Football (Soccer) Thread

[Liep]

Barca paid £142 million for Coutinho. I'm still at a point where numbers like that surprise me.

[Josephus]

Seems like an odd purchase for Barca.

[celedhring]

Nah, we need a player like him. The money paid is embarassing though.

[Josephus]

Nah, we need a player like him. The money paid is embarassing though.

Why they need him? They seem to be doing alright, and remember he's cup tied for the Champions League.

[celedhring]

Nah, we need a player like him. The money paid is embarassing though.

Why they need him? They seem to be doing alright, and remember he's cup tied for the Champions League.

That's ok; we've signed him for 6 years, not 6 months. I assume our board is afraid that he'd be even more expensive after the World Cup, or that he might go to PSG. What I'm surprised about is Liverpool letting him go now - I guess Klopp believes he can secure a CL spot without him.

As for why he's needed, Coutinho is meant to replace Iniesta at the tip of Barça's midfield. Iniesta has been playing less and less due to his age, and we really miss that creativity in midfield when he's not there.

That said, the money is stupid.

[Josquius]

I have to suspect Klopp's superiors put heavy pressure on the sale.

I don't know why but I also have a feeling Liverpool are going to fail to get a replacement this month, with Leicester demanding outrageous money for Mahrez et al.

[Josephus]

Liverpool always end up over paying for mediocrity in the January transfer window.

[Duque de Bragança]

Let me present the best of French referees, equal to Bâtard Batta:
VAR can't do anything about it, nor can it be blamed. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjM827E4_k0

Ligue 1 referee Tony Chapron kicks Nantes player before sending him off
• Nantes defender Diego Carlos receives second yellow card after clash
• Incident overshadows PSG's 1-0 win, who go 11 points clear of Monaco
Guardian sport and Reuters


PSG's 1-0 win over Nantes on Sunday was overshadowed by an incident involving Ligue 1 referee Tony Chapron, who appeared to kick Nantes player Diego Carlos off the ball, before showing the defender a red card.

In the last minute of the game, PSG were advancing up the pitch on a counter attack when Carlos seemed to accidentally cross paths with Chapron. The referee stumbled and fell to the turf, before appearing to kick swing his right boot at the Nantes player.

After the coming together, referee Chapron gave Carlos a second yellow card, before blowing for full-time three minutes later.

Referee Tony Chapron kicks out at Diego Carlos and then sends him off in a moment of madness in Ligue 1... 😱 pic.twitter.com/F1Ou6wt8QN

January 14, 2018
Argentinian winger Angel Di Maria had scored before the break to lift PSG, who were without the injured Neymar and Thiago Motta, 11 points clear of second-placed Monaco, who could only manage a goalless draw at Montpellier on Saturday.

PSG enjoyed most of the possession and were quickly ahead as Di Maria scored from inside the box after collecting a low cross from Edinson Cavani in the 12th minute.

Di Maria went close to doubling the lead eight minutes before the interval but his shot from close range hit the bar.

Nantes had a good chance early in the second half but Alphone Areola made a fine save to deny Emiliano Sala.

Third-placed Lyon are behind on goal difference after a 1-1 home draw against Angers, with Nabil Fekir cancelling out Karl Toko Ekambi's opener from the spot. Angers finished with 10 men when Flavien Tait was sent off for a second bookable offence six minutes from time.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/jan/14/referee-tony-chapron-ligue-1-kick-nantes-diego-carlos-sent-off-psg

[Duque de Bragança]

Can't wait for Gibraltar v Liechtenstein
First step for ending EURO qualifiers?  4 tickets included here.
Phoney competition to earn even more money?
Germany-France seems interesting, Italy-Portugal too since Italy will recover at one point. England-Spain-Croatia seems the most open.

League of Nation Draw

League A

Group 1 : Germany Netherlands France
Group 2 : Switzerland, Belgium Iceland
Group 3 : Italy Portugal Poland
Group 4 : Spain, England Croatia.
     

League B :
Group 1 : Slovakia, Ukraine, Czechia.
Group 2 : Russia, Sweden, Turkey
Group 3 : Austria, Bosnia, Northern Ireland
Group 4 : Wales, Ireland, Denmark

League C :
Group 1 : Scotland, Albania, Israel
Group 2 : Hungary, Greece, Finland, Estonia
Group 3 : Slovenia, Norway, Bulgarie, Cyprus
Group 4 : Rumania, Serbia, Montenegro, Lithuania

League D :
Groupe 1 : Georgia, Latvia, Kazakhstan, Andorra
Groupe 2 : Belarus, Luxembourg, Moldavia, St-Marin
Groupe 3 : Azerbaijan, Feroe Islands, Malta, Kosovo
Groupe 4 : Macedonia, Armenia, Liechtenstein, Gibraltar

PS: typos due to the excitement over the incoming Liechtenstein-Gibraltar top game. 

[Liep]

It'll be more interesting to follow these than regular friendly matches if the players step up at least a little.

I'm not sure how the 4 places are distributed though. And how do you even get into the final? Top 4 teams from league A in the semis?

[Duque de Bragança]

Can't say it's very clear to me but here is the wiki attempt at it through uefa.com:



Regarding EURO qualifyers


Somewhat clearer.

[Liep]

So each league have a spot for themselves? I guess you have to give incentive to the bad teams as well, but Holland might feel cheated when they're not going to Euro 2020 but Azerbaijan is via a League D ticket.

[Duque de Bragança]

There are still 20 seats to qualify after the League of Nations but yes I can see why some teams would want to avoid the Top League A or B (for Denmark ).

[Josquius]

Yeah, I'm not getting it, will have to read up, looks like being terrible and placed in group d raises your chances of qualifying for the Euros?

[Maladict]

Group 1 : Germany Netherlands France

Oh good. Excellent. Just wonderful.