The Ali Dia Football/Soccer Thread

AdrianBelmonte_ · Post by **AdrianBelmonte_** » 21 Sep 2016, 14:46

https://twitter.com/Tebasjavier/status/ ... 9487119360

"I formally presented my resignation as La Liga president"

EuroBrun · Post by **EuroBrun** » 21 Sep 2016, 19:08

AdrianBelmonte_ wrote:https://twitter.com/Tebasjavier/status/778593279487119360

"I formally presented my resignation as La Liga president"

From the outside, he didn't seem so bad.

AdrianBelmonte_ · Post by **AdrianBelmonte_** » 22 Sep 2016, 18:04

EuroBrun wrote:
AdrianBelmonte_ wrote:https://twitter.com/Tebasjavier/status/778593279487119360

"I formally presented my resignation as La Liga president"

From the outside, he didn't seem so bad.

Crappy match fixture schedules, poor and biased referee designations, awful management of open-air TV matches, absolutely ridiculous management of ticket prizes which led to half-empty (or even lower attendances, see Real Sociedad's last match yesterday) stadiums, constantly making provocative statements and ALWAYS pointing out he's a Real Madrid fan to excuse himself (Which shouldn't be that bad if he were doing an acceptable job, which is obviously NOT the case) and, despite signing several sponsorship contracts, STILL not solving (he slightly reformed it, but still not enough) the endemic problem with TV rights money

Maybe from the outside, he didn't seem so bad, but from the inside, he not only DID, but he managed to be even worse

To him: "Tanta paz te lleves como descanso nos dejas" as we say, and PLEASE, if you want to make something good for the league, don't present yourself for the elections, take the first flight to China and STAY THERE, for the rest of YOUR LIFE

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 27 Sep 2016, 22:11

Oh gosh. When last year AA Gent finally could restore the reputation of Belgian teams in the CL, this year Club Brugge is really making a huge mess of it :facepalm:

When you're losing 4-0 to - with all respect - the puny Copenhagen, you're just not CL material. #StillbetterthanCelticthough
Meanwhile in the JPL it's #ZulteWaregemWinsLol, and i most certainly wouldn't mind if it stayed that way! I'm curious to see how far they'll get in the play-offs though.
And Tommy: Sprimonts debut on the highest amateur level so far is a disaster. Hide in a cave. Or in the UK, but that's more or less the same as a cave.

Post by **Ataxia** » 27 Sep 2016, 22:28

As I'm sure you've heard perhaps, Sam Allardyce has lost his job as England manager after one game. He was filmed talking to undercover reporters posing as rich businessmen looking to invest in English teams. Allardyce offered them advice on how to overcome some of the transfer regulations in English football (such as third-party ownership, which was banned after Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano somehow ended up at West Ham in 2006), and offered to become their advisor for transfer dealings for a fee of £400,000.

Big Sam is a big idiot.

Post by **tommykl** » 27 Sep 2016, 23:04

This wrote:And Tommy: Sprimonts debut on the highest amateur level so far is a disaster. Hide in a cave. Or in the UK, but that's more or less the same as a cave.

Considering we made it to that division through play-offs having finished sixth in our division, literally the worst of any team in the First Amateur Division, I'd say it's not that surprising, but it's still a bit disappointing.

But hey. At least we're not Coxyde

CoopsII · Post by **CoopsII** » 28 Sep 2016, 07:19

Ataxia wrote:As I'm sure you've heard perhaps, Sam Allardyce has lost his job as England manager after one game. He was filmed talking to undercover reporters posing as rich businessmen looking to invest in English teams. Allardyce offered them advice on how to overcome some of the transfer regulations in English football (such as third-party ownership, which was banned after Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano somehow ended up at West Ham in 2006), and offered to become their advisor for transfer dealings for a fee of £400,000.

Big Sam is a big idiot.

But what a win ratio...

dinizintheoven · Post by **dinizintheoven** » 29 Sep 2016, 22:24

It's odd, you know - when I first heard that Sam Allardyce had been given the England job my immediate thought was that Mike Bassett, England Manager was about to play itself out in real life.

