"From champs to chumps... in the same year" | The Other Teams Thread

hmm.. I think one has to look very hard to see any improvement. Main difference between last season and this season is 'minutes played'.

He's the master of scoring meaningless goals, while missing sitters and being invisible when it matters. That also describes his Euro 2012 in a nutshell.

 

I must be old, because when I first heard of Radamel Falcao a few years ago I immediately thought of Paulo Roberto Falcao, Brazilian midfielder who was part of that great 1982 side. He scored the 2-2 equalizer against Italy before Paolo Rossi completed his hattrick.
I don't follow futsal and so had never heard of this guy until I saw the above video.

 

Kaka has 26 goals for Madrid as midfielder, Torres has 25 as a striker, failing to finish off chances in front of goals from time to time. It's not even close. Kaka also had 14 assist last season

 

I just learned recently - maybe it is common knowledge - that Radamel Falcao is named after that 1982-era Falcao. I always thought it was a random coincidence.

From wiki...

 

Málaga banned from Europe next season (or the next time they qualify in the next four seasons) for unpaid bills.
http://www.uefa.com/uefa/footballfirst/protectingthegame/financialfairplay/news/newsid=1908817.html

 

What do you do to a team that has no money? Fine them.

Gonna pretty much end them. There is no room in this league other than Barca and Real Madrid anyway.

 

I don't know if one season out of Europe will end them. Are they paying their players now? From what I understand of the situation, their owners promised them Man City type resources and after the people running the club went out and bought a lot of players, the owners went MIA so they couldn't pay the purchase price or the player salaries. I thought that the ownership group came in with a new round of cash after Cazorla and others were sold. I read some comments from the people running the club (not the owners) that they were going to be more conservative, but I'm not sure if they are out of the woods or if they are still going to be selling in January and up coming transfer windows. I am not a fan of their ownership group, but I do want to see them succeed and I hope Pelligrini stays.

 

Is that why Real are in the top two so far this season? Oh wait...

May well be closer to fourth than second after the weekend as well.

Shame for Malaga by the way, but it's not a surprise after the sham the owners proved to be. The club and their great fans don't deserve this though.

 

Possibly (although LPB seem to drop just as many points to teams in the bottom-half of the table as the top-half), but at the end of the season I'll bet Real Madrid will be 2nd. And comfortably ahead of Atleti too. La Liga is not sustainable the way it currently is. This is just another reminder.

 

Alright, I know the club version Helmond Cup gets lots of love here what with Barca's success there (we remain the all time leader in points garnered while holding the title). It is currently in the EPL so some chances to get across a border via CL or Europa: http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=nl&u=http://www.helmondcup.com/&prev=/search?q=helmond+cup&hl=en&safe=off&tbo=d&sa=X&ei=VDnVUMXFHofs2QX74YGwBQ&ved=0CDoQ7gEwAA

But what I'd never heard of is this (or two others mentioned in the article) national team version, the Unofficial Football World Champion, NORTH KOREA the current holder: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unofficial_Football_World_Championships

 

Interesting, pretty clear that the "3 moles" Mou feels he is battling in the Real locker room are Ramos, Alonso and esp. Casillas, so here's a message? Either way it spells there doom. One thing he always had at Chelsea was the loyalty of his players. Not so in Real's divided dressing room.

 

Don't forget about his problems with Ozil, Kaka, Di Maria, and Benzema as well. He's created divisions in the dressing room there and now he's paying for it.

 

IIRC Barca rested Messi either right before or right-after the holidays once before. So stuff like this isn't unprecedented.

 

Yeah, but that was announced ahead of time. I think it was when Barça had a lead in the league too.

 

Mainly because he extended his stay in Argentina to be with his family or he left earlier than others seeing as he lives on the other side of the world.

Casillas getting rested for the first time in ten years and it's not an injury issues says it all.

 

If C.Ronaldo scores Adan had best be celebrating or else his ass will end up on the bench too.