Football (Soccer) Thread

[Duque de Bragança]

Yes. The same word Suarez used to Evra - who did not take it as friendly gesture.

Guess what, Evra is not a friend of Suarez. Go check, it does not bite. 
And not exactly bright, and hardly a Romance linguist (English sense).

Did Évra find the traitor following the bus strike in Knysna btw? 

[Duque de Bragança]

Seen the video at the Parc des Princes, Webo did accuse initially the Romanian of calling him négro before the tune change to "black" (man/guy) by Demba Ba.

[celedhring]

I kinda wish somebody had been racist in our game and suspended that one instead... 

[Duque de Bragança]

And now a tweet by Merdogan putting some pressure on UEFA. 

[Josephus]

Looks like the game's officially abandoned. So ... PSG win?

[Duque de Bragança]

Looks like the game's officially abandoned. So ... PSG win?

In theory, yes but game could be postponed. Basaksehir said they would not replay.

PS: to tomorrow wednesday, 19.00 CET (GMT + 1), according to some reports.

[The Larch]

I mean can you really arrange these tournaments forever to where you never have a politically complicated match?

The countries blocked from being in the same group together is an evolving thing, and there are not that many, it depends on their countries being in an armed conflict, not having regular diplomatic relations or there being an explicit call from one of their federations not to play with the other.

At the moment there are only 6 pairings that are prevented from taking place in qualification groups, Armenia/Azerbajan, Russia/Ukraine, Serbia/Kosovo, Bosnia/Kosovo, Russia/Kosovo and Spain/Gibraltar. And this is not only for national teams, but also for clubs in European competitions.

[Valmy]

Really? Spain and Gibraltar?

Come on Spain, the Treaty of Utrecht was awhile ago.

[The Larch]

Really? Spain and Gibraltar?

Come on Spain, the Treaty of Utrecht was awhile ago.

Thing is, the Spanish federation had blocked Gibraltar from being recognized by UEFA for as long as I can remember. When it could no longer prevent it, it asked for not having to play against it.

[Maladict]

Really? Spain and Gibraltar?

Come on Spain, the Treaty of Utrecht was awhile ago.

I hope the KNVB pick our stadium in Utrecht for the qualifier against Gibraltar 

[Duque de Bragança]

Really? Spain and Gibraltar?

Come on Spain, the Treaty of Utrecht was awhile ago.

I hope the KNVB pick our stadium in Utrecht for the qualifier against Gibraltar 

Gibraltar used to play until recently at home in the Algarve stadium (Faro/Loulé) in Portugal.  With so many Brits arounds, home advantage really.

[Syt]

RIP Paolo Rossi:

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/55248469

Paolo Rossi: Italy's 1982 World Cup hero dies aged 64

Italy's 1982 World Cup hero Paolo Rossi has died aged 64, his family says.

Rossi became a household name after leading the Azzurri to victory at the tournament in Spain, finishing as top scorer and being named best player.

At club level he first came to prominence as a prolific scorer for Vicenza, earning a move to Juventus and later playing for AC Milan.

His death was announced on Thursday, following what Italian media report had been a long illness.

Rossi's wife Federica Cappelletti posted a picture of them together on social media with the words "Per sempre" ("forever").

She did not disclose the cause of his death.

Rossi scored 20 goals in 48 appearances for the Italian national side, and more than 100 Serie A goals during spells with Vicenza, Perugia, Juventus, Milan and Verona.

"Sometimes there are simply no words to express the pain we are all experiencing," said a statement from Vicenza, who Rossi helped win promotion to Serie A in 1977.

Following his performances at the 1982 World Cup, he was awarded the Ballon d'Or which at the time was given to the European footballer of the year.

After retiring from football in the late 1980s, Rossi worked as a pundit for Sky, Mediaset and Rai.

Rossi wrote his name into footballing folklore with his displays at the 1982 World Cup - although he nearly missed the competition after being implicated in a match-fixing scandal.

Although Rossi maintained his innocence, he was banned from football for three years after being accused of taking part in the 1980 Totonero scandal.

This suspension was reduced to two years on appeal, meaning he was available to play at the World Cup in Spain.

Rossi later described going on to win the tournament as a "personal redemption".

The tournament started with a whimper for both Italy and Rossi. The Juventus striker failed to score in the opening group stage as Italy drew all three games to scrape through.

The Italians looked far from World Cup contenders - until Rossi, whose performances had come under criticism, found his sharpness in front of goal in the crucial meeting with Brazil in the second group stage.

Rossi scored a hat-trick as Italy won 3-2 to reach the semi-finals, then scored both goals against Poland as Italy set up a meeting with West Germany in the final.

A tense final swung Italy's way when Rossi scored the opening goal in the second half, the Azzurri going on to win 3-1 and become world champions for a third time.

"On one hand I felt fulfilled. I said to myself, 'you've made it'," Rossi later said about the triumph.

"On the other hand, I was disappointed that all of this just ended. The World Cup was over.

"[But] when you win something important it's not just about the trophy. It's about the group you win it with, it's about your entire career that took you there."

Italy's triumph sparked an outpouring of emotion back home, providing national unity and joy at a time when the country was beset by political and social unrest.

Those images of Rossi and his team-mates becoming world champions will forever be ingrained in the country's culture, says Italian journalist Daniele Verri.

"We are all shocked here because Paulo Rossi is such an iconic figure for Italian football," Verri told BBC World Service.

"He is part of Italian history that goes beyond football.

"For those who were lucky enough to see him play in the 1982 World Cup we cannot ever forget what he did.

"The images of Spain 82 are part of Italian culture."

[Josephus]

Lots of football mourning going on in Italy this month.

[Duque de Bragança]

Back to real, but sad football news.
Too early for my time but he was THE player of a major tournament. Images of his goal celebrations are still famous.

RIP Paolo

[Pedrito]

 

Rossi was not a phenomenal player; what he did during WC82 was phenomenal. I was nine, and remember *exactly* where I was when I watched the matches against Brasil, Poland and West Germany. And I still have shivers thinking about Zoff's save on the goal line in the 89th minute against Brasil.

2020 is confirmed to be a shitty, shitty year.

L.