz and Gladbach-Stuttgart. Additionally, GolTV replays these matchups during the week, along with a Bundesliga preview show and the Hallo Bundesliga production. There is also a great deal of other quality football available only on GolTV in the U.S. Scrolling through the network’s programming schedule over the next weeks, GolTV provided feature matches from the top domestic leagues of Portugal, Brazil, Argentina, the Netherlands and Uruguay, along with weekly games from Mexico’s Liga Asensco.

For many of us, the opportunity to watch live, licensed Bundesliga action each weekend on our PCs or on the go for a reasonable price is manna from heaven.

Check out the klowdtv site for more details. Happy days are here again. Enjoy.

- See more at: http://bundesligafanatic.com/bundes...xciting-television-news/#sthash.o59dbXnR.dpuf

 

[dlo13]

In all seriousness is the MLS a good watch?

Nothing else on.

 

[herbshuttles15]

In all seriousness is the MLS a good watch?

Nothing else on.

Yep,these commentators don't help at all either, there's something that doesn't work with an american accent and futbol imo.

 

[rck3sactown]

In all seriousness is the MLS a good watch?

ehhh like 1 in 5 matches yes, helps if you have a team to root for.

NYRB would be fun to keep up with I bet.

I try to catch a bit of whatever game is on ESPN and NBCSN whenever possible, since they only get like 1 or 2 games on a week so its easy watching...

Also, I try to get around to checking out all the goals each week on KickTV's videos on youtube.

 

[herbshuttles15]

12 Tacos

 

[rook]

In all seriousness is the MLS a good watch?

Nothing else on.

Would rather watch wnba.

srs

 

[rck3sactown]

12 Tacos

My body can't handle that no more.

 

[mastamind89]

Why have Arsenal’s Asian stars failed to shine under Arsène Wenger?
Between them, Ryo Miyaichi, Park Chu-young and Junichi Inamoto played a total of 24 league minutes in north London despite their manager’s interest in football in the Far East
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Ryo Miyaichi
The Japan international Ryo Miyaichi has just begun his fourth loan spell away from Arsenal after joining the Dutch side FC Twente. Photograph: Kerim Okten/EPA
Goodbye Ryo Miyaichi, we hardly knew you, at least not well enough for television commentators to learn how to pronounce your name correctly. As the young Japanese winger said sayonara to Arsenal on deadline day to join FC Twente on his fourth loan spell since signing in January 2011, it looks increasingly like he will have to put his time in north London down to experience. Too bad it is not going to be of the playing variety but he is not the only Asian player who has gone to Arsenal and virtually disappeared.

Miyaichi makes it three stars from the east who have now failed to shine for the Gunners. That does not sound much but it is a fair proportion of trade with Asia when you consider that in the Premier League, there have been only 10 Koreans, a smattering of Japanese, Chinese and Iranians as well as the odd Omani. Signings from east of London do not always work out and so those from far-east Asia can be tricky indeed. Yet Arsenal should be better than most as they have a manager with solid experience working in the world’s biggest continent. So far, though, Arsène Wenger’s record in signing Asian players is dismal.

Wenger arrived in London in 1996 after 18 successful months with Nagoya Grampus. He had, in the early days at least, a relatively fiery reputation as a coach in Japan and took a struggling team to second in the league. Few doubt that had Arsenal not come calling then he would have led the Aichi club to the Japanese title but come calling they did, and the Frenchman’s goodbye message to the Nagoya fans on the pitch was an emotional one.

He remains on good terms with the club and the Japan FA, an organisation that has asked for his opinion on national team coaches and other topics more than once over the years. It is possible, for example, that Philippe Troussier would never have taken over in 1998 to lead the Samurai Blue to the last 16 four years later without the help of his fellow Frenchman.

There are benefits to keeping in touch with Japanese football. It is, said Wenger in March, the new France in terms of talent. “I find that a new market that is very interesting and very competitive. Look at the number of Japanese players who play now in Germany, for example.” There is no doubt that there is talent out there – Yuto Nagatomo, Keisuke Honda, Shinji Kagawa and Atsuto Uchida, to name just a few to head west for little or no money – it is just that Wenger has not signed any of it.

