Village Idiot

This. No one remembers who won the final (it was France vs ?), but they do remember it being Zidane's last game. Im sure he would have rather won the World Cup, but I agree in a way. I loved him for it, and this thing about it tarnishing his career is an absolute load of bollocks. The hand of god with Maradona, that slightly tarnished an incredible players career yes. Headbutting someone for calling your family, no. Don't think the hand of god tarnished Maradona's career at all, actually to the contrary, the fact it is so talked about 30 years after the fact is testimony to that. Maradona would probably be slightly less legendary if he had scored that goal legally.

How come every man wants what they can't have? I guess it's because it isn't something I'm used to watch. If a manager tried to pull that off at Barça he would be chased out of town with pitchforks, so sometimes I find it refreshing to see.

Long ball football. Dunno, I just enjoy watching big target men that can bring those balls down and hold them while surrounded by all the other teams defence as they try to scrap something. Kevin Davis is one of my favorite English footballers. One of the things I also enjoy is when small teams play "anti-football" and are able to hold off the big fishes to draws or even scrappy wins. Heck, I will say it: I loved Allardyce's Bolton.

It cost me a night of sleep (was so pissed off I couldn't sleep well). Ah well.

Keita is shit hot so far this season, good that he has stepped forward and covered for some of our stars having a dip

Awwww... Madrid scores through Higuaín. For a moment thought they could drop points there.

Real Madrid go one man down after 27 min, this can get interesting. EDIT: Interestingly enough, Real seem to be playing better now.

