The European Football thread!

[Rzar]

WTF has happened to Union Berlin? Were almost in a title race last year after finishing in Europe for the past few years. Now lost their last 8 in a row & are in the relegation zone.

They haven't even sold anyone & made some pretty big signings on paper.

 

[Strummer]

WTF has happened to Union Berlin? Were almost in a title race last year after finishing in Europe for the past few years. Now lost their last 8 in a row & are in the relegation zone.

They haven't even sold anyone & made some pretty big signings on paper.

They have - to use a technical term - imploded.

The added stress of Champions‘ League football seems to have done for them, they are in wretched form, can‘t score for toffee, and at the back they are leaking goals, despite some substantial signings for their defence.

They drop into the bottom two tonight, and there are questions swirling about where they go from here, but as ever, Die Eisernen aren‘t like most clubs, and their Swiss Coach Urs Fischer, who masterminded their rise into the top flight, is still revered in Köpernick, so unless he walks, he has the chance to turn them around.

Fischer really has done a sensational job with them, and got them punching well above their weight, and he deserves the opportunity to sort them out.

I cannot though recall a similar collapse of a top-flight team in recent seasons.

 

[Strummer]

Another stat-tastic stat from today‘s match:

The fastest player of the game was Stuttgart‘s Silas Katompa Mvumpa, who clocked up a rather frighteningly fast top-speed of 35.03Kmph, which is pretty God damn quick for a human!

The Congolese maverick is rather renown for his ability to skin opponents as though they aren‘t even there, and he‘s got some absolute rockets in his boots.

 

[Subin Hwang]

5 minutes and Rennes is already down to 10, can Lyon finally do the thing?

Oh yeah and their flop has also been unbelievable. THAT Lyon, winless for 10 matches this season.

 

[Subin Hwang]

Both Koreans, Oh Hyeon-Gyu and Yang Hyun-Jun score for Celtic! A brace for Oh, even!

They're taking their anger out of losing 6-0 to Atleti by doing the exact same to Aberdeen

 

[Subin Hwang]

It's the Seville Derby tonight.
Jesús Navas, Ivan Rakitić & Sergio Ramos, the veterans still fighting for their olden day club is a lovely sight.
There's even Ramos' old friend Isco on the other side.

Edit: The game ends 1-1 with Rakitić's wonderful strike outside the box as the equaliser. Ramos stayed on the bench.

 

[Subin Hwang]

can Lyon finally do the thing?

THEY DO

 

[Any Time Now]

https://x.com/football__tweet/status/1723807147308294556

 

[Subin Hwang]

A 90 minute goal by Jonathan Gradit gives all 3 points to Lens against visitors Marseille!

RC Lens led by our hero Brice Samba might have had a rough start to the season, but now they've climbed all the way to 6th place with 4 wins, 4 draws, 4 losses with +13/-13 goal difference. Talk about balance!

 

[BryanRoy22]

What a game tonight in Liga Portugal. Benfica 2-1 Sporting Lisbon.

Viktor Gyökeres gave Sporting the lead just before half-time.

Sporting then had a man sent off in the 51st minute.

94th minute. Benfica score through their 19 year old superstar Joao Neves (how they keep producing them, I'll never know)

97th minute. Benfica score a winner.

Absolute scenes.

 

[Any Time Now]

As most of us predicted, it seems like Al-Nassr are about to be granted an invitation from UEFA into the Champions league for 2024

 

[Strummer]

As most of us predicted, it seems like Al-Nassr are about to be granted an invitation from UEFA into the Champions league for 2024

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

Let us just hope they are absolute shite, and get turned over 20-0 by Real Madrid in the Group stages.

 

[Strummer]

Wow, Swiss coach Urs Fischer leaves 1. FC Union Berlin „by mutual consent“ after five and a half years.

The Swiss did a magnificent job with them, but gaining a Champions‘ League place has derailed them, they are winless in 11 games and stuck on the bottom of the Bundesliga.

 

[Any Time Now]

Unsurprising, but they're preparing to break records in the transfer market. Presumably in preparation for European football:

Al-Nassr Saudi Club will not be satisfied with Cristiano Ronaldo, Marcelo Brozovic, and Sadio Mane. “Al-Nassr will sign major stars from top clubs at the end of this season.

Al-Nasr will shake up the summer transfers “and will bring back times like the golden era of Spanish Real Madrid when it signed Zidane, Ronaldo, Figo, Beckham and Roberto Carlos.”

 

[coops89]

What unlucky country would lose a place to accommodate Al-Nassr? I love the Champions League even though you can’t really call it a league of ‘champions’. But on what basis are Al-Nassr set to be invited. I’m glad we won the cup when it really was about champions.

 

[Any Time Now]

What unlucky country would lose a place to accommodate Al-Nassr? I love the Champions League even though you can’t really call it a league of ‘champions’. But on what basis are Al-Nassr set to be invited. I’m glad we won the cup when it really was about champions.

UEFA claim that Al Nassr are one of 'the 3 most popular clubs in the world' although what they're basing that on I have no idea

 

[Strummer]

UEFA claim that Al Nassr are one of 'the 3 most popular clubs in the world' although what they're basing that on I have no idea

Bribery, probably.

if al-Nassr are above the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, the red half of Manchester and the Scousers, then I am Joao Havelange.

