The Soccer Thread (Version 8)

He's still from Serbia, but he'll no longer fucking murder ya. Vidic to leave United in the summer.

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/feb/06/nemanja-vidic-manchester-united

Probably their best CB in the past 15 years. Better than Rio, at least the equal of Stam.

 

Liverpool putting an ass whipping on the Gunners today. 5-0 early in the second half.

 

I'm seated right across from an Aberdeen fan and a Spurs fan. Lots of love in the office tonight.

 

Dos A Cero scheduled for April 2.

http://www.soccerbyives.net/2014/02/report-friendly-phoenix.html

 

Ah yes, the seemingly annual "away atmosphere at home" friendly. A tradition unlike any other.

 

I thought you could only use "Dos a Cero" if the game is in CBus.

 

Neymar's goal today was every bit as good as Super Mario's

 

Mah Gawd, that's Newcastle United's music!

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/wwe-owner-vince-mcmahon-reported-to-be-sniffing-around-newcastle-united-with-a-view-to-incredible-takeover-bid-9135535.html

 

Migrant worker deaths in Qatar getting way out of hand. Approaching 1,000 deaths and it's still 8 years away. This is incredible.

http://gu.com/p/3mpt8

 

Curious logic coming out of FIFA -- "we can't take the tournament away from Qatar because then there won't be any pressure on them to reform!" Qatar got the World Cup in early December 2011 (and probably knew it was getting it earlier than that) and has yet to do much aside from issuing statements and making half-hearted gestures toward reform. The only group that has any kind of leverage over the Qataris is FIFA, who can take back the World Cup, but with Sepp Blatter desperately trying to secure his Nobel Peace Prize and the looming embarrassment of Qatar leaking who took their bribes, there appears to be little reason to expect anything resembling substantive change.

Out here, migrant workers are treated like disposable, interchangeable widgets, only good to fill the jobs the locals consider too arduous, dangerous or otherwise beneath them. There's one society for the people who can afford a decent living and a wholly separate, far less shiny one for those expected to help provide the former. All the thinly-veiled claims of racism or cultural imperialism and barbs about the West being built on slave labor don't change the fact that in 2014 there is no excuse for working poor, disadvantaged people to death -- be it for a World Cup or something actually worthwhile.

 

Gosh, I wouldn't think exploited migrant workers from other countries would be a possible terrorism threat. A little C-4 in the moldings of one of those stadiums could go a long way.

 

To quote Dean Martin in Back to School: "in Mr. Melon's defense, it was a really big check"