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[chiva1908]

wait..... you met up with him too?? 

Couple times, lol

Almost made him eat pork

 

[rck3sactown]

 

wait..... you met up with him too?? 

Couple times, lol

Almost made him eat pork

I love it 

we played ball once 

 

[eiddyfouw]

SIGNING: Nicolas Anelka continues his ever-lasting World Tour of being a player-manager and is signed to Mumbai City FC

 

[omariwestafari]

omar is an honorary mexican, me and @chiva1908
 can vouch for him

Thought he was arab

Im from afghanistan papi dont get it twisted

But i get down wit the papis in east LA

Thought he was arab

We had him in East LA eating tacos and Horchata from a taco truck...

Bruhhh that food was so damn good, i needa go back and get some more.

omar is an honorary mexican, me and @chiva1908
 can vouch for him

Thought he was arab

Hence the term honorary

Omar, you turning your back on us?

Nah b im still wit team arab

 

wait..... you met up with him too?? 

Couple times, lol


Almost made him eat pork

I love it 


we played ball once 

Yes we did

Man chiva1908 need to stop playing and invite me to a game of soccer aka futbol

 

[heggsy]

So we've just had a £12m bid rejected for Charlie Austin they want £15m apparently.

We're going to offer that. Whether he wants to come here, I don't know, I'm sure there's someone more attractive than us? Southampton? Swansea?

We haven't even got a manager. Austin would mean we have SIX first choice strikers.

I want Nige back so bad everything just feels like a mess right now.

 

[tomdiginson]

Hence the term honorary

Omar, you turning your back on us?

I overlooked that.

 

[MetalMario]

 

 

The exodus from Shakhtar/Ukraine begins...

Bernard, Douglas Costa, Taison, and Texiria (sp?).... it's all a matter of time

I'm not sure how, but Shakhtar has a pipeline to Brazil. SAF once said Costa was possibly the finest footballer in South America but his club at the time Gremio wouldn't budge from the £25m they wanted. For whatever reason United didn't buy him. Costa ended up going to Shaktar for €6m a couple of months later.

When the war broke out, there was a report on ESPN FC that all the Brazilians wanted to leave the club ASAP & were upset about it. Costa apparently was desperate to get out...

Good scouting/network for Shakhtar, has really been working for them.

It's a great baby/safe step into European football coming from South America in my opinion. You'll get a great team in a one team league which mean guaranteed CL footy and self confidence in yourself as a player. They got far in the last CL. tying Bayern at home but then getting clapped 7-0. Bernard's case is a safe move, he didn't get blown up attention like Neymar nor is at a quality of Neymar but has playing time and attention. Be it that he was injured during CL time he didn't get a chance. It may take a while but this is a better in the long run for his career to me then burning and crashing like Alexander Pato's career.

 

[rook]

SIGNING: Luiz Adriano has signed the contract that will tie him to #ACMilan until June 30, 2020!

View media item 1610576

 

[eiddyfouw]

SIGNING: @ChampionsLeague: It's official. @ChelseaFC have signed @FALCAO on a season-long loan #UCL http://t.co/g90EKuuAzi

View media item 1611752

 

[chiva1908]

Falcao looks HORRIBLE on the pitch now. Two different players before and after the injury...

 

[eiddyfouw]

By the by...has Barcelona released their schedule for next season?

 

[Kimchi Papi]

No I haven't seen Barca's schedule for 15-16 yet...

 

[Kimchi Papi]

Al Pachino sent a message to Argentina to win the Copa...

 

[lovehateself]

Whhhhoooooooo-wwwwwwwwaaaaaa

 

[Kimchi Papi]

I voted Sinner , he would do a new thread proud...

 

[imasoleman18]

as the thread maker of last seasons thread i am upset im not in the poll

 

[rolaholic]

That Pacino vid is so random

Speaking of Argentina...here's a good article on Argentinas return to form thanks to their stars. Management also feel that LVG has ruined ADM . I get where he's coming from since he's been in a more restrictive role at OT but that should change this season.

COPA AMERICA

BY MIGUEL DELANEY

Di Maria finds his groove in Argentina setup

The ESPN FC panel debate who will have the edge in the Copa America Final, Argentina or Chile.
After the semifinal performance that Lionel Messi put in against Paraguay, a rather obvious question was put to Arrgentina centre-half Martin Demichelis -- but he offered something of an unexpected answer. Demichelis had been again asked about the transcendental talent of his international captain, but he didn't do the usual lionising of Messi. Instead, he lionised him while also pointedly lavishing praise on someone else: Messi's attacking partner Angel Di Maria.

"When they're on form," Demichelis said, "they break the game for you."

The Manchester City defender could say that because Di Maria has made a breakthrough in his own form at this Copa America. The winger who seemed so wasteful and ineffective at Manchester United last season has disappeared. Replacing him is the thrusting and thrilling attacker who was man of the match in the 2014 Champions League final with Real Madrid.

In scoring twice against Paraguay to make it 4-1 rather than 2-1, Di Maria both transformed a narrow victory into a thrashing and also signalled the full extent of his own transformation. The return to form is all the more striking because it has been so traceable in that way.