And then, the truth became stranger than fiction...

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 30 Sep 2016, 18:38

and Dundalk is kicking ass in the Europa League :glasses:

EuroBrun · Post by **EuroBrun** » 02 Oct 2016, 06:28

Looks like top-level football is collapsing under its own gravity. I've always admired Spanish and English Leagues and Federations, but they are not problem free as appear from the recent events.

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 03 Oct 2016, 01:15

We welcome back Only In Belgium with a bang.

That being, the name of the divisons being screwed up.
In the professional league we have:
-1A (first pro division)
-1B (second pro division)
Things in provincial leagues work different, as A and B (and other letters) are equal level. But the inconsequences don't stop here.
We have the following national divisions:
-1 amateur
-2 amateur A
-2 amateur B
-2 amateur a
-3 amateur A
-3 amateur B
-3 amateur a
-3 amateur b

Looks ridiculous right? Well, the capital letters represtent teams with a Flemish membership, the lower case letters represent teams with a Walloon membership. So for example the team i support (Hades) is now in 'second amateur capital B' :facepalm:

You want to know why i got such a confusing personality? Look no further than my Only in Belgium section here.
In other rejectful news, Anderlecht had decided to put Olivier Deschacht who's been a defender for all his life, as a target forward in their game against Standard.

A bluff substitute? Probably, coach Weiler seems to be the type of guy who does that kind of stuff every now and then. (interestingly, Deschacht has been named in the current matchfixing scandal). To put things more into context, the regular strikers were not injured at all.

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 04 Oct 2016, 00:24

Everyone who says Serie A is rubbish...does not watch any Serie A. :vergne:

This is just a weekly example of how bananas the games can be sometimes. Milan - Sassuolo is always eventful. You should watch this just for Locatelli's exquisite goal!

dinizintheoven · Post by **dinizintheoven** » 06 Oct 2016, 10:21

This wrote:In other rejectful news, Anderlecht had decided to put Olivier Deschacht who's been a defender for all his life, as a target forward in their game against Standard.

Paul Warhurst approves of this post.

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 07 Oct 2016, 23:34

And Faroe Islands is now second in their group, well above Portugal!

After a home draw against Hungary, which has a habit of strange results, and an away win against Latvia, not a world-beater, but several years ago, this would be a chanceless scenario for Faroer. Qualifying? Probably will never happen,but embarrassing bigger teams? Yes they can!

FullMetalJack · Post by **FullMetalJack** » 09 Oct 2016, 18:25

Fourteen years after the club's formation, thanks to the original Wimbledon FC's relocation to Milton Keynes was approved, AFC Wimbledon have climbed above Milton Keynes Dons in the league table for the first time.

Long may it continue.

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 18 Oct 2016, 08:25

Meanwhile in Belgium Jocn Bico, the Cameroonese broker who became manager, technical director, physical coach, owner, sponsor, bartender and the only fan of White Star Brussels (also on the blacklist list of Chelsea, the Hazard family, Zulte Waregem and Kortrijk for other reasons) suddenly this weekend get announced as manager/trainer of Antwerp. In older posts you might have noticed that Antwerp is one of the other clubs where if anything weird can happen, it usually will. Let's also not forget that Antwerp is currently owned by Patrick Decuyper, the guy infamous for trying to move Zulte Waregem and Kortrijk to the city of Antwerp (just on a map to see how much sense this makes). Also famous for refusing to tell who his investors are. Both of them sworn arch-enemies after the title loss of Antwerp and win of WS in second level last year (nevertheless the totally unrelated Eupen got promoted), but before that they shared involvement, and suddenly became friends again.
At the moment, it still looks like he's in function at WS Brussels, though (who are now relegated to the third level, because of their shambles)
Well... this proves to become an interesting drama again... And Mogi Bayat, a broker, son of former Charleroi owner Abbas Bayat (old posts will explain) is also rumoured to be involved. When that amount of shady figures team up at a team that has been shady and a complete mess since the early nineties...
What are these guys up to? Expect firework! Especially considering that other team in the city of Antwerp is now winning everything on the third level and they've been historical sworn enemies, and have had plenty of shady moments themselves.

