My life’s been busy and exhausting lately, nothing bad but precious little time. As a lot has happened since I last posted anything meaningful, here are several short takes.
I believe that England is in real trouble heading into Euro 2012. It’s not merely Wayne Rooney’s suspension for the first two games of group play, but the coaching situation with Fabio Capello’s resignation and the impending disunity on the back line if both Rio Ferdinand and John Terry are selected, given that it’s Ferdinand’s brother that Terry is accused of racially abusing.
André Villas-Boas has some formidable coaching skills, but I don’t believe that he was quite ready for the egos that make up Chelsea FC. Hindsight is 20-20, but another year at FC Porto would have served him well. That being said, he’s not responsible for Daniel Sturridge completely botching a one-on-one against West Brom’s goalkeeper last weekend, nor is he responsible for the fact that Ashley Cole hasn’t scored a goal for two seasons (I know he’s a defender, but he never had a dry spell that long at Arsenal). The team is aging and they were just barely able to beat 10 man Stoke City today.
I believe Real Madrid will win La Liga this year. Barcelona has too great a gap to make up and I don’t see Real Madrid losing to some of their remaining games – except against Barcelona at the Camp Nou on April 21.
At least one commenter has accused Leo Messi of diving, something for which I see no evidence. Consider the replay at 6 minutes 35 seconds of this clip and you’ll see him being pulled back by a much larger defender to no avail. His acceleration to get the return pass is astonishing.
Honestly, is there any team more nerve-wracking than Arsenal? Losing weakly to Sunderland in the FA Cup a week after they rallied heroically against them to win in a league game. Getting crushed by Milan at the San Siro and then nearly making up the difference at home. A solid victory against Spurs and a shocking win against Liverpool at Anfield. Not for the faint of heart. I would imagine that every time Robin Van Persie hits the ground, Arsene Wenger’s heart skips a beat.
About a year ago I said that Andy Carroll will be a more cost-effective purchase for Liverpool than Fernando Torres was for Chelsea. I was wrong: both have been huge disappointments.
It looks like my Kaiserslautern Red Devils are headed for a return to the Bundesliga’s second division. Well, at least I’ll get a good price on my jersey purchase when I’m there in May.
I just finished watching Tottenham lose to Everton. They may yet hold on to third, but they’re still a work in progress. That’s three in a row by a 9-2 aggregate. Suddenly much of the talk of Harry Redknapp for England manager seems to be quieting.
MikeJ
I believe the sun will rise in the east.
Randinho
@MikeJ: What can i say? I have a firm grasp on the obvious :-)
MikeJ
@Randinho: It’s not just Eruo 2012 that’s the problem. World cup 2014, Euro 2016…doesn’t matter. England will lose.
cathyx
Oh, I thought you meant real football. ;)
Randinho
@MikeJ: No argument from me, but I just wanted to take the first tournament as an example.
Brian S
Was very pleased to see Aston Villa pull out a win against Fulham in the last minute. I don’t generally say this about AV, but they deserved the 3 points today. It was just bad luck they didn’t score 3 or 4, and Fulham really only had one terrific chance. I’ve heard people say that they took a big hit when Dunne went down, but I think their defense is better now without him. They’re quicker at least.
Randinho
@cathyx: This is the real football.
Watusie
Most likely scenario is that, having sat out the first two matches because of his suspension, Rooney will start the third match with England in a must-win situation, and then get himself sent off. And I’m only half joking. Leave him home.
Raincitygirl
England are ALWAYS in trouble heading into a major tournament. That’s why being a fan of them is so stressful (although they at least mostly GET to major tournaments, even if they do badly at them, which is more than i can say about my adopted country of Canada). But I agree that this time is especially troublesome. And it’s not just Rio Ferdinand who has a problem with Terry, rumour has it. Some other black England players are said to be less than thrilled about playing with him.
As for Harry Redknapp, I think England would be better off giving the job to David Moyes or someone similar. Redknapp’s a good manager in many ways, but he’s heavily dependent on being able to buy his way out of trouble. Which is fine at a club level, but at the international level, you can’t just throw money at foreign players and get them to suddenly become England players. Doesn’t work that way. The FA are better off looking for a manager who’s used to dealing with financial restraints at his club, and who can make the best of the limited personnel he’s already got.
Amir Khalid
Liverpool have now lost two of two Premier League matches since winning the Carling Cup, and that pisses me off no end. They can and should be doing much better.
