2009-2010 football (soccer) thread - Page 75

On January 16 2010 21:40 MaGic~PhiL wrote:
today they will face again

On January 16 2010 07:06 fLyiNgDroNe wrote:
aight Arshavin i didn't know you are a homo

On January 17 2010 11:23 JudasT wrote:
So true, all their players are from the basque country (a small region in the north of Spain, about 2 million people), and that is really impressive nowadays

On January 17 2010 17:25 Holgerius wrote:

Ya, that policy is so respectworthy. The supporters would seriously rather see the team get relegated (which they have never been :D) than give it up. And they get players to willingly play for free (Etxeberria), which is unheard of in modern football on top level (the closest thing I know of is Tommasi who signed a contract extension with Roma while injured and insisted on a salary of 1500 Euro a month <3). I absolutely adore Athletic Bilbao, it's easily the second most awesome team in Spain (after Barca).

On January 17 2010 21:05 Holgerius wrote:
It's not like footballers will have a problem finding jobs you know. XD There are plenty of clubs (all of them?) willing to hire you no matter where you're from if you're good enough.

The pride that the supporters of Athletic Bilbao feel for their club goes way beyond football. The basque people are very proud of their culture and their heritage and Athletic Bilbao is an extension of the Basque country and it's people, it's (to rip of Barca) ''more than a club'', a symbol for their nationalism, a banner under which the basque people could, under the vicious persecution of the Franco regime, unite and express themselves. I personally find that aspect very admirable.

On January 17 2010 21:53 Holgerius wrote:
ETA and their bullshit is a a separate issue.

''The Euskobarometro, the survey carried out by the Universidad del País Vasco (University of the Basque Country), asking about the views of ETA the Basque population has, obtained these results in May 2009 [34]: 64% rejected ETA totally, 13% identified themselves as former ETA sympathizers (mainly during the Franco dictatorship) who no longer support the group. Another 10% agreed with ETA's ends, but not their means. 3% said that their attitude towards ETA was mainly one of fear, 3% expressed indifference and 3% were undecided or did not answer. About 3% gave ETA "justified, with criticism" support (supporting the group but critizising some of their actions) and only 1% gave ETA total support. Even within Batasuna voters, at least 48% rejected ETA's violence.''

''They're so proud they even bomb their neighbours and their own people'' is a retarded statement in this discussion since ETA is not supported by a vast majority of the Basque people.

We clearly have a disagreement on this issue. Let me put it like this; you don't find anything wrong with the fact that only Swedish people can play in the swedish national team, do you? Well, then look upon Athletic Bilbao as the inofficial Basque national team. That's what they represent in the eyes of the fans.

On January 17 2010 22:43 SF-Fork wrote:



I was not linking At.Bilbao with ETA. My statement is that it is wrong to exclude people based on their birth certificate. Be it a football team of whatever else.

A national team is not a job. Playing for At.Bilbao is.

On January 17 2010 22:48 Holgerius wrote:

Then what was the purpose of that statement? I explained why I have the view that I do on the issue (The pride that the supporters of Athletic Bilbao feel for their club goes way beyond football. The basque people are very proud of their culture and their heritage and Athletic Bilbao is an extension of the Basque country and it's people, it's (to rip of Barca) ''more than a club'', a symbol for their nationalism, a banner under which the basque people could, under the vicious persecution of the Franco regime, unite and express themselves. I personally find that aspect very admirable.), and you dismiss that by making an irrelevant statement about a terrorist organisation that has no affiliation whatsoever to the club or it's supporters.

As shown perfectly by Etxeberria playing for Athletic Bilbao is indeed more than just a a job.

On January 18 2010 01:11 Holgerius wrote:
Ah, Roma crushed Genoa 3-0. Luca Toni scored twice; that man is worth his weight in gold. He's exactly the type of player Roma has lacked. I cannot wait until Totti is back; Totti/Toni has so much potential to become a great, great partnership. If only Ranieri had been at the helm from the begining of the season Roma would've been a very hot Scudetto candidate right now. I hope they can at least win Europa League.

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Starting off your critique by making a statement that in my eyes insinuates that you consider anyone who is proud of their heritage to be a terrorists was a bad way to express your critique IMO. It's just like the kind of people saying all muslims are terrorist sand monkeys.

Technically you are right about the fact that it's a job, but when I take the histrorical background to the whole thing into account, then I see nothing wrong with them having their policy. I think it's awesome and really unique.