It all looks like a poorly executed comedy movie, but it's the reality for football fans in the cities of Brussels and Antwerp. They make Standard look like Cercle Brugge.

watka · Post by **watka** » 20 Oct 2016, 12:14

This wrote:
It all looks like a poorly executed comedy movie, but it's the reality for football fans in the cities of Brussels and Antwerp. They make Standard look like Cercle Brugge.

Oi, leave my favourite dull team in Belgium alone! The Cercle will rise again!

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 21 Oct 2016, 20:11

watka wrote:
This wrote:
It all looks like a poorly executed comedy movie, but it's the reality for football fans in the cities of Brussels and Antwerp. They make Standard look like Cercle Brugge.

Oi, leave my favourite dull team in Belgium alone! The Cercle will rise again!

If Cercle Brugge is the rival team to Club Brugge, then is Standard Liege's opposite number Abnormal Liege? :pantano:

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 22 Oct 2016, 07:02

Biscione wrote:
watka wrote:
This wrote:
It all looks like a poorly executed comedy movie, but it's the reality for football fans in the cities of Brussels and Antwerp. They make Standard look like Cercle Brugge.

Oi, leave my favourite dull team in Belgium alone! The Cercle will rise again!

If Cercle Brugge is the rival team to Club Brugge, then is Standard Liege's opposite number Abnormal Liege?

Well, punny jokes aside, their rival is called Club Liège, coincidentally.

Post by **tommykl** » 22 Oct 2016, 15:25

This wrote:
Biscione wrote:
watka wrote:Oi, leave my favourite dull team in Belgium alone! The Cercle will rise again!

If Cercle Brugge is the rival team to Club Brugge, then is Standard Liege's opposite number Abnormal Liege?

Well, punny jokes aside, their rival is called Club Liège, coincidentally.

I think you'll find it's Royal Football Club Liège, who hasn't been anywhere near the top level for about 20 years

If Standard were to have actual rivals, it would either be Anderlecht or Charleroi

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 22 Oct 2016, 23:15

Locatelli scores nothing but screamers. This kid sure is something.

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 23 Oct 2016, 04:11

tommykl wrote:
This wrote:
Biscione wrote:If Cercle Brugge is the rival team to Club Brugge, then is Standard Liege's opposite number Abnormal Liege?

Well, punny jokes aside, their rival is called Club Liège, coincidentally.

I think you'll find it's Royal Football Club Liège, who hasn't been anywhere near the top level for about 20 years

If Standard were to have actual rivals, it would either be Anderlecht or Charleroi

Here follows a needlessly long explanation, but don't take it as if i'm trying to defend RFC de Liege or criticise Standard, i am just warning you about their underestimated relevance.

Well firstly, they've actually been near, just to then return into the abyss,and return to second and return to fourth and repeating that cycle endlessly.
Secondly they're still referred to as Club Liège by the majority of people (at least in Northern Belgium), and they still get a reasonable amount of fans (i've heared about figures of around 5000 in away games, which is a lot considering the state they're in, and is more than most JPL teams can do in away games) so with them now actually having a stadium buing built (it's really happening!) the rivalry will increase again. The rivalry has been continuied by Standard fans supporting Club's opponents. Even at other local matches both supporters clans often show off against each other. At least, that's what i heared from people supporting teams from similar levels, who claim stuff like this happens at games of insiginifant teams like Waremme. RFC 'club' Liege used to attract similarly big crowds than Standard before their financial/stadium issues started. It's only 21/22 years ago. It can't be compared to an old team like Léopold Club De Bruxelles, where most of their fans are already dead. Just like here near my place, the rivalry between Waterschei, Winterslag and Beringen is still very much alive today, even if neither of those 3 clubs still exist.
The rivalry with Charleroi 'The battle of Wallonia' is comparable to the Club Brugges-AA Gent rivalry 'The battle of flanders',. And is also partially explained by all of Charleroi's local rivals insistance on self-destruction. (Mons, La Louviere, Olympic Charleroi, Tournai, you name it) and most local rivalries in Liège self-destructing as well (Seraing, Verviers and Tilleur were all relevant first division teams at some point)
And having a historic rivalry with Anderlecht doesnt seem to be too difficult