J. Michael Neal
Gophers against North Dakota for the sixth time this season in two hours. Winner goes to Duluth for the Frozen Four next week and the loser goes (stays) home. I like our chances of beating the Fighting Whioux, but, fuck, I’m nervous.
Raincitygirl
Sad to say, Watusie, you are probably right.
Southern Beale
This is not football related in any way but there’s no open thread so … I thought people should know of the crazy anti-UN conspiracy crap making its way through state legislatures around the country, courtesy of the John Birch Society.
Between this and the birth control fight and all that other stuff, I feel like I’m living in 1962. But I guess the good part about 1962 is that it was followed by 1972.
SIGH.
BGinCHI
@Raincitygirl: I agree with most of what you say here, especially about how national team mgrs have to think differently than club mgrs.
Redknapp is competent, that’s for sure. Moyes is not up to it, I don’t think. He’s decent but has never shown that his teams can muster an offensive attack. England needs a manager that can solidify the squad and get goal production. Not sure who it should be, but I’d hate to see someone with no charisma take it over.
Good to see you posting, Randinho!
sb
Jesus, man, we missed you! I’ve been on a soccer Jones for weeks and dying to blab about it.
I agree with all that you say but will add this caveat–Real wins La Liga but they don’t beat Barca in the CL because… well, Real doesn’t beat Barca.
Another note: I’m an EPL guy, love my Citizens but I think in light of the recent Europa results, we need to stop calling La Liga a two-team league. Bilbao and Sporting just took it to both of the Manchester clubs.
Finally, Paderborn 07 will gladly take your sides place in Bundesliga 1. :)
Amir Khalid
@Southern Beale:
The late Richard Holbrooke used to say something to this effect: blaming the UN when the international community screws up is like blaming Madison Square Garden when the Knicks lose. (The Knicks are, like, some kind of sports team, right?)
So what’s the right-wing beef with the UN’s Agenda 21 sustainable development plan? Is it the “sustainable” part, the “development” part, the “plan” part, or (drum roll…) the “UN” part?
Raincitygirl
BGinCHI, you may well be right that Moyes wouldn’t be up to it.
The biggest problem is whoever the FA chooses, would they actually *want* the job? It’s proven to be a poisoned chalice over and over again. Plus, they’d be going into a major tournament with zero lead time. And they’re liable to get massacred by the press when England inevitably leave said major tournament with a whimper rather than a bang.
Z
It’s worth mentioning that Major League Soccer’s season starts today. Mock all you want, but I’d go to my kid’s high school play even though it’s not on Broadway.
It’s our league, so as long as there’s a soccer post on the day it begins, I figured I’d give everyone a heads-up.
Mark B
In the future, please refer to the game with the round ball as ‘futbol’ or soccer. So I don’t end up clicking on a thread which is about endless fiddling around with the ball in the midfield and hardly ever scoring. Come to think of it, that description applies to a lot of teams in the NFL.
TBogg
Messi doesn’t dive. If anything, he is remarkably difficult to knock off his feet due to his low center of gravity. Would that half (okay, all) the running backs in the NFL had his remarkable sense of balance.
Amir Khalid
@Raincitygirl:
Agreed: it’s way too late to appoint a manager for Euro 2012. The English FA should leave Stuart Pearce in charge until afterwards. This shouldn’t take long — like you, I foresee the usual early exit for England. Then they can appoint a new manager for the 2014 World Cup qualifiers.
Last year the Guardian reported that a government commission had found the FA was in need of urgent and radical reforms. The story ran online with a picture of the FA headquarters’ main entrance. Under the FA’s crest by the front door was the slogan: “A world class organisatipn with a winning mentality”.
scarshapedstar
I want my money back.
jgaugust
As a diehard Gooner, this season has caused me multiple cardiac arrests and has taken at least another year off of my life. The near-comeback against Milan on Tuesday was the single most incredible display of glorious failure I’ve ever witnessed. This team has so much attacking power when they are confident, but so many times they over rely on the world’s best pure striker (RVP. I don’t consider Messi a pure striker as he plays a mixture of AM and CF) and don’t take the opportunity to get other players involved.
That said, the reemergence of Tomas Rosicky, impending signing of Lukas Podolski, hopeful signing of Yann M’Vila and either Mario Gotze or Eden Hazard makes me very confident for the future. Ryo Miyachi has been Bolton’s best player since he has been on loan and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is the absolute best English talent since Rooney (and let’s be real…Ox is significantly better than Rooney at the age of 18). When we get Wilshere back from injury and sell off the deadwood (Arshavin, Chamakh, Denilson, Squillaci, Almunia) we’ll be in excellent position to challenge for the league next season.
