OT Soccer World Cup Final Argentina France

[Mike the Brit]

For the Premier League, I will need to consult a map and figure out which team is closest to a place called Bury St Edmunds. That's where my people are from before coming to Newbury MA in the early 1600's.

Ah, you're out of luck. The local teams in that bit of England are out of the Premier League. You're probably closest to the North and East London teams: Arsenal, Spurs and West Ham.

 

[slam]

Messi should just retire from international games....

Messi should just show up at the next World Cup, sit at the end of the bench, then get inserted into the last minute of knockout games in overtime to take penalties.

 

[slam]

Premier League is the best league in the world. To give a perspective on the teams to choose from, I’ll try to compare to football teams.

Manchester United - Dallas Cowboys : probably leagues most historically famous team

Manchester City - KC Chiefs: Best team right now. Will be competing for the title for years to come

Liverpool - Pittsburgh Steelers: Always near the top of the league. Historical team.

Tottenham - LA Rams : London based team. Usually pretty good

Arsenal - San Fran : London based. Pretty good history

Chelsea - NY Giants : London based. Pretty good history

We should mention Leeds United currently has an American coach and two key players. They're fun and aggressive but middling at best in the standings.

 

[Dingleberry]

Ah, you're out of luck. The local teams in that bit of England are out of the Premier League. You're probably closest to the North and East London teams: Arsenal, Spurs and West Ham.

Thank you. I will have to do some research and pick one of those teams to attach myself to!

I have heard of Arsenal, so I might go with one of the other two just to not be a front runner.

I don't know if this question has an answer, but if I lived in Fortis Green in London, who would likely be my team?

 

[slam]

I just checked the Premier League standings and the Champion's League scores on ESPN.

I am so f'ing confused, LOL.

So the top teams in various leagues compete in another simultaneous league, right? Crazy. Sounds really cool.

What if a team in the Champions League starts having a horrible season in their "home" league? How many teams from each league compete?

I saw a couple Premier teams in the recent scores along with Milan, Real Madrid, and some others I know are from elsewhere. My head is spinning.

For the Premier League, I will need to consult a map and figure out which team is closest to a place called Bury St Edmunds. That's where my people are from before coming to Newbury MA in the early 1600's.

It's a hodgepodge. There are games going on that you can't tell what the stakes are. Additionally there are domestic tournaments which include teams from different levels of Football, so sometimes Man U will have to face East Nowhereshire FC in the FA Cup and they use all their backups.

EDIT: Or teams that face each other all the time in league could also face each other in the Champions league and/or a Domestic Cup, sometimes in quick succession.

 

[upstater1]

Messi should just show up at the next World Cup, sit at the end of the bench, then get inserted into the last minute of knockout games in overtime to take penalties.

Not sure why you say this. Are you saying he is opportunistically scoring on penalties but not doing much else?

 

[upstater1]

We should mention Leeds United currently has an American coach

Not For Long!!!

 

[slam]

Not sure why you say this. Are you saying he is opportunistically scoring on penalties but not doing much else?

No, just in four years he probably won't be up for the grind of 90 minute games but could still step up and bury penalties.

 

[upstater1]

I just checked the Premier League standings and the Champion's League scores on ESPN.

I am so f'ing confused, LOL.

So the top teams in various leagues compete in another simultaneous league, right? Crazy. Sounds really cool.

What if a team in the Champions League starts having a horrible season in their "home" league? How many teams from each league compete?

Yes, that's what makes it so great.

Even worse, sometimes a team wins their league, and they make the Champions League for the following season, but many of their players leave for other teams, and they end up getting buried.

Other teams barely qualify (finish 4th) then load up.

So, for instance, Chelsea won the Champions League a few years ago while they had what they might consider a poor showing in the Premier League (4th place finish, considered only so-so for them).

It's really hard for teams to win their league and advance far in Champions. You need a very deep team because it's grueling. You'll see top teams play backups in Champions League UNTIL they get to the knockout round. When it's round robin, they will sometimes rest their best players.

 

[upstater1]

No, just in four years he probably won't be up for the grind of 90 minute games but could still step up and bury penalties.

Oh, gotcha. I maybe doubt he'll still be around but you never know

 

[Mike the Brit]

I don't know if this question has an answer, but if I lived in Fortis Green in London, who would likely be my team?

You might want to check with Google Maps, but, so far as I can see, you're equidistant between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur!

 

[Dingleberry]

You might want to check with Google Maps, but, so far as I can see, you're equidistant between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur!

Ray Davies of The Kinks is my musical/songwriter GOAT. Fortis Green was his hometown.

So that's my tie breaker.

