Football (Soccer) Thread

[Maladict]

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) -- American forward Jozy Altidore was the target of racist chants Tuesday during AZ Alkmaar's 5-0 win over second-tier Den Boscha in the quarterfinals of the Dutch Cup.

Altidore, who is black, said he had never faced such serious abuse from the stands.

''There's nothing I can do about it,'' he told Dutch television's Eredivisie Live. ''All I can do is pray for them and hope they can become better people.''

Referee Reinold Wiedemeijer wanted to stop the match in the first half because of ''jungle sounds chanted at Altidore,'' according to AZ's official Twitter feed. But AZ players, including Altidore, who is black, persuaded him not to.

Wiedemeijer halted play briefly in the second half because of fans throwing balls of ice at his linesmen, according to the Dutch Eredivisie official Twitter feed and Dutch news website Nu.nl.

''It is terribly sad that this can happen for those involved and for lovers of football in the Netherlands,'' AZ soccer director Earnie Stewart, a former U.S. national team midfielder, told Dutch television's Eredivisie Live at halftime. ''You hear that and wonder what on earth is going on.''

Stewart said Den Bosch officials are ''ashamed'' of the fans involved. The club repeatedly urged its fans to halt the chants, to no avail.

Altidore scored one goal in AZ's 5-0 victory, increasing his total this season to a career-best 20, one more than in 2011-12. Den Bosch finished with nine men after two players were ejected.

Den Bosch are one of those teams that get promoted to the highest league every once in a decade and then get utterly trashed and relegated again. Their backward hicktown fans are all outraged and do what they do best, embarrass themselves. It's even more sad because it's only been a  few weeks since a linesman was kicked to death and everyone is supposedly on their best behaviour.

[Josquius]

Wait....the team is called.....The Bosch?
I can only assume it means something rather different over there?

[Maladict]

Wait....the team is called.....The Bosch?
I can only assume it means something rather different over there?

It's the name of the town, short for 's-Hertogenbosch.

[FunkMonk]

I found this pretty amusing. The English here might appreciate it more. 

http://youtu.be/h_f1N51Gv9c

[Josephus]

Just watched the USA - Canada friendly and now I want to kill myself 

Yeah...you guys sucked!

[katmai]

Just watched the USA - Canada friendly and now I want to kill myself 

Yeah...you guys sucked!

It's called playing down to the competition.

[Josephus]

Yeah we sucked too....but you guys reallly sucked.

[FunkMonk]

I love Wikipedia. 

Ignacio "Nacho" Monreal Eraso (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈnatʃo monreˈal eˈɾaso]; born 26 February 1986) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Málaga CF as a left defender. He is currently on a plane to London. To sign for Arsenal, and on the plane he has had three shits, each time wiping his arse with a spurs shirt

He is going to arsenal because Andre Santos revealed that he is in fact not an actual footballer

[Viking]

Wait....the team is called.....The Bosch?
I can only assume it means something rather different over there?

Den Bosch literally means "The Forest" and 's Hertogenbosch means Dukes Forest.

[Josquius]

Something a little unusual occurred down at Victoria Park on Saturday and it wasn't  just the fact that Hartlepool recorded a rare and very welcome victory.

Manager John Hughes' League One strugglers enjoyed just their second home win of the season in a 2-1 triumph over Notts County.

However, it wasn't so much the fact that the hosts recorded back-to-back victories for the first time in 17 months that made everyone sit up and take notice it was their goal scorers who caught the eye – well their names at least.

James Poole opened the scoring for the third tier's basement side before, and here it comes, Peter Hartley bagged a 70th minute winner after Jamal Campbell-Ryce had leveled for the visitors.

It's the first time both Hartley and Poole have been on the Hartlepool score sheet at the same time.

In fact defender Hartley has netted just eight times since signing for Pool from Sunderland in 2009, while striker Poole has found the net ten times in his 63 appearances for the club.

http://metro.co.uk/2013/02/03/hartley-and-poole-combine-to-make-hartlepools-day-3379171/

[FunkMonk]

Americans: Gus Johnson will start commentating select games on Fox Soccer starting next week with the Manchester United - Real Madrid Champions League tie. 

[Ed Anger]

Americans: Gus Johnson will start commentating select games on Fox Soccer starting next week with the Manchester United - Real Madrid Champions League tie. 

A retard would be an improvement over some of those mush mouthed Brits.

[FunkMonk]

I like Gus and want him to grow and succeed as a soccer announcer. He's supposedly being groomed to call the 2018 World Cup on FOX.

I've read that Warren Barton will be co-commentating with him in the meantime.

[katmai]

Well at this rate USA won't be in WC for Gus to announce anyways.

[FunkMonk]

Well at this rate USA won't be in WC for Gus to announce anyways.

The world is not ready for Gus anyway. Every US game he would commentate would cause the stadium to explode in excitement and exultation and kill everyone in a mile radius.