Oh, and I think we’re going to overtake the scum and end in third place this season. :)
sb
@TBogg: I’m of the opinion that most of what we see as “diving” is really guys just falling down to avoid getting their legs taken out. Gareth Bale was catching grief for this a couple of weeks back (claims that he took a dive) when in fact it looked like he was avoiding having his shins sent to the cheap seats.
I think the most common misconception of soccer is just how brutally physical and dangerous the game can be. Hell, I imagine you’ve seen a thing or three from the sidelines of the L&T Casey’s games, no? :)
sb
@jgaugust:
But for a couple of healthy midfielders, they would have won that game. They just ran out of gas. And yes, that contest was epic.
The Reverend T
There’s one golden choice for England: Martin O’Neill.
He’s spent the last 15 years doing miraculous things with average sets of players, Leicester, Celtic and now with Sunderland. He’s exactly what England need.
BGinCHI
@Raincitygirl: Maybe just hire Roy Keane to manage: at least if they lose you know he’ll give the players holy hell for it.
If Mark Hughes would prove he could manage, he’d be a good choice….
Raven
Basetball Jones
jgaugust
@sb: Agreed entirely. It’s a shame RVP missed the chip for the fourth, but given that we played the first 45 at the speed of 11 on the dial, I can’t fault the team. Hopefully nearly 6 full days to recover will be good enough to get the spoils against Toon on Monday. After Sp*rs loss to Everton today at Goodison, we have a real shot at it. Can’t let the disappointment of Tuesday hangover us.
This is my hope for what next year’s team looks like:
RVP
Podolski — Hazard — Ox
Wilshere–Song/M’Vila
Santos— Vermaelen–Mertesacker–Sagna
Szczesny
Bench: Walcott, Miyaichi, Rosicky, Song/M’Vila, Diaby, Gibbs, Fabianski
The Dude Abides
Messi diving? Ha! One of the reasons we non-soccer fans like Messi is because he almost never dives. He would rather stay on his feet and keep the play going. If soccer had any brains, they would call penalties for illegal tackles but let the play keep going until the penalized team gains possession. Then the referee could stop play and give a free kick to the team whose player was illegally tackled. This would discourage diving, but organized soccer is too stupid and corrupt to change the rule.
jgaugust
@The Dude Abides: This is actually what happens many times. It’s called playing the advantage. Very similar to the way it works in hockey.
BGinCHI
@Amir Khalid: This sounds right. Hate to say it, but there really aren’t good choices. And Pearce has been good with the under-21s.
BGinCHI
@jgaugust: My plan for Arsenal next season:
Relegation.
jgaugust
@BGinCHI: Ha! Sp*rs fan I take it?
BGinCHI
@jgaugust: Liverpool. And Swansea when I get a chance to see them….
jgaugust
@The Reverend T: Agreed with you, although no way Black Cats let him leave or take on both jobs. He’s an absolutely fantastic manager.
jgaugust
@BGinCHI: Ah, a Scouse. Congrats on winning the Carling Cup. I’m not at all surprised by the dip in form though. Carroll is a waste and Suarez is just a distraction, despite his goal-scoring threat.
Bottom line: You never replaced Xabi and that’s been the single biggest mistake of the past 10 years for Liverpool. I really hope that this does not become the story of us and Cesc.
BGinCHI
@jgaugust: A lot of truth to that. Alonzo was a rock in that position and once Lucas figured it out he got hurt and that has I think really led to a lot of these losses. I keep telling myself Carroll will find a role but I’m just not sure about these tall but foot slow strikers. Suarez is obviously a huge talent, but he’s a head case. I wish we had gotten Demba Ba. That guy is good.
Raincitygirl
I totally agree with JGAugust and the Reverend T: Martin O’Neill is a superb manager who knows all about spinning straw into gold. However, I doubt he’s glamorous enough for the FA.
jgaugust
@BGinCHI: Apparently we had been in on Ba for a while, but decided against it. Which is really odd since Wenger loves those French-speaking players. Although I will say, he has cooled off significantly and Newcastle look a lot more adrift.
