"Six and the City." The Other Teams' Thread [R]

I think that even the bonus points are equal in EL and CL, that is why, for instance, Shaktar had a better club coefficient than us they year they won the EL and we won the CL (and Ukraine had the best country coefficient that year as well, and similarly why Portugal had the highest coefficient last year). So while LPB and Barca look to be rep'ing La Liga well in the CL (time will tell), we also need Atletico, Athletic and Valencia to do their work.

That said, since the coefficients are determined by rolling 5 year periods and we are firmly in 2nd behind EPL and ahead of Bundesliga with each of the top three getting the coveted 4 CL spots and all way ahead of Serie A in 4th, it is not a huge deal right now. So long as La Liga doesn't drop to 4th which shows no sign of happening anytime soon.

But if I am wrong about bonus points in EL please point me to the truth.

He is probably wondering why isn't everybody celebrating with him instead of Benzema

Oh right, from this point on you're correct. You get 1 bonus point for reaching the QF, SF and final (although EL teams are still 2 rounds away from getting that first bonus, of course).

However, up until now, no bonus pts were awarded in the EL. So while Barca has 9 bonus points racked up this season, Bilbao have 0 (and stuck on 9.5 points overall since they managed to lose in Moscow).

Atletico representing ... 3 x 1 now, and deservedly.

Sick shot from distance by Topal.

Valencia 1 x 0 Stoke

Man City fields something pretty close to their best XI against Porto. Only Nasri instead of Aguero and Clichy instead of Zabaleta.

Aguero comes in and makes it 2 x 1 for Man City.

With United and City no longer in the FA Cup they have no games scheduled this weekend, so I was wondering what kind of teams they would field in Europa.

La Liga teams did decently in Europa play:

Valencia accomplishes what Barça never could and wins 1-0 on a cold Thursday night at Stoke.

Simeone's Atletico is looking fearsome: led by Falcao's 2 goals and an assist, they came from behind at Lazio. I am not looking forward to facing them again in La Liga.

Athletic Bilbao played well in the first half on the icy tundra of Luzhniki Stadium, but Lokomotiv came from behind to win 2-1.

Topal > Messi.

It's cold Tuesday nights Barça can't win there

Former NBA star and current bum Allen Iverson needs money. A lot of it. He owes $850,000 in jewelry expenses alone. He's entertaining offers to get paid. Maybe the most curious one: the Rochester Lancers of the Major Indoor Soccer League are offering the Answer "$20,000 per game with a bonus of $5,000 per goal scored, win bonuses, and merchandise bonuses" if he joins their team.

It begs the eternal question: how good would the USMNT be if the country's best athletes devoted themselves to soccer rather than other sports?

But couldn't the same be asked of other countries? Because I'm sure not every country's "best athletes" play soccer.
What if England's rugby and cricket players...
Germany's basketball and ice hockey players...
Australia's rugby and Aussie Rules players...
Africa's long distance runners...
Japan's baseball players and sumo wrestlers ...

Argh!

Please make Stoke the next Gamper opponent and make it an away fixture for us somehow.

Now THAT would be interesting.


I just think that (1) the immense pool of athletes in the US, (2) the way US pro sports are structured into the collegiate system, and (3) the vast difference in money between MLS and other pro leagues, is unique. But I'm sure this conversation has been done to death in the USMNT forums...

Yes, it has. The problem with the argument of course is that there aren't many overlapping skills between a good soccer player and, say, throwing a nice curve ball or shooting a basketball.

But to get to your list, I don't think the collegiate system would work for soccer development. The typical prime age for a soccer player is much younger than American sports like baseball and football where you need time to get bulky to be any good. A soccer player is already entering his prime years at the age most people finish college (~22).

lol CSKA score on the last kick of the match. 1-1.

Who were they playing?

Chel v. Napoli: http://veetle.com/index.php/channel/view#4f3d4bfa68544

Great match in Napoli so far. Chelsea have no clue how to deal with Cavani. Going to be a fun next 135 minutes.

Chelsea looking more dangerous now.

Second away goal coming in 3...2...

Goool!!! Cavani with 2 assists and a goal now.

Meanwhile in Blackpool: West Ham are down to 10 men after goalkeeper Robert Green was sent off for fouling Roman Bednar. The Hammers, who lead 2-1, do not have a substitute keeper.

For some reason (expense?) the English Championship sides only have 5 subs rather than 7, and thus no keeper on the bench. Weird.

UPDATE - Despite having a midfielder sub playing goalie and being down a man West Ham scored a 3rd to lead 3-1.

5 subs to choose from is a part of British tradition I think, in some lesser competitions it is even less - 3 players at the bench.