Football (Soccer) Thread

[Sheilbh]

Anyone remember this?
https://youtu.be/LurJvgQD0Sw

I like Vainly - mainly because he always calls Harry Maguire "slabhead" which is fair.

I always did wonder about relations between footballers on different teams.
I mean, you're a filthy rich young sportsman from say Nigeria playing for one of the Manchesters. One of your international team mates plays for the other. Surely you're going to hang out on your time off?

Yeah it's definitely a thing - I wonder if that's another slight reason for relative decline of North-Eastern football v London/South and North-West?

I know in the North-West there have been friendships between Spanish or Brazilian players in different clubs - and often they may know each other from the international team so there is a bit of a support network when footballers move - often for them and their partners and kids (although, having said that, Angel di Maria's wife's hatred of Manchester is one of my favourite football-adjacent things ). The same definitely exists in and around London. I wonder if because the North-East doesn't quite have that density it's another slight reason why it's a slightly less attractive area for international footballers and you need to pay a little more to convince someone to move?

[The Larch]

Yeah I get that. And if I was a Madrid fan I would be fuming

Although I also suspect the focus on one player like this is probably quite helpful at avoiding questions about the performance or team in general.

Ultimately it's a tempest in a teacup, but it's some really tasty red meat for the zealots and the sensationalistic sports media that surrounds Real Madrid. I mean, take a look at this: https://twitter.com/James_Dart/status/1390183225692147712

The team's performance has been questioned all season long, and plenty of changes are needed and acknowledged (it is not even known if Zidane will continue coaching them, for instance), but they might still end up winning the league and making the CL semis, which is no small feat, even more with the amount of player shortages they've had during the season

[The Larch]

I know in the North-West there have been friendships between Spanish or Brazilian players in different clubs - and often they may know each other from the international team so there is a bit of a support network when footballers move - often for them and their partners and kids (although, having said that, Angel di Maria's wife's hatred of Manchester is one of my favourite football-adjacent things ). The same definitely exists in and around London. I wonder if because the North-East doesn't quite have that density it's another slight reason why it's a slightly less attractive area for international footballers and you need to pay a little more to convince someone to move?

At least in London all Spanish players tend to hang out together no matter what team they play for, AFAIK. It started out as a bit of a solidarity network back in the day when it was still somehow unusual but over the years I guess it ended up being a proper pseudo-family.

[celedhring]

Yeah I get that. And if I was a Madrid fan I would be fuming

Although I also suspect the focus on one player like this is probably quite helpful at avoiding questions about the performance or team in general.

Ultimately it's a tempest in a teacup, but it's some really tasty red meat for the zealots and the sensationalistic sports media that surrounds Real Madrid. I mean, take a look at this: https://twitter.com/James_Dart/status/1390183225692147712

El Chiringuito is Real Madrid's Fox News, except more crass 

Our media can be unbearably shrill too, but we don't quite reach those levels of toxicity. It peaked during the Guardiola years.

[Sheilbh]

El Chiringuito is Real Madrid's Fox News, except more crass 

That clip has done the rounds in the UK today. I think my favourite was when someone said it looked like the start of an episode of CrimeWatch.

It also emphasises how weird Perez's Super League PR was that he turned up on that show to defend it. I think Rory Smith from the NYT said it was like if the Prime Minister went on daytime TV to declare war

[The Larch]

Yeah I get that. And if I was a Madrid fan I would be fuming

Although I also suspect the focus on one player like this is probably quite helpful at avoiding questions about the performance or team in general.

Ultimately it's a tempest in a teacup, but it's some really tasty red meat for the zealots and the sensationalistic sports media that surrounds Real Madrid. I mean, take a look at this: https://twitter.com/James_Dart/status/1390183225692147712

El Chiringuito is Real Madrid's Fox News, except more crass 

And that's why Florentino going to them to explain the Super League was a sign that it'd end up really badly. 

[Jacob]

Not me, fuck Madrid and the Super League.

Although Man City v Chelsea

Yeah, all the 12 super friends deserve bad karma and I will laugh at any misfortunes they suffer, but Real Madrid - at least as long as Perez is the owner - is one tier worse than the others. At least the English clubs had the decency (hah) to fold a little bit faster.

As every football fan knows, there's a hierarchy of hatred - and Real Madrid just claimed the top spot as far as I'm concerned.

[celedhring]

El Chiringuito is Real Madrid's Fox News, except more crass 

That clip has done the rounds in the UK today. I think my favourite was when someone said it looked like the start of an episode of CrimeWatch.