Carroll I think will be a consistent 10-15 goal scorer. Which is fine, but he’s not going to set the world on fire and he sure wasn’t worth the 50 you shelled out for him. Very similar to Berbatov for me, but with less technical footwork.
BGinCHI
@Raincitygirl: I like him too. Tony Pulis as well.
jgaugust
@Raincitygirl: When Wenger was under pressure earlier in the year, I was hoping that O’Neill would stick around in the unemployment line so that we could poach him assuming Wenger got the sack. In terms of managers in the Premier League, (1) Sir Drinks-a-lot (ugh, I hate him, but the man gets results) (2) Wenger (3) O’Neill, (4) Moyes (5) Redknapp
jgaugust
@BGinCHI: I can’t take Pulis seriously as the man pretty much plays an English version of Catenaccio. Plus, you know he tells his team to go out and make dirty tackles on opposing players. Oh, and anyone that employs Rory Delap makes me sick.
BGinCHI
@jgaugust: Or a shorter Peter Crouch. Ba was good in Germany, too. Solid player, but needs help. I’m also a Bremen fan. Would liked to have seen Pizarro in the EPL when he was in top form (which is now, maybe, but I can’t stand to see him leave WB).
jgaugust
@BGinCHI: I actually like Bremen as well. I’m not quite as familiar with the Bundesliga, despite my uncle living in Munich. What has continually shocked me about the Premier League has been the inability of players from Italy to succeed there. Spanish, French, Dutch, and German players have all found pretty solid success there, but Italians have never quite seemed to find their niche.
And I like your comparison to Crouch. The way England’s striker options are shaping up, he actually might somehow make it on to the Euro squad (which would be both a joke and absolute travesty).
pseudonymous in nc
@The Reverend T:
A manager from Euro-Foreign is just about acceptable; a manager from the Celtic Fringe is a different matter, and it won’t happen for a while.
I actually think Pearce deserves a chance, specifically because nobody has his experience watching and working with young players who are qualified for the national side. He visits the academies, goes to Championship matches, watches the stiffs for players who can’t make it into the first team. That said, I’d prefer someone else to be blamed for Euro 2012, so that Pearce can treat the weird ‘Team GB’ thing at the Olympics as a roll-out for the next generation with an eye on World Cup qualification.
In other news, I just checked the Eredivisie table, and five points separate the top six: Twente can go top if Schteve’sh boysh beat NAC Breda tomorrow.
BGinCHI
@jgaugust: I like Crouch, and root for him out of a sense of pity. I just feel sorry for that big skinny guy out there. He does have amazing skills, even if he isn’t a great player.
Bundesliga is underrated, I think. I watch a match every weekend and it’s almost always good stuff. Quite a few quality sides in there. And Bremen is a club that brings up great talent only to lose them to richer clubs.
Don’t get the Italian thing either. Love the country but don’t think their league is all that. Too many of their players lack heart, if I can just grossly generalize for a minute. Prima donnas everywhere….
jgaugust
@BGinCHI: The Bundesliga for me is really an interesting commodity. I went out to Allianz a few years back for a 2. match between 1860 and Aachen. Very fun atmosphere despite my having to leave at halftime since my feet became frozen in the 10-degree temperature and I was standing at one of the corners.
I don’t get GolTV so I don’t get to watch Bundesliga matches in general, but I do appreciate teams like Bayern, Dortmund, Bremen, and Wolfsburg. It’s a deep league and there always seem to be some fun surprises every season (and not just in mid-table, at the top too).
As for Crouch, I have a very hard time supporting him as a Gooner, but I get it if you are a Pool supporter. He was a credit to the Reds for years and he does have a lot of talent (even if he does give the ball away every 3 passes).
And on the Italian thing, absolutely. Watching Milan on Tuesday was a joke. Serie A is so corrupt it’s ridiculous, not to mention the fact that the most exciting team in the league there now is Napoli, whereas clubs like Roma and Juventus are mostly mid-table sides these days. Oh, and they’re players are generally trash. If I have to see another Materrazi or Gattuso I’ll hurt myself. Not to mention my raw hatred for Rossi who right now could be making a ton of difference in a US national side, but instead decided to bail and play for Italy.
BGinCHI
@jgaugust: Yeah, Rossi made a bad choice. But Italian-American love for the home country is very strong. I keep waiting for the Italian side to start sucking bad. Is Balotelli playing for them? Man, I hate that guy. I used to root for Italy as I have lots of Italian friends and almost married an Italian woman. But they piss me off. The Spanish side has SO much class in comparison. And the Germans are going to get really good soon, with a lot of young players coming up.