No sooner had Miyaichi touched down in London in 2011 than he was being loaned to Feyenoord for work-permit purposes. The winger impressed in Rotterdam, earning the nickname “Ryodinho” in his half season by the North Sea. Returning to Arsenal, less eye-catching loans with Wigan and Bolton followed – though injuries did not help. In total, however, he has enjoyed only 17 minutes of league football with the Gunners and the feeling that it was never going to happen, despite the annual encouraging words from the manager, has been growing. A return to the Netherlands, sorted on deadline day, seems like the right move.

While Miyaichi is the latest, Junichi Inamoto was the first back in 2001. “Ina” never played a league game for Arsenal though the midfielder went on to have a reasonably good European career with West Bromwich, Fulham, Eintracht Frankfurt and Galatasaray. While he never made it at Arsenal, it is a little unfair that Inamoto is still seen in some Asian nations as the original example of a player signed for commercial reasons but his nickname at Highbury of “T-shirt” cannot have helped.

There was debate in Seoul, when Park Chu-young signed for Arsenal three years ago, as to whether he would become the South Korean Inamoto. He wishes. While he may have actually made a league appearance, just seven minutes against Manchester United, it was not anything to write home about – though with Park Ji-sung on the pitch at the same time, back in South Korea rarely can so much have been written about so little.

Now 29, the striker with an IQ of more than 150 must wonder what would have happened had he not answered that phone call from Wenger back in August 2011. Set to sign for the then French champions Lille, the Monaco striker dropped everything to Eurostar it to the Emirates and by doing so threw away what should have been the best years of his career.

Now he’s … well, nobody is really sure. After being released by Arsenal this year he has talked to clubs in Europe, Asia and north America and is still without a contract and, for various reasons, has now fallen out of favour with media and fans back home. As a free agent he can go where he wants over the next few months. If he wants, that is, as his spell at Arsenal seems to have taken all desire to play football out of him. It is hard to think of any transfer anywhere that has gone as badly.

It is not easy for any young overseas player to go to England and when the import comes from Asia, fans are quick to talk of shifting shirts and doing deals. There are, however, few commercial benefits to be had in signing but not selecting Asian players.

You can get away with it for a while, especially if they are young, but fans and media (perhaps more so in South Korea and China than Japan), become restless, then impatient and then annoyed. Reports in 2012 that after a season on the bench, Arsenal were thinking of visiting South Korea with Park Chu-young in tow were not received well.

At the time of Park’s signing, even his biggest fans doubted that he was good enough for Arsenal yet millions were spent and millions more went on not insubstantial wages. In tabloid language, Park and Inamoto are doomed to be for ever described as “flops” and despite the loan and the distant possibility of a return, will probably be joined in that club by Miyaichi. For players, it goes with the territory.

Yet little flak goes the way of a club and manager who has signed three Asian players who have contributed a combined 24 minutes of league action. Wenger has talked about how his time in Japan developed him as a coach and a person yet it does not seem to have helped him identify talent from that region capable of making it at the top of the English Premier League.

 

[chennylou]

Left about 30 min into my #ARG vs #GER ...boy that man ADM was on fire.

 

[mastamind89]

PSG President believes that Financial Fair Play is killing Ligue 1
PSG President Nasser Al Khelaifi has given interviews to virtually every major French news outlet today on the capital club’s transfer window as well as Financial Fair Play. Here are extracts from his chat with RMC.

On PSG’s transfer window…

Yes I am happy. In June, I said we would buy who we want and we have signed two fantastic players. We are very happy.

On Angel di Maria…

He is a very good player. He wanted to come here. But I talked with my friend the President of Real Madrid Florentino Perez and I met twice as well but it was very difficult for us. We did not reach a fee agreement.

On Financial Fair Play…

That was a problem yes. I think it is a problem because all it does is protects the big clubs. For new investors it is a big problem. We have reached an agreement for UEFA, but for new investors it is a huge problem.