Either it is the logical 'big 3' rivalries, or either it's the 'black beast' rivalries. And the rivalry between Standard and Genk is also quite big (and started as a rivalry with Waterschei), but is felt harder around Tongeren than in Genk or Liège itself.
Basically everybody has a rivalry with Standard, except for your cute little sister STVV^^ Sure, you might got rid of the Duchatelets, but both teams have always been best buddies.

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 27 Oct 2016, 11:46

Someone send help. Beppe Iachini is suffering from Stockholm Syndrome.

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 01 Nov 2016, 14:33

Meanwhile, this is the scene at Inter Milan right now.

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 03 Nov 2016, 22:02

What in the frigging hell are those Belgium teams doing today in the EL? :shock:

Anderlecht winning with 6-1, both Gent and Genk losing with 3-5 and 5-3 respectively, and standard not losing at all.

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 04 Nov 2016, 00:33

I'll just leave this utter brainfart here.... :facepalm:

FullMetalJack · Post by **FullMetalJack** » 10 Nov 2016, 12:09

Not content with Germany, USA, Austria and Brazil, Red Bull now want to buy an English football club.

The buzz on social media seems to imply that the team in question will be League One's Swindon Town. I did hear rumours of it being Leeds United yesterday, but that seems unlikely.

I have to admit that I'm relieved it's not Birmingham City being taken over, otherwise that'd probably be it. A lot of us would instead be more regular attendees at Conference side Solihull Moors.

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 14 Nov 2016, 19:11

Meanwhile in Belgium Not contented with the owner of WS Brussels, Antwerp also hired 2 additional coaches from WS last week. Then this week...
sacked all of them... :facepalm:

I really feel sorry for their fans.

Also, take that Estonia!

Dj_bereta · Post by **Dj_bereta** » 14 Nov 2016, 20:48

How ironic. Chile and Argentina, the finalist of the last two Copa América are struggling to qualify while Brazil and Uruguay, which got eliminated in the group stage, are leading the standings. Wales struggling in a "not so hard group" (second coming Leicester?). The powerhouse Ghana almost of world cup.

Dj_bereta · Post by **Dj_bereta** » 29 Nov 2016, 14:06

Massive tragedy. The plane with players of Brazilian team Chapecoense crashed during the flight to Colombia. Almost all players died.

It was the first time in the team history to go to finals of an international championship.

FullMetalJack · Post by **FullMetalJack** » 06 Dec 2016, 18:59

In what is most likely going to be the oddest football story of the week, chairman of Southern League Premier Division side Basingstoke Town, Rafi Razzak has announced that the club is for sale........by putting it on eBay.

The club have accrued debts of £2 million. The odd decision of going full time despite relegation from the Conference South earlier this year can't have helped.

FullMetalJack · Post by **FullMetalJack** » 14 Dec 2016, 14:32

For some reason, our new owners have sacked Gary Rowett

AdrianBelmonte_ · Post by **AdrianBelmonte_** » 05 Jan 2017, 17:30

That Valencia thing is beyond fun, i'm enjoying every second of it, it's a trainwreck from start to finish (Relegation on the horizon, maybe?)

