Diego Costa destroyed his knee today on the post. Most likely will miss games vs Chelsea and could possibly miss World Cup as well.
Do what MLS does, hand out bans post-match for simulation. Ban one game for a first offense. Three for a second offense. Five for a third offense. Players will get the picture really soon.
i'm going to the Barca vs Atletico game in May so i hope he's not injured! i want to get to see him play live
That's why you should stay off twitter after a player goes off with an injury. Fans can be dramatic and think they can diagnose through a TV set better than actual doctors.
I know that I'm late to the Pep Guardiola discussion a bit late since I haven't really had time the past couple days but I think he is a top quality tactician. As far as his managerial ability in regards to those who want him to go to a team without such a huge budget- I just have to ask why would he want to? He was a Barcelona great and then his first managerial job was with Barcelona B(where he got them promoted from 3rd to 2B- not really impressive but as good as he could do in one year.) After that he managed Barcelona and well basically they won a lot. I'm not entirely sure why he left, I've heard it was too much pressure and that he needed time to refocus. After all of the success he had who would expect him to go to a team like Napoli. He was going to get offers from the very best teams and why would he not choose Bayern(because it would have been too easy?) Basically my point is that it seems harsh to criticize him for not managing a team with less resources as Barca, Bayern since he has never been in a position like that nor should he choose to manage a team like that when he has offers from the very best. Throughout his career we will find out more about his managerial abilities. Regarding his style of play I'm not going to say that it is the most exciting I've ever seen but I don't think that it would be correct to call it boring. The Barcelona team now is not the same as when he coached it, honestly I don't think that Tiki Taka really exists in the manner that it did with Barcelona(under Guardiola). There are basically two types of passes: penetrating and possession. Barcelona(under Guardiola) relied on a lot of possession and a lot of combination passes(and I mean a lot) since he had a great midfield trio of Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta and Messi who would drop pretty deep to combine with the midfield. To me tiki-taka gets thrown around so much because there is really no definition as to what it is other than some sort of short passing possession style. Even with Bayern I don't really think that they play tiki-taka or in other words I don't think they play the same way that Barca played under Guardiola. Some of you criticized Bayern's performance against Manchester United where they had a lot of possession and relatively few chances(or shots on target- something like that) but I don't think it was for lack of trying since they often isolated Ribery and Robben on the wings and let them attack Man United's fullbacks and try to cross the ball and on a number of occasions they even tried to counterattack. I will admit they have a very methodical style and don't really combine too much through the middle but I think that is because this team's greatest strength is on the wings with Ribery and Robben especially with a target forward like Mandzukic(someone who can get on the end of crosses but not really a CF type). Also don't forget that they beat Barcelona last year(I realize Guardiola wasn't the coach) due to the fact that the team is also largely made up of strong defensive or more balanced players that helped promote a physical style like Schweinsteiger, Kroos, Muller so they are not constructed the same as Guardiola's old Barcelona who really only played with one more physical midfielder in Busquets. In terms of Bayern's possession I think it is attractive in terms of their understanding of the game and how to position themselves but it does make the game less exciting but I think it is hard to fault him for trying to dominate the game(if I was a coach I really wouldn't care if the fans think the game is exciting I would just focus on keeping the ball and trying to generate chances- which I think they try to do.) I realize that in Bayern's current team they don't have as many cutting edge passes like we see from Totti but that is really more individual skill than poor tactics. What I've seen from Bayern on offense was to keep the ball moving(basically a lot of short passes) and then to try to switch the ball back and forth until something opened up which would either be space for Ribery/Robben to take on a defender or some sort of combination at the top of the box. Like I said it is not the most exciting style but they keep control and limit their opponent's opportunities and then they usually have a couple of nice combinations or nice skill from Ribery, Robben, Gotze to set up a chance for a goal. I mean most of game consists of nothing special happening except teams fighting for possession and chances that don't work anyway but beautiful soccer/football can be labeled to pretty much anything like a great counterattack from a team that plays defensively for most of the game or a great Totti pass to set up a goal when we've had majority of possession so I guess some of it is just personal preference. Honestly I don't mind watching really well organized defense either because to play smart tactical defending is actually very hard and it is kinda interesting to try to notice the subtle movements and communication(ex. cutting off passing lanes, stepping up the line, moving to provide cover, forcing a player a certain direction.- All at the same time.) Really the thing that separates teams is the players and how they use their individual skill and styles to set up goal scoring chances. Just as a note I really don't like Barcelona and I really hate some of their so-called "fans" (I don't really have anything against Bayern- to me they're just another big-name club) but I think that Guardiola is a good coach and I don't really think he is deserving of so much criticism.
Its looking like liverpool and atletico will win their respective leagues, atletico more sure off. I think city wont gain full points away to everton. If liverpool dont lose vs chelsea at home, title is going to ainfield road.
Then you got Jose Mourinho on other hand, MR. BIG Games coach. But he has CL + League to deal with.If mourinho pulls the double somehow, he might put himself as the greatest coach of all time as much as I hate him.
Arsenal don't need Verratti. they're a team full of pussies (no offense to Verratti). they need someone with grinta like Nainggolan, Strootman, or Benatia. they don't need another deer-in-headlights player
Why? What did he do? Jozy had a great season for both his club and country, not to mention he won a trophy. Bradley made some starts for Roma in a poor season and had inconsistent form for the USMNT. Not sure why he deserves it. I think people are letting the his current form cloud their judgement but for the period which that award covers he's clearly deserving.
Its the dutch league the very same league that makes Pelle look like a world class striker. Bradly was playing in italy at Chievo and did great things perhaps he wasn't good enough for Roma's ambitions but he learned a lot while playing in Italy. If I had a team and if I had to choose between Bradly or Jozy id pick Bradly.
That makes no sense in the context of the award. It's given to the best performing American soccer player and that was Jozy. Giving it to Bradley because he subjectively plays for a bigger league and somehow measuring how much he "learned" is a poor case when you see what Jozy accomplished. Not to mention the award covers club and international football which Jozy was instrumental in many of our best wins in that period. By that measurement Donovan should give up his 2010 award to Dempsey.
Donovan should win it every year because his old ass is the only worthwhile attacker we have...still. It sucks that Jozy isn't just having a rough season with some hit and some miss though; he's been tragic.