On Monaco and French football…

I hope they will invest because it is very important for French football and for us too. If everybody leaves, I hope they will invest. Honestly, I doubt too (if they will invest). But I think he has a big vision and a strategy. I don’t know. I don’t nosy into their strategy, I respect them and I have a good relationship with them. But I hope they will stay and invest. Overall, I am a little worried (about the future of French Football) because we won’t to lift the level of French football. We need to work together it is very important. If we win the league easily every year it is not good. Marseille, Monaco, St Étienne, Bordeaux they are all competing with us still.

On the Champions League…

I was very disappointed last year. We all were. We want to win each match. We will go further this year. But I know our draw is not easy, we have one of the best teams in world in Barcelona, Ajax have won it four times. It is very difficult, now we need to concentrate match by match.

 

[sfc415]

After Maradona's rant yesterday, I checked out Icardi's Instagram...wow, I knew he was a scumbag but this dude is really something else. Smashing and marrying his friend's wife and spamming the internet with pics of her horse face wasn't enough, he has to spam the internet with pics of his friend's kids too I had no idea he even got them tatted on himself

View media item 1164529

 

[champcruthik]

After Maradona's rant yesterday, I checked out Icardi's Instagram...wow, I knew he was a scumbag but this dude is really something else. Smashing and marrying his friend's wife and spamming the internet with pics of her horse face wasn't enough, he has to spam the internet with pics of his friend's kids too I had no idea he even got them tatted on himself

View media item 1164529

Giggsy and Kolo Toure are proud. Maybe Giroud too.

 

[sfc415]

Giggsy and Kolo Toure are proud. Maybe Giroud too.

No one can ever top Giggs in terms of being a scumbag

 

[rook]

After Maradona's rant yesterday, I checked out Icardi's Instagram...wow, I knew he was a scumbag but this dude is really something else. Smashing and marrying his friend's wife and spamming the internet with pics of her horse face wasn't enough, he has to spam the internet with pics of his friend's kids too I had no idea he even got them tatted on himself

View media item 1164529

lmaoooo man its not funny but wow that man is a grade 1 dbag b

speaking of IG, I peeped gregory vanderwiel page (btw his gf is stunning) but zlatan rides the workout bike in a sauna. thats crazy

 

[champcruthik]

No one can ever top Giggs in terms of being a scumbag

I would do my best to avoid intentionally sleeping with a friend's wife/GF, but to a brother (or blood)? Never, not even a moment of thought.

 

[sfc415]

^Exactly.

lmaoooo man its not funny but wow that man is a grade 1 dbag b

View media item 1164536
There has to be something really wrong with dude.

 

[reeceman10]

Arsenal
3-2

Ramsey, Alexis, Kos

I'd rather keep an honest club then throw money at it. Like both Manchesters and Chelsea do.

 

[AZwildcats]

^Exactly.

lmaoooo man its not funny but wow that man is a grade 1 dbag b

View media item 1164536
There has to be something really wrong with dude.

:x her yambs must be heaven on earth, isn't she like 15 years older than him too? But Inter sucks so we can forget this dude

 

[champcruthik]

Arsenal
3-2

Ramsey, Alexis, Kos

I'd rather keep an honest club then throw money at it. Like both Manchesters and Chelsea do.

Without the negative sentiment for City, United, and Chelsea...I share your sentiment and appreciation for Arsenal's strict adherence to a wage structure that's incredibly organized.

 

[mastamind89]

After Maradona's rant yesterday, I checked out Icardi's Instagram...wow, I knew he was a scumbag but this dude is really something else. Smashing and marrying his friend's wife and spamming the internet with pics of her horse face wasn't enough, he has to spam the internet with pics of his friend's kids too I had no idea he even got them tatted on himself

Giggsy and Kolo Toure are proud. Maybe Giroud too.

Nah, Giroud doesn't count.

 

[champcruthik]

Nah, Giroud doesn't count.

Cheating on his wife doesn't count as a scumbag move?

 

[mastamind89]

I imagine that none of them are Portuguese if that's the case

Ouch

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

That Hurt

View media item 1163488

Speaking of Portuguese, I just recalled that we brought in a Portuguese kid into our academy during the winter or so

 

[champcruthik]

Speaking of Portuguese, I just recalled that we brought in a Portuguese kid into our academy during the winter or so

Centeno?