European Leagues Thread 2012/2013

[RoyalChicagoFC]

La Liga matchday #25 (SAT)

Mallorca 0-3 Barcelona
Deportivo 0-0 RM

The lead is back to 7 points with a substantial head-to-head tiebreaker advantage unlikely to be relinquished/overhauled

Copa del Rey final ought to be interesting at least

[sandman]

Benzema has to be the worst striker in Madrid's history and I include Elvir Baljic in that.

[Ferris]

Dortmund pissed all over Bayern at the Allianz Arena, winning 3-1 to go 13 points clear of Leverkusen who play Werder Bremen today.

[prostak]

Nobody else was ever going to win this year's BL but Dortmund.

Worth checking out Sahin's goal for Dortmund's second yesterday, real beauty.

[Starfish]

It really has been fun supporting Nuremberg over the past three months - after an up and down start to the season, Christian Eigler's late equaliser against Hoffenheim in December turned the season around. Including that game, FCN have now lost just one of their last ten league games (inexplicably, against Gladbach) and today, they won 5-0 against St. Pauli. Eigler scored four. At the beginning of the year, the talk was of a relegation battle - for the last 15 minutes of the game today, the fans just constantly sang 'Europa Pokal, Europa Pokal'. Up to sixth, only three behind Bayern - the good folk in Northern Bavaria are beginning to dream.

[RG30]

I'll be in Nuremberg in two weeks for the game Vs Werder

[Starfish]

I'll be in Nuremberg in two weeks for the game Vs Werder

Have you already got tickets?

[RoyalChicagoFC]

Speaking of Germany, Bayern not only got clobbered 3-1 away to Hannover today (and now sit 5 points behind the winners and fourth in the table, with Mainz 2 points behind them and playing Hamburg on Sunday), but they also got beat by Schalke at home in the semis of the DFB-Pokal in midweek (final v. Duisburg in Berlin on 21st May)

Stuttgart out of the bottom three provisionally, pending the outcome of Freiburg v. Werder on Sunday

Just look at that Bundesliga table --four clubs have shared the last seven league titles, and the three not named Bayern now occupy positions amongst the bottom five

Can you imagine anything like it in the Premier League with 10>9 games left in the season? Or in Spain? Or Italy?

[prostak]

It's an odd-numbered year - of course Bayern are underachieving.

[daswonder]

Just look at that Bundesliga table --four clubs have shared the last seven league titles, and the three not named Bayern now occupy positions amongst the bottom five

Can you imagine anything like it in the Premier League with 10>9 games left in the season? Or in Spain? Or Italy?

Real Sociedad came 2nd in the 2002-03 season and came 15th the following season
Celta Vigo came 4th in the same season and were relegated the next

[RoyalChicagoFC]

Well recollected, and of course Sociedad are back up and Celta --who've found themselves in the thick of serious battles with relegation from the second level in each of the last three seasons-- now seem a decent bet for a return to the top flight, with recently dumped Betis and Rayo up there too (top two are automatics, with third thru sixth playing off and reserve squads ineligible for promotion/play-offs irrespective of final placement --Barcelona B are sat sixth)

Anyway now imagine any two or three or even all of Valencia, Villarreal, Sevilla and Atleti down amongst the bottom five as they turn for home (it'd be sheer fantasy to suggest Barcelona and RM as well, so I won't), and none of it down to mismanagement of finances

And speaking of which from a bit farther afield, has anybody checked in on Boavista recently?

[soggy biscuit]

Going with the above theme - LOLz @ Ascoli. Serie A 3 years ago, now look like they are heading to the 3rd tier

[Rev Algenon Stickleback H]

Going with the above theme - LOLz @ Ascoli. Serie A 3 years ago, now look like they are heading to the 3rd tier

They are hardly a major club by Italian terms, so them slipping down again isn't that much of a shock. It seems to be almost normal for clubs of that size.

[daswonder]

In Serie A you've had the incidents with Parma/Lazio (their owners going bankrupt but managing to just stay afloat), Fiorentina/Torino (again bankrupt but this time they went into Liquidation (new clubs born)), Juventus (match fixing scandal etc "Calciopoli")

People can take digs at the Italian game but nobody can complain that we don't deal with situations minus the hooliganism factor, no matter how long it takes.

Fact is if Portsmouth were in Italy they wouldn't have been saved like they were by the Premier league.

[soggy biscuit]

Juninho's still banging in them free kicks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkMfxo4CrjY&feature=player_embedded


I genuinely can't think of any better free kick taker ever

[RG30]

Eric Abidal diagnosed with a tumour in his liver, to be operated on in next few days.

[prostak]

Now Bayern are out of the Champions League, I think we could see a panic sacking in the next few days...

[prostak]

No early sacking for van Gaal, he'll be allowed to plough on as a lame duck until the season's over. Leverkusen's Heynckes will return to Bayern for next season, sparking another grand round of Bundesliga musical chairs. Felix Magath has already gone to Wolfsburg, but he'll have a huge job to do anything like as well as his last time there.

Meanwhile, Dortmund continue to taunt their rivals by losing and drawing here and here. It may be theirs to lose, but they do seem hell-bent on proving that. St Pauli are now in the relegation playoff spot and only a point above Volkswagen FC, but even if they do go down they can take pride in having given football surely its greatest ever off-field story - a 'Wild West-style catfight'.

[sandman]

Jose nine year unbeaten home run ended by Sporting Gijon. 0-1.

[Rev Algenon Stickleback H]

St Pauli are now in the relegation playoff spot and only a point above Volkswagen FC, but even if they do go down they can take pride in having given football surely its greatest ever off-field story

How much trouble will they be in after the abandoned game v schalke?

For those without ESPN, St Pauli were a goal down and had a goal ruled out incorrectly for offside (the guy who was ruled offside didn't even touch the ball, and wasn't offside anyway). Schalke went down the other end and scored almost straight away. St Pauli then had two players sent off, and someone in the crowd got annoyed and chucked a plastic beer-mug at the linesman who'd disallowed their equaliser. The ref then abandoned the game.


Great to see St Pauli on tv though. I love the sight of a packed terrace, and St Pauli have them on all sides, even after redevelopment.