Marca just debuted an opta-like ranking, encompassing all players from the EPL/La Liga/Serie A/Bundesliga/Ligue 1. I'll paste the Top 100. I was a bit surprised about who's currently topping the charts... (also, the ranking encompasses the past 12 months, so there's technically a Newcastle player on the list). 1 (0) T. Henry DELANTERO Francia Barcelona Esp 978 2 (0) L. Messi DELANTERO Argentina Barcelona Esp 964 3 (0) C. Ronaldo CENTROCAMPISTA Portugal Real Madrid Esp 914 4 (0) G. Pique DEFENSA España Barcelona Esp 909 5 (0) F. Torres DELANTERO España Liverpool Ing 903 6 (0) S. Eto'o DELANTERO Camerún Internazionale Ita 886 7 (0) R. Márquez DEFENSA México Barcelona Esp 884 8 (0) L. Toni DELANTERO Italia Bayern München Ale 877 9 (0) C. Puyol DEFENSA España Barcelona Esp 876 10 (0) C. Pizarro DELANTERO Perú Werder Bremen Ale 866 11 (0) D. Alves DEFENSA Brasil Barcelona Esp 860 12 (0) N. Vidic DEFENSA Serbia Manchester United Ing 857 13 (0) D. Villa DELANTERO España Valencia Esp 856 14 (0) F. Lampard CENTROCAMPISTA Inglaterra Chelsea Ing 852 15 (0) M. Klose DELANTERO Alemania Bayern München Ale 846 15 (0) E. Dzeko DELANTERO Bosnia-Herzegovina VfL Wolfsburg Ale 846 17 (0) S. Gerrard CENTROCAMPISTA Inglaterra Liverpool Ing 823 17 (0) E. Adebayor DELANTERO Togo Manchester City Ing 823 19 (0) C. Abbiati PORTERO Italia Milan Ita 822 20 (0) R. Soldado DELANTERO España Getafe Esp 809 21 (0) M. Gomez DELANTERO Alemania Bayern München Ale 807 22 (0) J. Drobny PORTERO República Checa Hertha BSC Ale 802 23 (0) A. Robben CENTROCAMPISTA Holanda Bayern München Ale 799 24 (0) N. Douchez PORTERO Francia Rennes Fra 798 25 (0) S. Keita CENTROCAMPISTA Mali Barcelona Esp 797 26 (0) X. Hernández CENTROCAMPISTA España Barcelona Esp 796 27 (0) F. Malouda CENTROCAMPISTA Francia Chelsea Ing 790 28 (0) R. Dirnei CENTROCAMPISTA Brasil Sevilla Esp 787 29 (0) N. Anelka DELANTERO Francia Chelsea Ing 786 30 (0) C. Carrasso PORTERO Francia Bordeaux Fra 781 31 (0) W. Rooney DELANTERO Inglaterra Manchester United Ing 779 31 (0) Y. Benayoun CENTROCAMPISTA Israel Liverpool Ing 779 33 (0) J. César PORTERO Brasil Internazionale Ita 774 34 (0) A. Iniesta CENTROCAMPISTA España Barcelona Esp 770 35 (0) D. van Buyten DEFENSA Bélgica Bayern München Ale 769 36 (0) R. González Blanco DELANTERO España Real Madrid Esp 767 37 (0) E. Abidal DEFENSA Francia Barcelona Esp 766 38 (0) R. van Persie DELANTERO Holanda Arsenal Ing 765 39 (0) D. Berbatov DELANTERO Bulgaria Manchester United Ing 764 40 (0) F. Ribéry CENTROCAMPISTA Francia Bayern München Ale 763 41 (0) L. Castellazzi PORTERO Italia Sampdoria Ita 760 42 (0) M. Ballack CENTROCAMPISTA Alemania Chelsea Ing 758 43 (0) E. Van der Sar PORTERO Holanda Manchester United Ing 757 44 (0) J. Terry DEFENSA Inglaterra Chelsea Ing 756 45 (0) Y. Gourcuff CENTROCAMPISTA Francia Bordeaux Fra 754 46 (0) F. Marchetti PORTERO Italia Cagliari Ita 753 47 (0) A. Bizzarri PORTERO Argentina Lazio Ita 752 48 (0) M. Schwarzer PORTERO Australia Fulham Ing 744 49 (0) F. Inzaghi DELANTERO Italia Milan Ita 742 49 (0) B. Edinaldo DELANTERO Brasil VfL Wolfsburg Ale 742 49 (0) Z. Ibrahimovic DELANTERO Suecia Barcelona Esp 742 52 (0) A. Gilardino DELANTERO Italia Fiorentina Ita 738 53 (0) M. Carrick CENTROCAMPISTA Inglaterra Manchester United Ing 737 54 (0) V. Iaquinta DELANTERO Italia Juventus Ita 733 54 (0) S. Given PORTERO República de Irlanda Manchester City Ing 733 56 (0) L. Ferreira da Silva DEFENSA Brasil Internazionale Ita 730 57 (0) W. Sneijder CENTROCAMPISTA Holanda Internazionale Ita 722 57 (0) D. Kuyt DELANTERO Holanda Liverpool Ing 722 59 (0) S. Frey PORTERO Francia Fiorentina Ita 720 59 (0) T. Howard PORTERO Estados Unidos Everton Ing 720 59 (0) K. Benzema DELANTERO Francia Real Madrid Esp 720 59 (0) M. da Silva Júnior DEFENSA Brasil Real Madrid Esp 720 63 (0) P. Mertesacker DEFENSA Alemania Werder Bremen Ale 719 64 (0) T. Cahill CENTROCAMPISTA Australia Everton Ing 718 64 (0) R. Giggs CENTROCAMPISTA Gales Manchester United Ing 718 64 (0) G. Higuaín DELANTERO Argentina Real Madrid Esp 718 64 (0) P. Lahm DEFENSA Alemania Bayern München Ale 718 68 (0) L. Fabiano DELANTERO Brasil Sevilla Esp 717 69 (0) A. Gignac DELANTERO Francia Toulouse Fra 715 70 (0) G. Wimbée PORTERO Francia Valenciennes Fra 713 70 (0) M. Demichelis DEFENSA Argentina Bayern München Ale 713 70 (0) R. Aparecido Rodrigues DEFENSA Brasil Werder Bremen Ale 713 73 (0) S. Squillaci DEFENSA Francia Sevilla Esp 712 73 (0) D. Drogba DELANTERO Eosta de marfil Chelsea Ing 712 75 (0) R. Ferdinand DEFENSA Inglaterra Manchester United Ing 711 75 (0) J. Evans DEFENSA Irlanda del Norte Manchester United Ing 711 75 (0) A. Carvalho De Oliveira DELANTERO Brasil Juventus Ita 711 78 (0) F. Aurelio DEFENSA Brasil Liverpool Ing 710 78 (0) A. da Dias Costa DEFENSA Brasil Chelsea Ing 710 80 (0) J. da Silva Junior CENTROCAMPISTA Brasil Hamburger SV Ale 709 80 (0) D. Forlan DELANTERO Uruguay Atlético de Madrid Esp 709 80 (0) M. Niang DELANTERO Senegal Marseille Fra 709 83 (0) M. Bastos CENTROCAMPISTA Brasil Lyon Fra 708 83 (0) W. Gallas DEFENSA Francia Arsenal Ing 708 85 (0) R. Kaká CENTROCAMPISTA Brasil Real Madrid Esp 707 85 (0) G. Toure CENTROCAMPISTA Eosta de marfil Barcelona Esp 707 87 (0) R. Rubinho PORTERO Brasil Palermo Ita 706 87 (0) R. de Souza DELANTERO Brasil Manchester City Ing 706 89 (0) S. Aguero DELANTERO Argentina Atlético de Madrid Esp 705 89 (0) F. Fabregas CENTROCAMPISTA España Arsenal Ing 705 89 (0) J. Bosingwa DEFENSA Portugal Chelsea Ing 705 92 (0) J. Jurado CENTROCAMPISTA España Atlético de Madrid Esp 704 92 (0) P. Evra DEFENSA Francia Manchester United Ing 704 94 (0) J. Navas CENTROCAMPISTA España Sevilla Esp 703 95 (0) A. Correia CENTROCAMPISTA Brasil Sevilla Esp 701 95 (0) J. O'Shea DEFENSA República de Irlanda Manchester United Ing 701 95 (0) N. Penneteau PORTERO Francia Valenciennes Fra 701 98 (0) T. Sorensen PORTERO Dinamarca Stoke City Ing 700 98 (0) A. Consigli PORTERO Italia Atalanta Ita 700 100 (0) H. Lloris PORTERO Francia Lyon Fra 699 They track a boatload of player actions during a game, but the system seems to favour heavily players that play in a lot of games, and are in teams that progress far in competitions (so they can score points in more games).