Dj_bereta · Post by **Dj_bereta** » 11 Jan 2017, 17:37

48 teams, 16 groups of 3 teams for 2026 and onwards. Some European associations are complaining already. Anyway, get hyped for DR Congo, Uzbekistan, Panama and other underdogs in the world cup :dance:

Post by **Nuppiz** » 11 Jan 2017, 18:13

Dj_bereta wrote:48 teams, 16 groups of 3 teams for 2026 and onwards. Some European associations are complaining already. Anyway, get hyped for DR Congo, Uzbekistan, Panama and other underdogs in the world cup

Trust me, even then Finland will fail to make it past the qualifiers

.

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 11 Jan 2017, 20:25

Nuppiz wrote:
Dj_bereta wrote:48 teams, 16 groups of 3 teams for 2026 and onwards. Some European associations are complaining already. Anyway, get hyped for DR Congo, Uzbekistan, Panama and other underdogs in the world cup

Trust me, even then Finland will fail to make it past the qualifiers .

But on its current form, Faroer might make it!

Also it's not like Uzbekistan would be unworthy, they always have the habit nearly missing qualification. Probably the unluckiest of all teams.

FullMetalJack · Post by **FullMetalJack** » 12 Jan 2017, 13:33

West Ham key player Dimitri Payet looks set to leave sooner rather than later. According to Slaven Bilic, Payet no longer wants to play for the club. I don't know what Bilic thinks he'll achieve by publicly announcing it at a press conference and on Twitter.

I'd be lying if I didn't find their struggles this season slightly amusing. I feel bad for the fans though, the proper ones, not any plastics that started to show up after they moved to that Olympic Stadium.

Barbazza · Post by **Barbazza** » 12 Jan 2017, 17:04

FullMetalJack wrote:West Ham key player Dimitri Payet looks set to leave sooner rather than later. According to Slaven Bilic, Payet no longer wants to play for the club. I don't know what Bilic thinks he'll achieve by publicly announcing it at a press conference and on Twitter.

I'd be lying if I didn't find their struggles this season slightly amusing. I feel bad for the fans though, the proper ones, not any plastics that started to show up after they moved to that Olympic Stadium.

Here's my take on this as a long-time Hammer : I actually admire Bilic and the board for going with this approach, given that his value could potentially nosedive (mind you, given that figures of £100m were being bandied about post Euro 2016 you could argue that boat has long since sailed anyway) and I think his attitude this season has been pathetic. As soon as we were dumped out of the Europa League he completely lost interest. I'm not saying that his attitude alone has been the reason why we've been so piss poor this season, but you have to wonder whether morale may improve a little now.

It's things like this that are making me lose all interest in football. No-one will ever surpass Paolo Di Canio in my opinion. He was gifted and he ALWAYS gave his all and wanted to play for the club.

Incidentally, while we're talking West Ham, RIP Francois van der Elst - he's the first overseas player I remember watching in our team and was a great winger. Who didn't throw tantrums either...

FullMetalJack · Post by **FullMetalJack** » 12 Jan 2017, 20:59

Barbazza wrote:Incidentally, while we're talking West Ham, RIP Francois van der Elst - he's the first overseas player I remember watching in our team and was a great winger. Who didn't throw tantrums either...

Showing your age there, i've never known us not to have overseas players, although when I got into Football in the turn of the century, at our squad, they were limited. One of them was a name you'll be familiar with, and one of my all-time favourites, Stan Lazaridis.

We also had Martin O'Connor who although he was English, he oddly enough represented the Cayman Islands a couple of times at international level.

AdrianBelmonte_ · Post by **AdrianBelmonte_** » 13 Jan 2017, 16:50

FullMetalJack wrote:
Barbazza wrote:Incidentally, while we're talking West Ham, RIP Francois van der Elst - he's the first overseas player I remember watching in our team and was a great winger. Who didn't throw tantrums either...

Showing your age there, i've never known us not to have overseas players, although when I got into Football in the turn of the century, at our squad, they were limited. One of them was a name you'll be familiar with, and one of my all-time favourites, Stan Lazaridis.

We also had Martin O'Connor who although he was English, he oddly enough represented the Cayman Islands a couple of times at international level.

*friendly reminder that former hammer Julien Faubert plays for Martinique*