All things soccer 2014 - 15

[Insidious Von]

I wasn't expecting this!

Toronto FC have signed out of favour forward Sebastian Giovinco. This is a bloodier big deal than the Dafoe signing. He's still only 27 and he sparks his team every time he's on the pitch. What he lacks in size he makes up for in pace and guile, very good signing by FC.

 

[AK-47]

^^^^ I never heard of him, but good for TFC

 

[Insidious Von]

Wow the Atomic Ant got himself a fat contract, not that surprising that's the going rate for play makers. But he's not expected to arrive until July 1, let's hope FC isn't dead in the water by then. Max Allegri nearly scuppered the deal, he wants all hands on deck for the CL. If they meet, Juve can beat Barcelona...and "Teeth like an Ape" will bite again.

What Suarez will do for Barca:

 

[Don Draper]

Wow the Atomic Ant got himself a fat contract, not that surprising that's the going rate for play makers. But he's not expected to arrive until July 1, let's hope FC isn't dead in the water by then. Max Allegri nearly scuppered the deal, he wants all hands on deck for the CL. If they meet, Juve can beat Barcelona...and "Teeth like an Ape" will bite again.

What Suarez will do for Barca:

Let's cross that bridge when we get to it, my very esteemed colleague.

 

[AK-47]

Check out Martin Odegaard's talent (***must see video***):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-ts=1421828030&v=Smi8jvNixL8&x-yt-cl=84411374#t=375


CNN piece: http://edition.cnn.com/2015/01/22/football/real-madrid-martin-odegaard-transfer/index.html

 

[Insidious Von]

Let's cross that bridge when we get to it, my very esteemed colleague.

Certo Commendatore.

Keep in mind that when Catalonia does hold and win their referendum, there will be drawbacks. No more easy Italian passports for any South American players Barca wants to sign.

 

[the_big_E]

It's a bigger deal than Defoe, Gerrard, Lampard etc...signing a player in his prime who would start on a number of European clubs is a coup. Hopefully it doesn't sour though - good thing I renewed the seasons tickets!

 

[AK-47]

I renewed the seasons tickets

How much did that cost you??

 

[the_big_E]

I actually split with my co-worker - but he's been in since Day 1 so it cost $380/pair for 19 games. Great value (even if the team stinks).

 

[Toliker]

FA Cup 4th round.

Man City 0, Middlesbrough 2
Chelsea 2, Bradford City 4
Cambridge Utd, 0 Man Utd 0

Year in, year out, the FA Cup produces the most peculiar results, gotta love that competition.

 

[Insidious Von]

Napoli missed a golden opportunity to put pressure on Roma by venturing into their graveyard of Palermo and coming away 3-1 losers. That doesn't detract that Manolo Gabbiadini is the most impactfull player to come out of the January transfers. A Juve youth product who got lost in the numbers, he's scored consistently at every level. Now he's ready for prime time with three goals in three matches for the Partenopei.

The arrogance of ManU fans, they believe that Juve will gift them Paul Pogba in the summer. Dream on, it will cost at least 150 million Euros to pry him loose and he's never dissatisfied at Juve. Tevez couldn't get out of that dump fast enough and he's happy in Torino. The logical move would be to make a bid for Angelo Ogbonna. He's also lost in the numbers and with Rugani coming in the summer he may not have a player. Unfortunate since he scores high in physicality, passing and guile. The perfect defender to shore up United's rubber kneed backline.

 

[Insidious Von]

Angelo had his Balo moment early in his career. He drove his Ferrari into the Po, he may have drowned if it weren't for his fitness and the quick response of local fishermen. Since then he's been a standout, helping Torino to promotion and a place in Europe. He did get a good deal of heat from Bulls fans by going uptown to join the Zebras.

 

[AK-47]

AC Milan just got leapfrogged by 3 teams today with their 1-1 draw.

Torino, Palermo and Inter all passed them.
Milan are now in 11th place, and have only 1 win in their last 5 matches

 

[Insidious Von]

What did you expect? The second most decorated club in Europe has hit the skids.

Selling Ibra was not that big a deal but Thiago Silva and Andrea Pirlo are irreplaceable. Also their Primavera has been a disaster for a while now. Inter spent their money shrewdly, they could be pushing for the 3rd CL spot by the end of the season. Shaqiri, Icardi and Kovacic form a solid core and they brought back David Santon.

Handanovic > Lopez.

 

[AK-47]

The race is on for big clubs to sign Depay from PSV.

Some are calling him the next Arjen Robben

 

[Insidious Von]

Germaine Dafoe comes through in the clutch for Sunderland.

He is a bloody big deal!

 

[Insidious Von]

WOW!

If you didn't watch the Bilbao vs Torino match, you missed the best match of this young year. Even filthy Fifa cannot detract from a match played with such passion and skill. Full marks to Jesse Ventura's men for coming out with a win in Basque country. Now I could talk about the failures of EPL clubs as opposed to their impoverished Serie A rivals - but I prefer to savoir the moment.

Nice interview by Antonio Giorgi with Seba Giovinco. It's been on a loop on OMNI and TLN, they are turning this into a bloody big deal.

 

[Insidious Von]

Parma has been declared bankrupt and will cease to exist. A kick in the head to Serie A, the club that developed Buffon, Cannavarro, Thuram and Crespo is no more. The owner has been arrested for money laundering. They finished sixth last season, but got disqualified from UEFA competition when they couldn't make their financial obligations. Serie A is still in crisis, the current broken down state of the Milano clubs doesn't help matters. The remaining Italian clubs in European competition must go deep, Serie A needs it more than ever.

http://news.yahoo.com/serie-club-parma-declared-bankrupt-italian-court-151911872.html;_ylt=A0LEViS17AtV.QsA_oUlnIlQ

 

[Insidious Von]

I sincerely hope this is true.

http://http://www.goal.com/en/news/10/italy/2015/04/03/10427132/berlusconi-agrees-deal-with-taechaubol-over-ac-milan-sale?ICID=OP

If so it worked for the best. The Qatari's would have bought AC Milan had they not been driving migrant workers to death for their World Cup. The Berlusconi era has finally ended, he revived a storied club when he bought them in 1986 but with the transfer market going out of whack he could no longer compete. Mind you he nearly Fubared things from the start, he wanted to keep Claudio Longhi and sell Marco Van Basten. He relented when coach Arrigho Sacchi threatened to quit if the Dutchman was sold. But Silvio did give Carlo Ancelotti a second chance after his career was almost ended by a broken leg. If Serie A is to regain prominence it needs a strong AC Milan.

 

[Insidious Von]

So PSG lost, but in doing so did they show the remaining clubs how to stop Messi? Interrupt him at the point of pass with a player his own size. Verratti stuck with him tenaciously, unfazed by Messi's pinball style. PSG gave up any notion of producing goals by playing him so deep but he grew in stature. Future encounters could go Verratti's way, he's a full 5 years younger than Messi.

Bayern will win the CL - if Goetze is as tough as Verratti.