Weren't they bidding 12m for the likes of Negredo just before the transfer window shut?

This is one for the stats maniacs: a friend today told me he believes that if Pedro scores in the Club World Cup (or whatever crap the Intercontinental Cup is called nowadays), he will become the first European player to score across all competitions (Domestic League, Domestic Cup, Champion's League, Domestic/European/Intercontinental Supercups) in a single season. Of course Barça would need to drop to the UEFA Cup (god forbid) after the group stage in order to claim he's done it on all playable tournaments inside a single season... but do you know of any player that has achieved something like that? I know Inzaghi has scored in all competitions, but that was across several seasons isn't it?

We're talking about sport here, man, not restaurants. Tell that to the yanks... in proper yank way Americans tend to see professional sports as profitable businesses. If there was a risk that one's investment can slip from the professional league, nobody would be putting money there. Also, the huge amount of college teams cover the needs of those areas that don't have a professional team, and they are mostly organized in single huuuuge leagues of hundreds of teams. Some college leagues that have different tiers allow you to move up the chain provided you meet some investment criteria in facilities and scholarships for the players (they can't have wages unless they turn pro).

Or selling and moving franchises.

Temple of Doom.

I wonder what odds can one get of Madrid progressing in the cup. They will probably line up full strength for the home match and go all macho on Alcorcón to repair their pride.