Great thing about the Bundesliga is that teams go up and down but then win the whole damn league. There is a lot of parity with the exception of B Munich who are always at or near the top. I love rooting against them.
Amir Khalid
If I’m not mistaken, Peter Crouch’s middle name is Comma.
jgaugust
@BGinCHI: Spain has class in terms of talent, but definitely not in terms of actual persons. I’m far more of a fan of the Netherlands. Outside of De Jong, there really is no one on that team who isn’t a pretty good person and talk about beautiful total football.
Totally agree about Germany. I think they should be a top 3 or 4 favorite for the 2014 Cup (although I do think Brazil take that on their home soil, despite having an apparent recent nadir of talent).
My issue with Rossi is not that he chose Italy, but that had he stayed and played for the US, he would become the best player in the country’s history and you throw him in a midfield with Donovan and Bradley, with Deuce up top? Could have been a brilliant national side.
And now it’s time for Match of the Day (hooray proxy servers allowing me to watch BBC live!).
BGinCHI
@jgaugust: Would like to agree about Spain and the Dutch, but I can’t. Van Bommel is an asshole and plays like a thug (de Jong as well). Can’t stand Robben for one second: one of the whingingest players ever. Beyond that, ok. Love Kuyt and there is a lot of talent there. Also love the Netherlands as a country and so wish I could root for them. The Spanish side plays with class, though you may be right they are not nice human beings. But then top athletes usually aren’t.
Except for Steven Gerrard, who is of course a saint.
The Dude Abides
@jgaugust: Ah ok…shows you what I know :)
burnspbesq
How about 47,000 on a Wednesday night in Toronto for a CONCACAF Champions League match? Unreal.
And I think Klinsmann may have found the solution to the left back problem. Fabian Johnson looked good against Italy.
jgaugust
@BGinCHI: Ok, granted, I’ll give you Van Bommel. I have no problem with Robben though (he dives a bit, but meh, most top players do).
As for Gerrard, he’s been a class player for Liverpool forever and I think he absolutely deserves to be the next England captain (if he ever gets fully fit again).
@The Dude Abides: Haha, no worries mate. You should start watching games though. They’re a ton of fun and if you pick a side to support, it makes it all the more worthwhile.
burnspbesq
@jgaugust:
Wait until Holden and Donovan are both healthy at the same time. We’ll go 4-2-3-1 with Edu and Bradley as twin holding mids, Holden, Donovan and Dempsey playing off each other, and Jozy up top. It’ll be as good an attacking unit as the US has ever had.
Thank God for AZ giving Jozy regular playing time. His improvement in the last six months has really been remarkable.
BGinCHI
@burnspbesq: When’s the next US match? I missed the Italy match and was pissed. Heard they played great.
burnspbesq
@BGinCHI:
May 26 against Scotland in Jacksonville.
Brad
I will be nice to have Toronto in MLS this year, and the support looks great. Only 28k in Seattle. (who have supplied a good share of the team.)
burnspbesq
I only saw about 20 minutes of QPR – Bolton, but Tim Ream didn’t look out of place. Fabulous cross to set up the first Bolton goal.
Hans Backe must go. He almost destroyed Ream, and he’s in the process of destroying Juan Agudelo.
jgaugust
@burnspbesq: I love Holden. Absolutely fantastic player, but terrible injuries the past year. Really do hope he gets fit again because he nearly singlehandedly put Bolton mid-table last season.
Very interesting formation with the 4-2-3-1. I think it can work in CONCACAF very successfully, but I’m not sure how it will hold up internationally at a World Cup. Playing with a lone pure striker is risky unless that player has fantastic hold-up skills. Jozy isn’t there yet, so maybe in the next two seasons he can develop into that striker.
That said, I really just want to see more of Deuce playing in a pure AM/Winger role. He’s been awesome for Fulham this year (they really would be wise to sell him for about 15 million to a team like Chelsea, Arsenal, or Liverpool). When Jol has given him the freedom to just run about the pitch and make plays, he’s done it. A 3-1 formation up top could allow him tons of freedom, but that would require Donovan overlapping, which is his worst footballing trait, by far.