When the tournament started, Di Maria still looked like the lost player who so often appeared at Old Trafford. Argentina's second game, the relatively unconvincing 1-0 win over Uruguay, was a nadir. The 27-year-old repeatedly gave the ball away with bad decisions and had so little space to run into.

At the very least, a nadir means things can't get worse, and soon they got better. The third game, a 1-0 win over Jamaica, is seen in the Argentina camp as a turning point in Di Maria's form. Against easier opposition, and with much more room, the No. 7 was able to stretch his legs and find his feet. He was able to finally enjoy what he does best again, which is running with the ball at pace.

It wasn't until the Jamaica match when he started properly producing again, as he offered an assist to Gonzalo Higuain within 11 minutes. The Argentine managerial staff were said to be hugely impressed with the way Di Maria allowed the side to suddenly alter the speed of attacks and with how he quickly got up to speed with the specific role that coach Gerardo Martino demands of him. The manager and his assistants share Demichelis' view, that the United winger is the second most devastating player in the team, after Messi but ahead of Sergio Aguero.

Andel Di Maria helped lead Argentina's 6-1 romp over Paraguay in a Copa America semifinal with a second-half brace.
Andel Di Maria helped lead Argentina's 6-1 romp over Paraguay in a Copa America semifinal with a second-half brace.
Some Argentine media, such as La Nacion, have even reported that there is considerable irritation among Martino's staff at how United manager Louis van Gaal has treated Di Maria and with the limited ways in which he has been used. They reportedly believe the United boss has "ruined" the record signing and taken away "his football rhythm." La Nacion also reported that Di Maria barely has a relationship with van Gaal and would favour a move away from Old Trafford this summer -- preferably to Barcelona or Pep Guardiola's Bayern Munich, and Manchester City have even been mentioned.

If that is true, Di Maria's upturn in performance might not mean all that much to United, given he could be off to a different football system and environment. Part of his return to form has been that he is not in such a constricted role. Di Maria has been allowed to run into space again in a way that is so rarely seen at Old Trafford, as he has gradually realised the requirements of Martino's role.

Of course, his drop-off was not all down to van Gaal either. Di Maria has often looked uninterested himself, but as is often overlooked in such cases, there's also the reality that Di Maria is a young man adjusting to a totally different culture and climate. That takes time and will inevitably affect a player's mood before his football, even without something as traumatic as the break-in he endured in February.

Back in the national team environment in which he is so comfortable, Di Maria has clearly recovered his confidence. He is enjoying himself again, sharing many jokes with Messi and Ever Banega. He was also conspicuously excitable and full of life when speaking to ESPN FC and other media in the mixed zone after the Paraguay game. He was back in the groove, as he pretty much conceded when talking about the change in his form and his first goals of the Copa.

"I kept doing things well for the team, working physically, working defensively but missing something in attack," Di Maria said. "I'm happy because things came off well today, especially before the final."

He could be the key to winning that final, too, especially going by the rationale of Demichelis and the technical staff. One of the reasons Argentina ran out of steam in the World Cup against Germany last summer was that they also ran out of options and angles of attack. A Messi who wasn't even fully fit was the only star attacker who started the final, meaning it was easier for defenders to crowd around him. The rest of the attack just didn't need to be worried about in the same way. There was nothing else to really occupy markers, or to offer Messi an out-ball.

That is no longer the case. As Demichelis made so clear, Chile will have to think about Di Maria too. The player himself has changed the thinking about his form. He's back to his best: a game-breaker.

Miguel Delaney is a London-based correspondent for ESPN FC and also writes for the Irish Examiner and others.

Also glad to see Woody standing firm on DDG

http://www.theguardian.com/football...-united-refuse-sell-david-de-gea-sergio-ramos

 

[Kimchi Papi]

I think that's a huge problem for LvG & other older managers. Rather than go with a system or tactics that suit the players you have, these older managers try to fit players into the system they're comfortable with.

The danger with United is, they're spending a whole lot of money (last year anyway & soon to be seen this year) on players to suit LvG who will likely only be there for a couple of years. Will they fit the needs of the next manager?

 

[Sinner]

I voted @SinnerP, he would do a new thread proud...

[emoji]128517[/emoji][emoji]128517[/emoji][emoji]128517[/emoji]

Wait... whaaaa???  Clearly it's either you or Eiddy!!!  Haven't you noticed that I've been non-existent in here since the season ended?   This thread deserves better hands! 

 

[Kimchi Papi]

^ Me?! Naahh...

So Tommy Ince turned down Inter Milan again to sign a 4 year deal with Derby?!?! I guess he doesn't like the idea scungilli over his fish & chips or bangers & mash...

 

[rolaholic]

I voted Eiddy

 

[Kimchi Papi]

Yeah, I thought about eiddy but he be off having too much fun down there...

Ro, you'd be good with it too...

 

[rolaholic]

That didn't stop Coupe .

Haha I don't know, the thread wouldn't be as organized

 

[tomdiginson]

So Tommy Ince turned down Inter Milan again to sign a 4 year deal with Derby?!?! I guess he doesn't like the idea scungilli over his fish & chips or bangers & mash...

He rejected them again ? Didn't he reject them to sign for Hull before ? He doesn't seem to have much sense.

 

[PRIME]

7500 jerseys are sold over the counter on the first sales day at BVB's store

View media item 1609788

Their fans are really on another level...

I need a Kagawa