Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
The 2015-2016 Football Thread
- Thread starter Lord Blackadder
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Crazy stuff at the DFB cup.
Vfr Ahlen (3rd league) vs FC Nürnberg (2nd league). It went to penalties and Ahlen's goal keeper kept 3(!), but Ahlen's penalty shooters shot 4(!) over the box. Nürnberg won 2:1.
Also, "justice" had been done to Hamburg (who struggled in the relegation two seasons winning in the last minutes or even seconds), they have been kicked out of the DFB cup by FC Carl Zeiss Jena (regional league). When it went 2:2 towards the end it looked like oh no, not again undeserved luck for Hamburg, but then they lost 2:3.
Vfr Ahlen (3rd league) vs FC Nürnberg (2nd league). It went to penalties and Ahlen's goal keeper kept 3(!), but Ahlen's penalty shooters shot 4(!) over the box. Nürnberg won 2:1.
Also, "justice" had been done to Hamburg (who struggled in the relegation two seasons winning in the last minutes or even seconds), they have been kicked out of the DFB cup by FC Carl Zeiss Jena (regional league). When it went 2:2 towards the end it looked like oh no, not again undeserved luck for Hamburg, but then they lost 2:3.
It pains me to say that I was born and live in Hamburg but am not and never have been an HSV fan. It's FC St. Pauli all the way for me. Things were looking so promising against Gladbach last night. It could have been a sensational win but it was not meant to be. Oh well.
The Guardian's Football Weekly Podcast used to talk excitedly about St. Pauli's sausage delivery train, but I haven't heard much opt them since they dropped out of the 1. Bundesliga.
The stadium redevelopments look very nice. Is there a giant Flak tower next door to the stadium?
I haven't seen the new stadium, unfortunately. I'm the only one in my circle of friends & family who is a football fan, so I don't go to see matches in the stadium as I'm female and don't feel like it's a good idea to go alone. It sucks.
PS & off topic: I play an awful lot of FIFA15 on my XBOX360. If anyone's interested in setting up a match in the evenings, I'm totally in. I've never played against a human opponent as nobody here likes football. Would be interesting to see how well I do against someone other than the computer. I play professional level (sometimes legendary level) with all aids turned off. I may be female, but I'm pretty good. 
I may be female, but I'm pretty good.
USA's women's team is better then our men's team...and Germany's women's team is no slouch either.
Mark Hughes is really transforming Stoke. Shaqiri has joined them. They actually look a proper team now.
Meanwhile Moaninho is being his usual self
Never your fault eh Napoleon.
Meanwhile Moaninho is being his usual self
Never your fault eh Napoleon.
I follow a number of leagues; Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, Champions League and also CONMEBOL from my days working in that region. Looking forward to the start of Bundesliga on Friday.
I try to follow every league but its hard now that i dont have cable anymore
the internet is the way i follow all the leagues but i mostly follow Liga and EPL. Its hard to follow Bundesliga and Series A. The only one i dont follow would be Ligue 1 cause i dont like any players there. Im what you call a 'player' fan and not a 'team' fan. i follow certain players and become a fan of that team while he is there only.I try to follow every league but its hard now that i dont have cable anymore
Do you have favorite players of Borussia Dortmund currently?
Yeah, he was really good when he was still with Hertha BSC. Klopp didn't seem to put much trust into Ramos' abilities, which is a shame. I wonder if he'll get more time to showcase his abilities now that there's a new coach.
If thats true then Mou is being foolish and should leave Carneiro alone. Health > Sport.
Hopefully Roman puts him on a leash
thank god Klopp left, i never liked him because of what he did with ramos. Ramos is a great striker.
New coach, new season...clean slate for ramos.
I try to follow every league but its hard now that i dont have cable anymore
It is funny when I started being involved with football in the early 70s, after Viet Nam, in CA and SA, all I had to do was bring a football to the village, small city and they loved it!
Some upsets in the League Cup last night here as well:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/33873622
Highlight has to be League 2 side Oxford thrashing Brentford 4-0 and just relegated Burnley loosing to Port Vale
Jaffa's boys also got a scare as their game against Accrington Stanley went to penalties
As a Mainz follower I am looking to see more of Tuchel at Dortmund as well, I missed the test matches and the cup matches so far, unfortunately. I bet he will make the defense tactically more confident while at the same time playing forward. He is also good at getting the most out of limited ressources.