 

[Rzar]

UEFA just don't wanna get left behind. By inviting Saudi clubs UEFA are just strengthening their own position, especially if the Saudi league grows to the heights they want it too.

At the end of the day countries like Israel, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan are in the competition. If Russia weren't booted out they could realistically field a team on the border with North Korea. What's the difference? Astana is further East than the whole of the Middle East.

 

[valspoodle]

UEFA are like FIFA and Henderson et al. It's all about money, not the beautiful game.

 

[Omar Devone Little]

Israel, as far as I know, are in Uefa as it would cause carnage if they were in with the rest of the Middle East in Asia. Kazakhstan is such a huge country that it's western tip is actually not far off Europe and being part of the old Soviet Union along with Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia it has a historical tie with Europe, at least in a football sense.

Saudi Arabia has no historical tie with Europe, either on the pitch or off it and as such shouldn't be anywhere near European competitions. Obviously they will eventually though as money talks. Surely they'd fall short of FFP though as they'd be subject to the same restrictions as everyone else. Although I'm sure somehow Uefa would change the rules conveniently.

 

[Strummer]

Well, 1 FC Union Berlin surprise yet again; after the unexpected - but perhaps inevitable - departure of long-serving coach Urs Fischer, Die Eisernen announce that U21 coach Marco Grote will be in interim charge, but break the mould somewhat by announcing that his assistant will be Marie-Louise Eta, a former international player with Germany, and one who won the Champions League as a player in a career that spanned several clubs, including the famous Turbine Potsdam.

Fr. Eta will be the first female assistant coach in Bundesliga history: the 32-year old was previously coaching Union‘s U19 side.

 

[BryanRoy22]

A really good piece here on Xabi Alonso, who's had a fantastic start to his managerial career and is getting all the plaudits.

Still very early days, but he's sitting at the top of the Bundesliga table with Leverkusen and has a chance to stop Harry Kane and Bayern from winning the title.....

Xabi Alonso Isn’t Coming to Save Your Team. Not Yet.

The patience of Alonso, the Bayer Leverkusen manager, says a lot about him, and just as much about a sport perpetually chasing the next big thing.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Strummer]

A really good piece here on Xabi Alonso, who's had a fantastic start to his managerial career and is getting all the plaudits.

Still very early days, but he's sitting at the top of the Bundesliga table with Leverkusen and has a chance to stop Harry Kane and Bayern from winning the title.....

Xabi Alonso Isn’t Coming to Save Your Team. Not Yet.

The patience of Alonso, the Bayer Leverkusen manager, says a lot about him, and just as much about a sport perpetually chasing the next big thing.

www.nytimes.com

I have to say, his Leverkusen side are really entertaining to watch. As you might expect, given his pedigree, it’s all sharp, precise passing, and lots of attacking play, and some really clever tactical shifts.

And in Florian Wirz, who’s still only 20, they have an absolute gem.

 

[Barry]

A really good piece here on Xabi Alonso, who's had a fantastic start to his managerial career and is getting all the plaudits.

Still very early days, but he's sitting at the top of the Bundesliga table with Leverkusen and has a chance to stop Harry Kane and Bayern from winning the title.....

Xabi Alonso Isn’t Coming to Save Your Team. Not Yet.

The patience of Alonso, the Bayer Leverkusen manager, says a lot about him, and just as much about a sport perpetually chasing the next big thing.

www.nytimes.com

Narrator: He did not.

Sent from my SM-A217F using Tapatalk

 

[Subin Hwang]

HISTORY IS MADE! France OBLITERATES Gibraltar 14-0 to achieve their biggest win of all time!!!!
It was evident this wasn't gonna be a quiet evening for Gibraltar since the beginning, as an own goal and a goal by Marcus Thuram was just scored in the first 4 minutes. (By the way his father Lilian was in the seats, Korean commentators praised him that his fashion on matchdays never miss)
Warren Zaïre-Emery, an absolutely special talent who was just called up for the senior national team in just the age of 17 scored his debut in the 16th minute. Unfortunately he was quickly subbed off due to getting injured by a brutal tackle, and the Gibraltar player received a red card for that. Minnows fighting against one of current Europe's most powerful NTs with minus one man, just how much bad can things go?
Turns out it goes very, very bad. It took only 37 minutes for France to reach 7-0 and they did NOT stop. Even when it was an utterly one sided fight the sheer quality of each French players also shone, such as Mbappé's THAT ridiculous goal which made the score 12-0. With a hat-trick slotted today, Mbappé exceeded Griezmann's record of 44 goals to become France's 3rd all time top scorer with 46 goals. Meanwhile France's current top scorer Olivier Giroud had his first goal ruled out by offside, but scored the final two goals of the night anyways including quite an impressive scissor kick. And so the final scoreboard reads 14-0.

While all this was happening Romania qualifies for the Euros, the decisive winning scorer being none other than the legendary Hagi's son Ianis. (thank you for beating them)
So with no more playoff spots, Norway is mathematically 100% OUT of the Euros. (Mom will be sad, she thinks Haaland is cute & cool)