It also emphasises how weird Perez's Super League PR was that he turned up on that show to defend it. I think Rory Smith from the NYT said it was like if the Prime Minister went on daytime TV to declare war

Dude has a Trumpian obsession with what the Madrid media bubble says about him. He never displays it openly, but the way the club reacts to media stories and tries to push his grandiose narratives is compulsive.

Spanish sports media is in general really really shitty (there are exceptions) and I have this pet theory that they have come to fill the same space that British tabloids do (for men, at least).

[The Larch]

Our sports media is in general really really shitty (there are exceptions) and I have this pet theory that they have come to fill the same space that British tabloids do.

They most definitely do, it's our gutter press, together with part of gossip media (that is more tv focused). In fact "El Chiringuito" is the "Sálvame-ization" of sports media.

[Sheilbh]

Spanish sports media is in general really really shitty (there are exceptions) and I have this pet theory that they have come to fill the same space that British tabloids do (for men, at least).

I can believe that - and seems in contrast to the Italian and French sports media

Although interestingly the Daily Mail is the only paper in the country with a majority female readership - apparently their supplements are a big driver.

[celedhring]

It happened in the 1980s-1990s, Marca and Mundo Deportivo used to be "neutral" and more akin in tone to your general press, but they had new local rivals emerge (As and Sport) that competed with them by being crass, partisan, and tribal. And they were very successful, forcing a race to the bottom.

[Josquius]

Anyone remember this?
https://youtu.be/LurJvgQD0Sw

I like Vainly - mainly because he always calls Harry Maguire "slabhead" which is fair.

I always did wonder about relations between footballers on different teams.
I mean, you're a filthy rich young sportsman from say Nigeria playing for one of the Manchesters. One of your international team mates plays for the other. Surely you're going to hang out on your time off?

Yeah it's definitely a thing - I wonder if that's another slight reason for relative decline of North-Eastern football v London/South and North-West?

I know in the North-West there have been friendships between Spanish or Brazilian players in different clubs - and often they may know each other from the international team so there is a bit of a support network when footballers move - often for them and their partners and kids (although, having said that, Angel di Maria's wife's hatred of Manchester is one of my favourite football-adjacent things ). The same definitely exists in and around London. I wonder if because the North-East doesn't quite have that density it's another slight reason why it's a slightly less attractive area for international footballers and you need to pay a little more to convince someone to move?

Definitely a thing for the north east.
Back in the latter years of short there were rumblings of moving Sunderland to London and only playing games in the north to try and fix this.

I have noticed we tended to get lots of Scandinavians however. The climate and more rural setup seems a fit for them.

[The Larch]

If Wolverhampton can have a "Little Lisbon" I don't think it's such a big deal nowadays to have players from anywhere in any Premier League team. 

[Sheilbh]

If Wolverhampton can have a "Little Lisbon" I don't think it's such a big deal nowadays to have players from anywhere in any Premier League team. 

I don't know. I think we underestimate the impact on players - especially if they have a family - and being the only Brazilian on Teesside

Wolves are a unique project in that respect. But it's not that the clubs can't sign these players I think it's more that actually they are more likely to succeed if there's some type of support network/community around them in that area or that club.

As I say I know for a fact that in the North-West it's easier because you have four relatively big-spending clubs - and players from those clubs hang-out by nationality/language group more than team affiliation. If you're signing for a club that's a bit isolated (Newcastle) then there's less of that there - so those clubs may have to pay more, or create a job for your mates or whatever to help the player adjust.

I always think this with Latin American players especially (and I suspect they'll become more of a thing in the Premier League following Brexit) - moving very far away to a different timezone, language and culture, sometimes without family or friends. It is easier if there's some lads from the national team or who also played in the Brazilian league or whatever in the neighbourhood. I understand that Premier League clubs actually now spend a lot of time thinking about this stuff to make their clubs appealing.

[crazy canuck]

Not me, fuck Madrid and the Super League.

Although Man City v Chelsea

Yeah, all the 12 super friends deserve bad karma and I will laugh at any misfortunes they suffer, but Real Madrid - at least as long as Perez is the owner - is one tier worse than the others. At least the English clubs had the decency (hah) to fold a little bit faster.

As every football fan knows, there's a hierarchy of hatred - and Real Madrid just claimed the top spot as far as I'm concerned.

I think Chelsea will always be on the top of my hierarchy of hatred, well since 2003 anyway.