He's been hot and cold. There have been some games where he has shown he can be a great forward, very direct and incisive. In others, like this one, he's just frustrating. I think he's suffering for oveagerness to impress, and that's affecting his decision-making. He has time.

Even if the stars are all being rested, the squad taking the field is quite decent imho Pinto Abidal-Chygrynsky-Márquez-Maxwell Busquets-Touré-Keita Jeffren-Bojan-Pedro Also, Busquets, Jeffren, Bojan and Pedro have played in Segunda B during the last 3 years, so they are used to those small narrow pitches with little space. Midfield is physical, which will help. You have twisted my arm, Keita got a hat trick on Sun didn't he? Pedro is class, not a shabby defense either. Pedro just scored Barça's (and his) second, so if you went for it you're good for now.

cool, so u follow english football much? i've just been to barcelona, what a fantastic city it is, the best i've been to so far, as me & my friend follow barca quite closely, i probably watch them more on tele than i do newcastle Yes, I have always admired English football. The traditions in there, the quality of the support. It's when I scrub down the divisions and I see villages with 100-year old clubs dragging 10,000+ people to their league 2 games that I fall in awe with the depths the game reaches in your nation. yeah, if u look at the numbers that attend games on weekends, run's into around 5 million a massive amount so what was the reaction to real's lost last nite? can't imagine it being good Lots of kneejerking going around, but that club has gone mental these past years, burning through managers as I burn through chocolate cookies. Media and fans want the manager sacked already, and it's going to happen if they slip out in the next few games. As I said in another thread, the problem is that they believe their own hype, and the pressure on the players is absolutely silly, they were booing them at half time in their second? game of the season. The problem is until they stop undermining their managers and stop treating them as the presidents' puppet and the guy that just rubberstamps their FM-tastic lineups they won't be going nowhere. There's a reason why Wegner, Mourinho, etc... have refused to manage in that place. Still, even though I'd love them to crash and burn this season, I'm pretty sure they'll be still up for it coming spring. Their players are just too good.

cool, so u follow english football much? i've just been to barcelona, what a fantastic city it is, the best i've been to so far, as me & my friend follow barca quite closely, i probably watch them more on tele than i do newcastle Yes, I have always admired English football. The traditions in there, the quality of the support. It's when I scrub down the divisions and I see villages with 100-year old clubs dragging 10,000+ people to their league 2 games that I fall in awe with the depths the game reaches in your nation.

Born in Barcelona, have lived in Madrid and New york for the past five years (celebrated a couple leagues and a CL while living in evil's den, sweet stuff). Now that I think of it Barcelona decided to usher in the golden age of the club as soon as I moved out of there, bastards. My interest in Newcastle is pretty recent to be honest. Of course I know about Keegan's and Robson's eras, and I have seen you play, but didn't start to follow you until I came into this board when Sir Robson died, and I liked what I saw. Pedro scored for Barcelona against Cultural, btw. 1-0.

Fairplay to Barca for having the best team in world with locals in it but lets not kid anyone they are raiding 12 year olds from around the world no doubt they see it as part of there UNICEF deal. Not slagging off Arsenal for getting them, just that I would haver preferred them to be here.

Have to say Barcelona youth midfielders doing well for Arsenal is starting to slightly annoy me.

Even if the stars are all being rested, the squad taking the field is quite decent imho Pinto Abidal-Chygrynsky-Márquez-Maxwell Busquets-Touré-Keita Jeffren-Bojan-Pedro Also, Busquets, Jeffren, Bojan and Pedro have played in Segunda B during the last 3 years, so they are used to those small narrow pitches with little space. Midfield is physical, which will help.

Incidentally, since I'm not British, who's the bird in your avatar?

What's up with Almunia? Not even in the bench for the cup...

Also it has surfaced that a journalist from a regional radio bet 4€ on a double of Alcorcón 4 - Real Madrid 0 and... Cultural Leonesa 4 - FC Barcelona 1. He stands to win 280,000€ if it comes to pass, and has already offered 60,000€ to the Cultural players as bonus if they get that result.