All-Purpose, Never-Ending Soccer Thread

Are you kidding? No goalie on earth would have stopped that shot...

 

He didn't move until it was almost past him. He had a clear view of Gerrard who was about 30 yards out and was obviously going to shoot.

 

A) the ball was going at least 80 miles an hour and B) it was one yard off the post.

No goalkeeper on earth would have stopped that shot. From Hislop's central position, there just wasn't enough time. It was pure brilliance.

 

From a man who had his cramps to thank for being so far behind the play.

I'm no fan of $tevie Me or his club, but that was a hell of a shot.

 

Saudi Arabia has all of its players domestically-based, but they have a policy of not letting players go abroad. They let Sami Al-Jaber go on loan to Wolves in the mid-90s, but that's it.

It's a shame, too, because Newaf Al-Temyat could be a great midfielder if they'd let him continue to expand as a player.

The next closest were Costa Rica (2 foreign-based players) and Ukraine (3).

 

Really looking forward to tonight....a bunch of my coworkers and i are going to go to a north london pub to soak in the atmosphere--should be crazy if they win.

Meanwhile...Fulham tickets should be going on sale in the next few weeks....looking to buy a 6 game package...hopefully they'll finish better than they did this season....

 

Eagle, I'm curious. With loyalties divided between so many London teams, how jacked does the town get for a big final like this? Is it anything like the buzz you get in a U.S. city that's in the Super Bowl or Series?

 

overall, people are excited because they represent england (despite the team consisting of about 3 Englishman)--however, it depends on who you ask. Spurs fans are rooting for Barca...Chelsea fans could care less since they are league champs. Since this is such a huge soccer country, people here know that tonight will be a good game and are really just excited for that. Henry and Ronaldhino (sp) playing against each other is another exciting storyline (especially since Henry could be playing there next year)...since London is also such a pub town, people are looking at this as a great night for drinking regardless of the outcome. Other than Arsenal supporters, i doubt many people will be hanging their heads should Barca win...

And to answer your question, there is a buzz in the air, but it's not close to the super bowl....i've been told that for the world cup, england has a super bowl type buzz that lasts the entire month....

 

ESPN has done a nice job promoting the game. Both Ronaldinho and Henry are player who could get a novice excited about the sport. I'm guessing 2-0 to Barca.

 

you're exactly right about that--i knew next to nothing about the sport before i moved but watching Henry got me into it. The first time i ever saw Ronaldinho play was against Chelsea in the champions league and now i'll pretty much drop what i'm doing when he's on tv (even in a commercial)....i guess it's similar to someone moving to the states and getting interested in basketball because they've seen Jordan or Bird play a few times....

 

Well, it won't be the same watching at home in my living room, Eagle. Especially since I don't have ESPN2HD. I hope you enjoy the heck out of it.

 

T-minus 30 minutes to kickoff. There's also a replay on the Deuce at 12:30 a.m. Eastern/9:30 p.m. Pacific.

Can't wait to see Ronny running at Campbell and/or Senderos, or vice versa with Henry running at any Barca center back. Just hope Wenger playing five in midfield doesn't spoil the show.

2-1 to the Blaugrana and shexy football all around.