 

[Shed83]

English premiership is definitely the most competitive ‘big’ league in Europe.

Sadly soccer has just become an arms race. All the big English clubs are owned by the worlds wealthiest people and just simply buy their way to success. It’s becoming impossible for historic clubs and smaller clubs to compete.

Also because the world are glory hunters (I’m assuming you call them front runners) most fans from America, South America, and especially Asia pick one of the big 6 and buy their shirt and so the financial gap widens! (There’s no hard cap as such)

Man City and Chelsea were traditionally small clubs that were bought by ridiculously wealthy men who bought their success and now they have huge worldwide fanbases!



The best league for fun in my opinion is the German bundesliga. Put aside Bayern Munich winning the championship every year….the stadiums are full, the fans are excellent, outwith Bayern the league can be competitive and usually the most goals in the top 5 European leagues!

 

[upstater1]

You might want to check with Google Maps, but, so far as I can see, you're equidistant between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur!

He's also close to Norwich. Currently 4 points from promotion. They also have an American as their striker in Josh Sargent

 

[fightingirish595]

That game had me STRESSED! Argentina should’ve put that away earlier.

laturo Martinez is higuain JR.

 

[fightingirish595]

Not sure why you say this. Are you saying he is opportunistically scoring on penalties but not doing much else?

I think maybe he means messi will be too old by then but could still take penalties

 

[BritPat]

From the elbow down it's a handball

This isn't correct. The upper arm can also be hand-ball.

 

[BritPat]

Thank you. I will have to do some research and pick one of those teams to attach myself to!

I have heard of Arsenal, so I might go with one of the other two just to not be a front runner.

I don't know if this question has an answer, but if I lived in Fortis Green in London, who would likely be my team?

Legitimately just had to Google Fortis Green! Just seen it's classed as part of Haringay which is Tottenham territory.

They're a good side and the bonus with following them is that their stadium is one of the venues for the NFL London games. The stadium is unreal.

 

[Mike the Brit]

Legitimately just had to Google Fortis Green! Just seen it's classed as part of Haringay which is Tottenham territory.he

They're a good side and the bonus with following them is that their stadium is one of the venues for the NFL London games. The stadium is unreal.

You obviously don't know Haringey (or Harringay)* but trust me, I do -- and it's pretty evenly split between Arsenal and Tottenham. There are decent arguments for both clubs. Of all the mega-clubs, Arsenal is the one that has done most to produce and promote its own players and just at present are probably the best team to watch. Tottenham, as you say, have a fine new stadium and host the NFL. Their ownership seems particularly unpleasant to me, but I wouldn't want to judge on that because all of the big clubs' owners are unattractive. They have a very good, very tough, Italian coach. So long as he stays they will be a club to be reckoned with.

I take the point about Norwich, but, even if they get to the Premiership, they are as likely as not to go down again. And you can't really watch the Championship in the U.S. so far as I know. Likewise the Bundesliga, although @Shed83 makes a really good case.

EDIT: *There isn't a "Haringay" but there is a "Harringay", which is part of "Haringey". How British!

Is It Haringey Or Harringay?

A classic London dilemma.

londonist.com

 

[BritPat]

I usually create a World Cup thread but their didn't seem much interest this time around. Definitely will next time with it being on home soil for you guys.

My thoughts on the tournament - it was a farce they were chosen as hosts and never again should there be this kind of question about the host of the tournament. As ever though, once the football started, the questions went away, as we saw in 2018 and Russia.

Before now, the seminal tournament of my life was World Cup 90 in Italy - it was the first one I was old enough to really understand (I was 10) and it helped that England got to the semi finals (before as ever being knocked out in glorious failure on penalties). As a spectacle it wasn't *that* good with some dreadful games played out (including maybe the worst final ever) and the lack of any of the top players really grabbing the tournament by the horns (top scorer was Toto Schillachi who very nearly didn't make the Italian squad).

There's been some great World Cups since, France 1998 was outstanding with the emergence of Zidane as the best player on the planet, 2002 also was one of my favourites with some great games and some unfancied sides getting deep into the tournament.

I think this though has been the *best* World Cup of my life; quality of football; unfancied sides getting into the knockout rounds (Morocco!!) and above all, the best players in the world saving their best for it. Mbappe was absolutely breath-taking and I'm gutted he walks away with little. but if he could lose to anyone, it had to the best player that I've ever seen and that we can only be thankful to have seen play in our lifetimes.

Messi was on another level from the off. He looked reborn, almost as though the pressure was off. It could never have been due to the questions of his "legacy" and where he stood in comparison with his hero Maradona. This will always bee Messi's World Cup and we will always remember where we were when it happened.