2016 - 2017 Football Thread - Page 223

On April 19 2017 22:28 sneirac wrote:

How is that offside? You can clearly see Müllers foot is closer to the goal.

The talk about Vidal getting sent off is stupid, he should have been off much earlier. The same applies for Casemiro and that he was not sent off in the 80th was shocking: https://streamable.com/zmicn

On April 19 2017 22:59 Bacillus wrote:

To me, initially it seemed like Muller was offside when the cross got sent to him. Close calls on both occassions though.

edit: Correcting this as I wrote this stupidly.
At the moment of the pass müller is closer to the goal than Lewandowski, but the ball isn't so it is offside. However this is very close, the ball is also not visible to the linesman and doubt goes to the attacker, no idea how anyone can think this was an incorrect call.

On April 19 2017 22:33 Pandemona wrote:

I think Mourinho gave up on 4th in the league they need huge miracle really as they have the hardest fixtures left of all the sides in the top 7.

Anderlecht tomorrow home
Burnley Away (who lost 2 games at home all season)
Man City Away
Swansea home (fighting for relegation future)
Semi Final Europa
Arsenal Away (fighting for top 4 as well)
Semi Final Europa
Spurs Away
Southampton Away (easiest fixture left)
Palace Home (Palace might still be fighting relegation)

I mean thats a tough run of fixtures as Burnley whilst probably safe is still a tough place to play away from home. Now he rested Ibra vs Chelsea, straight up rested him but he found that he actually has a good front pair in Lingard and Rashford so be interesting to see how they set up on Thursday. But i would think the calibre of player they have at there disposal should be more than enough to get through what is left. Avoiding Besiktas in semi final is the one i would say as they are just mad xD

On April 19 2017 23:04 sharkie wrote:


Want a different math? Wrong decisions favoring Real don't happen if ref sends off Vidal and 1-2 never happens.
4/5/6 never happen, 0 < 2.
Obviously no one can predict that but you really think Bayern would have scored 2 goals if Vidal had been sent off? No, Bayern would have given up and Real would have easily won in 90min.

Just to be clear I have always wanted video refereeing. I don't defend the horrible mistakes from the ref. I just find it stupid that some say Bayern was cheated heh

LOS ANGELES — It would be fitting if it was considered the club’s first trophy. There was no competition or tournament associated with it, but the dented metal sign decorating the reception area’s front desk definitely represents a triumph.

Workers discovered the scuffed placard during the early days of clearing and construction on the southeast corner of Exposition Park. It turns out there was no soccer permitted on the grounds near the old Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, which was demolished last year. The sign includes a large red slash through a stick-figure player and clear instructions in both English and Spanish underneath. It was intended for everybody. And it’s now among the first things you see as you enter the complex of trailers that comprise the base of operations at this bustling construction site.

Everyone enjoys the irony. Come the spring of 2018, there will be some very high-profile soccer played here along South Figueroa Street. And it will be played by men representing an organization that feels bound by next to no limits, precedent or convention. The Los Angeles Football Club is making its own rules.

“We continually challenge ourselves to be new, next and forward,” LAFC president Tom Penn told SI.com. “Those are our pillars.”

Someday soon, that sign may be displayed as a relic in a more permanent setting. LAFC, which will become Major League Soccer’s 23rd team next year, is on schedule to open its new, 22,000-seat arena in the spring. Banc of California Stadium will be like nothing American pro soccer has seen before. It’ll anchor a $350 million upgrade to Exposition Park that’s being paid for by a star-studded ownership group the likes of which American soccer hasn’t seen before. And it will become part of a sporting and cultural destination unlike any in the country.

LAFC has no coach and only one player under contract. But it’s already begun to forge something of an identity. That’s vital in this teeming metro area of more than 13 million people (and 10 additional major league teams). It’s also especially meaningful in soccer circles, where supporters and communities typically expect a relationship with their chosen club to be more than simply transactional. Fandom frequently represents a piece of your identity, especially in cities with multiple teams.

Traditionally, the divisions between local rivals mirror select regional fault lines. They reveal something about the place. How do citizens define themselves? It may matter which side of the river you’re on, or it may hinge on politics, education or socioeconomics. Naturally there’s some blending in this age of luxury suites, social media and increasingly transient populations. But many clubs and fans still celebrate those divisions and cling to the history that forged those identities.

LAFC has no history. But history is informing its decisions and direction, from the tradition established by its intra-city rival to the south to the trajectory of MLS itself. Neither LAFC nor the LA Galaxy represents a particular world view or demographic—at least not yet. If that happens, it’ll be the result of a protracted and organic process. In the meantime, they each hope to appeal to as many fans as possible. They each aim to represent a region that attracts many kinds of people for many different reasons. But for Penn and his LAFC colleagues, there already are distinctions between the two teams. The stadium and its location is one. And where they stand at this particular point in American soccer’s growth is the other.

One of those colleagues is LAFC’s first technical employee, executive VP of soccer operations John Thorrington. The 37-year-old was raised in the South Bay—that would be Galaxy country, if LAFC was willing to cede it—and signed with Manchester United while still in high school. He didn’t play for the Red Devils’ first team but did enjoy productive stints with Huddersfield Town and the Chicago Fire, among others. Soccer’s corporate side always appealed, and after retiring, working for the MLS Players Union and meeting LAFC investor (and alumnus) Henry Nguyen through his Northwestern University MBA program, Thorrington moved back close to where he started. The place is familiar. The state of soccer has changed dramatically.

“This league is different now than it was in version 1.0 and 2.0, and it is changing very quickly,” Thorrington told SI.com. “And we’re not just going to be part of the change, we’re going to be driving that change.”

He elaborates: MLS 1.0 was the era of bad uniforms, bad hair, small salaries and fans spread across NFL stadiums. Teams weren’t just trying to get the hang of things, they were hoping to survive. While most ran in place, D.C. United nailed it from the start. Dominant on the field and fueled by the league’s first authentic supporters’ culture off to the bouncing side, D.C. ruled over MLS 1.0. Then came MLS 2.0, which was anchored by the advent of the soccer specific stadium and the Designated Player. StubHub Center (then the Home Depot Center) opened in Carson, California, in 2003. David Beckham arrived in 2007, and the Galaxy reigned.

Thorrington believes the league is entering version 3.0, and while clubs like Toronto FC, the Seattle Sounders and Atlanta United built pieces of the bridge, LAFC intends to set the pace by offering the best of each of those worlds.

“The Galaxy has set a really high bar of success to date, which I think is great. I’d much rather have a high bar to seek. We see that bar of expectation and we raise our level accordingly,” Thorrington said. “But we’re not looking back at MLS 1.0 or 2.0. Our owners would never have done this project if that was the case. This could never have been done five years ago. It never would’ve been financed.”

When we look back on MLS 3.0, Thorrington said, LAFC should be considered the club that “stood on the shoulders of the giants who came before us,” then went on to define and dominate the era.

Said Penn, who made his name as an NBA executive, TV analyst and the founder of the Sports Leadership Institute: “It’s never lineal progress. You hit a tipping point and you get exponential growth, and that’s where we’ve hit with MLS.”

LAFC has had time to survey that evolving landscape, gauge the pace of progress and conceive of a plan to hit the ground running. Its lack of history hasn’t been a hindrance so far. In fact, its owners are pretty excited by the prospect of starting something from scratch.

On April 20 2017 03:53 mahrgell wrote:
Bürki... -.-