The Soccer Thread (Version 8)

The Premiere League is outstanding. Many, if not most, of the best players are not English. There's a great book about English/world soccer (I can't remember the title) that pretty reasonably explains why England is actually performing at about the level it should.

 

All the individual award winners in the Premier League this year, Player of the Year, Golden Boot, and Best Young Player, Vardy, Kane and Alli, were on the England team. Of course, goalie of the year was not. One emailer to the Guardian questioned whether having so many Spurs players on the club, a team that'd hit the wall very hard at the end of the Premier League season, was such a good idea. Of the Spurs, Dier played well and Walker was OK, but the others were subpar from the start. I'm a Spurs fan, but there's something to that theory. Then again, if you don't pick those guys, then who?

 

Poland is playing like they want to extend their French vacation, already up 1-0. Portugal is, well, Portugal.

 

Is Ronaldo frustrated and petulant?

 

Well, Portugal gets through on PKs. They were very good in the back half once they got into the game, but except for the last 15 minutes of the first half, their offense wasn't much to see. Of course, neither was Poland after their fine start. They seemed to be playing for penalties the entire second half and extra time. Tomorrow it's Wales vs. Belgium. I'd like to see Wales pull off the upset, but I don't think it will happen. Belgians were scary good in their last game.

 

I honestly believe that if you took Ronaldo off Portugal, they're a USMNT-caliber team. Nani is their second-best player, and Pepe might be third best. They've got a shot to win the Euros without winning a game in 90 minutes the entire time. While Ronaldo deserves nothing good in life, outside of a team-wide ability to convert penalties, he's all they've got.

Contrast that with Argentina, which is suddenly a team in CRISIS! despite not losing a game in regulation in two years and holding a clean sheet for 120 minutes against a team that hung 7 goals on El Tri. #narratives

 

Well, when the best player in the world says he won't play for your team anymore, that IS a crisis.

 

In the midst of all this international competition, we shouldn't forget this ...

Zlatan Ibrahimovic: Manchester United complete signing of Swedish striker

Don't know if it will make ManU a top four club, but it should be fun to watch.

 

That's a fair point. I guess I'm just already discounting that he'll actually retire.

 

You are probably correct in that assumption.

 

Well, I'm hoping Wales wins it all now.

 

That'd be great, but I think the winner of Germany-Italy tomorrow winds up with the trophy.