And completely agree about Alkmaar giving Jozy the ability to play. What’s fantastic too is that they currently sit top of the Eredivisie, so Jozy is getting a taste of what it is like to go for a major trophy. I think he would be the first American-born player to be awarded a league championship medal in Europe, although I might be wrong about that (someone double-check this stat).
jgaugust
@burnspbesq: Agudelo needs to get out of NY. He could be the absolute perfect super sub if he got the confidence. His goal against Argentina last year was class and he has I think the most raw talent of any US player ever. Someone in Europe needs to pick him up and give him a good run of play.
BGinCHI
@burnspbesq: Something about playing the Scots in FL just doesn’t sound right.
burnspbesq
@jgaugust:
The guy I’m dying to see in a USA shirt is Joe Corona. He’s put up some pretty impressive performances for Tijuana. Let’s find out if he’s the real deal.
jgaugust
@burnspbesq: Don’t know much about Corona. I like his multicultural background. We’ll see if Jurgen will play him. I’m not fond generally of taking U-23s who have not yet made a cap for the full senior side. Should be interesting though.
pragmatism
COYS!
burnspbesq
“I think he would be the first American-born player to be awarded a league championship medal in Europe, although I might be wrong about that (someone double-check this stat).”
Maurice Edu, DaMarcus Beasley, and Carlos Bocanegra have all won SPL championships at Rangers. Jovan Kirovski has a Champions League medal from his early stint at Borussia Dortmund.
Giovanni da Procida
Maybe a generation ago. Van Bommel is a classless thug, and the 2010 Netherlands side was an amazing amalgam of diving, whining, blatant fouling, and ugly play.
Giovanni da Procida
@Z:
Indeed. Very excited to have out league start up. I’m hoping that Hamdi Salihi is the real deal.
jgaugust
@Giovanni da Procida: Fundamentally disagree with that assessment. That 2010 Netherlands side were beautiful to watch most of the time. And they still do play a majority total football style. Obviously not quite as much as when Cruyff 20+ years back, but that side is still great and in the first 90 against Spain the final last year, they arguably created more viable chances on goal (the RVP 1-on-1 sticks out most).
@burnspbesq: Kirovski won with Dortmund…completely forgot that when they beat Juventus. Oh, and I also can’t really count Scotland as a league given that one of its two major teams is on the verge of no longer existing. ;)
@pragmatism: Boooooooooo. 5-2. That’s all.
Giovanni da Procida
@jgaugust:
we’re going to have to agree to disagree then. Arguably the Dutch created more chances on goal in the final? Maybe, but the stats say that Spain had more shots, more shots on goal, and more corner kicks.
The Dutch had way more fouls; it seemed to me they spent the game kicking the spanish every chance they had. I don’t remember who it was, but somebody described the 2010 Dutch team as “six men defending, three men attacking and Dirk Kuyt running about”.
I’ve got no love for Spain, and hope their international success comes to a crashing halt, but they are more total football than the Dutch these days…
jgaugust
@Giovanni da Procida: Oh, I’m not going to disagree with you that Spain plays the best brand of passing and attacking football in the world today. All I’m saying is that during that tournament, the Netherlands had 12 goals compared to Spain’s 8. Spain also somehow won every knockout match by the final score of 1-0 (still a ridiculous thing in my book). In watching the match, I never really felt that Stekelenburg was all that troubled, whereas Iker was called into action to make some tough saves.
I do enjoy that description of the Dutch team though. That is hysterical given that I’m pretty sure Kuyt is half drunk most games for club and country.
Chief Brodie
What’s amazing about the clip is Dani Alves waiting to give him the return pass.
pseudonymous in nc
@BGinCHI: I imagine there’ll be a fair number of the Tartan Army, whether expats/retirees or people who travel and decide to combine the trip with a few days in Orlando and the coast. Flights are relatively cheap — definitely cheaper than a game played further west.
Thor Heyerdahl
Hat tip to another FC Kaiserslautern fan. The team this year couldn’t even score with a fistful of 100 euro bills at a whorehouse.
Good to see Moenchengladbach doing well, and as a ‘Lautern fan, I despise Bayern Munich…maybe 1860 Munich will someday get back to the 1.Bundesliga again.
I remember taking a train from Hamm to Dortmund, and as we entered Dortmund there was a trainshed with FC Schalke graffiti at least 1 storey high – a thumb in the eye of Borussia (I managed once to be on a train after a Dortmund game…insane!)
I see that 2 former members of the 1.Bundesliga are on their way to the 3. Fußball-Liga – FC Hansa Rostock & Karlsruher SC joining Bielefeld who’s already there with Unterhaching