World Soccer XXXI: Golden Generation?

[Jimjamesak]

And begin…

 

[Jimjamesak]

MLS referees had their lockout ended after agreeing to a new contract and are back to work this weekend.

Must've been a hoot for some various youth teams the last few weekends to have FIFA referees suddenly working their games.

 

[jericho]

MLS referees had their lockout ended after agreeing to a new contract and are back to work this weekend.

Must've been a hoot for some various youth teams the last few weekends to have FIFA referees suddenly working their games.

do you think they noticed a difference?

 

[Jimjamesak]

do you think they noticed a difference?

The parents? Definitely not. The coaches? The good ones did.

 

[RaceBoarder]

I'm glad to see the officials got "guaranteed" contracts (15 match minimum pay each season)... Nice to see dedication rewarded and the league cave on this. You want the officials to be "pros", pay them as such.

 

[mookie1995]

That toon comeback yesterday was something exciting

 

[ticapnews]

Japan take advantage of a sleepy USA defense to seize the lead in the opening moment but eventually the Americans rally to a victory after two late bombs.

And there was a soccer game, too.

USA 2
Japan 1

 

[LynahFan]

Japan take advantage of a sleepy USA defense to seize the lead in the opening moment but eventually the Americans rally to a victory after two late bombs.

And there was a soccer game, too.

USA 2
Japan 1

It’s a good line, but the first US goal was in the 21st minute. Not exactly talking US-Jamaica from the Nations Cup.

 

[Jimjamesak]

It’s a good line, but the first US goal was in the 21st minute. Not exactly talking US-Jamaica from the Nations Cup.

Second US goal was a PK too.

50k in attendance is very notable though, largest crowd in the US since the 1999 Women's World Cup Final.

 

[ticapnews]

That penalty was softer than my pillow.

2-2

No extra time, straight to a h̶o̶m̶e̶ ̶r̶u̶n̶ ̶d̶e̶r̶b̶y̶ kicks from the spot.

ETA: Alyssa Naeher has ice water in her veins. 3 saves again in the shootout and she scored a goal to boot.

 

[Jimjamesak]

Columbus becomes the first MLS team to knockout a Liga MX team on penalties in CONCACAF competition after advancing past Tigres in Mexico tonight.

On the other end, New England was completely destroyed by Club America 5-2, 9-2 on aggregate.

 

[ticapnews]

Penalty or no?

Situation: Goal kick for Arsenal vs Bayern Munich in the 67' of the Champions League quarterfinals with Munich ahead 2-1.

Raya puts the ball down, the referee blows his whistle and Raya plays it to Gabriel. He then picks up the ball, places it back on the ground and plays it back to Raya. The Bayern players immediately objected and Tuchel went bananas on the touchline screaming for a penalty. The referee refused to give it, explaining that it was a schoolboy error and not worthy of a penalty.

​

 

[Jimjamesak]

Penalty or no?

Situation: Goal kick for Arsenal vs Bayern Munich in the 67' of the Champions League quarterfinals with Munich ahead 2-1.

Raya puts the ball down, the referee blows his whistle and Raya plays it to Gabriel. He then picks up the ball, places it back on the ground and plays it back to Raya. The Bayern players immediately objected and Tuchel went bananas on the touchline screaming for a penalty. The referee refused to give it, explaining that it was a schoolboy error and not worthy of a penalty.

​

Technically: Yes.

Practically: No.

 

[Spartanforlife4]

Monterrey beats Miami 5-2 on aggregate. 3 MX vs 1 MLS now in the Champions Cup.

 

[Jimjamesak]

Monterrey beats Miami 5-2 on aggregate. 3 MX vs 1 MLS now in the Champions Cup.

Inter Miami: Phenomenal cosmic offense, itty bitty defense.

It’d be curious to see how the series had turned out if Messi had been healthy for the home leg.

But yeah, Miami’s defense is terrible and, like in this series, it’s going to cost them.

 

[Kepler]

Not these guys again.

 

[Slap Shot]

A last name nor even a mother could love.

 

[ticapnews]

Not these guys again.

As more rich idiots buy football clubs and fail miserably on the pitch it is going to become more evident that what Ryan and Rob have done at Wrexham is special. They bought the club, hired football experts and left them to do their jobs. Unlike at Chelsea, where the new owner asked then-coach Tuchel why he didn't play a 4-4-3 formation. Or any of the clubs that have been or are facing administration or outright expulsion from the EFL over finances.

Since the pair took over at Wrexham the value of the club has increased 4x, the attendance has increased such that they have had to expand the stadium, the men's and women's teams have (or are scheduled) to complete lucrative American tour dates and the Town of Wrexham became the City of Wrexham because of population and economic growth, due in large part to the football club. Oh, they just achieved back-to-back promotions and will be in League One next season. But as has been observed by long time fans, this isn't new. Wrexham were a League One side before and only dropped because of horrible ownership.

 

[French Rage]

Not these guys again.

Well now I kind of want Mark Zuckerberg to buy a better club and constantly beat them.

 

[ticapnews]

Aston Villa make the semifinals of a European competition for the first time since 1982 with a 4-3 win in penalty kicks. Both legs finished 2-1 to the home team for a 3-3 aggregate.

Martinez made two saves in the shootout but probably shouldn't have been in the game. He received a yellow for time wasting in the first half of regulation and was daring the referee to produce a second yellow in extra time. It was so bad even his own teammates were telling him to get on with it.

Then during the shootout he should have been carded again. The referee walked towards Martinez and took out his yellow but a Villa player sprinted to the referee and intervened. The ref put the card back in his pocket, scolded Martinez and walked back to his position beside the penalty spot. I'll be very interested in hearing any post-match comments about the situation.