Hehe, St. Pauli is the perfect combination of what I would compare a punk band that has managed to get into the pop business and its followers that think getting drunk is being a punk. ;-) But yes, the team was good.
Agree on Ramos having to few chances to play under Klopp, but I wouldn't condem Klopp so fast... (though I'll never understand why he always changed in Julian Schieber at all.
).I will only get to see the late stages. Liked Redding very much last cup.
Totally agree with your sentiments. I closely followed Mainz when Tuchel was still their coach. The football the team played was top notch, smart and highly attractive at the same time and a testament that you don't need a blown-up budget to play great football and be successful at it on a competitive level.
Tuchel is one heck of a tactical mastermind and - to my mind - is right up there with the best of the best. He's had few chances to prove himself on an international level and Dortmund is a great place to take advantage of that opportunity and gain more world-wide attention & momentum than was possible with Mainz. He has everything that Klopp has (perhaps not quite as much star appeal, yet), sports a similar temperament and is in no way less capable, imo. I, for one, am excited to see how it'll play out in Dortmund.
As for Klopp, I really like him and would have loved for him to take on a German team as his next stop. But I think we'll be losing him to the BPL this time around. That's fine too, but I truly want more capable people to stay here and help the Bundesliga get the world-wide recognition it (imo) deserves. We're still way behind the BPL or Primera Division, albeit mainly in terms of international awareness. Somehow the Bundesliga isn't as attractive to the international audience compared to the other two. They're heavily underestimated, imo.
When it comes to achievements we're factually almost on the same level as the BPL. We've had four teams in the CL this past season and are a close third in the UEFA rankings, with BPL coming in at a close second and the Primera Division deservedly taking the first slot. I'd love to see for that to show also in terms of international awareness. And the more "pop stars" we have here, the more people will pay attention. Guardiola being our coach has been one such step in the right direction. And I hope we will become more attractive for players and coaches in the near future.
As a whole, the Bundesliga has great potential and some teams other than the "big players" deserve to have a small spot in the limelight. Other than the usual suspects like FC Bayern & Dortmund, Gladbach and Wolfsburg have the potential to really shake things up locally and internationally. And then there are smaller, promising teams such as Augsburg and Hoffenheim, with the former being highly consistent and having worked their way up gradually. They, too, have great potential to make their mark beyond the Bundesliga.
Anyhow, these are good times to be a fan of the Bundesliga. I am totally excited and can't wait!
Cox Orange said:
Hahaha. True that. Yeah, my favorite "football" team is FC Bayern because I do value the sport itself and those who master it and I support them on a local and global level at all times. When it comes to Hamburger teams, however, St. Pauli is the only team I can support. The other option (HSV) is simply a big fat "thanks-but-no-thanks".
Last edited:
Nice and good text!
On Tuchel and the international level: he could have had it, the Euro League with Mainz, since it had a starter place, but he decided to flirt with Schalke and Leverkusen behind the scenes and then was not willing to complete his contract. I mean, he made his choice and I can understand him, but he could have done it perhaps in a different way (if the press did tell us the whole story).Well, I know the chances of Mainz advancing in the Euro League were probably low, but would have been interesting to watch.
One word on players, when I saw Johannes Geiss shoot the free kick for Schalke, recently, I had to immediately think of him doing this in Mainz several times.
I didn't want to say it, but I rather dislike Bayern as a club (not all the players), they fit very well to the state of Bavaria and its political "elite" and their arrogance and something were you always get the feeling there is something fishy about finances and bribes (sorry, I may project my dislike of the Bavarian government to much in it But Bavarians are special folks. Who do I tell this, when you were born in Hamburg ). I very much dislike Matthias Sammer. Klopp's commentary "he can wake up and thank god every day that someone at Bayern took him and gave him a job" fits as well. Guardiola may fit to Bayern as a big name, but I think not so much to the club identity, but this identity is shifting and is being reorganised I have the feeling. I would also not be surprised, if he left sooner. Sorry, really no offense meant to be in there.
Apart from Tuchel I'm looking forward to see how Darmstadt will make it in the 1st league (though actually somewhat a local rival of Mainz together with Frankfurt). Also if Wiesbaden and Mainz (the two cities that are only cut by a river) will meet in the DFB cup; and if how Freiburg will make it back from league 2 to 1st. Oh, I think Schalke with Paderborn's former coach will also be interesting to follow; and of course it will be interesting to see, if Hamburg yet another time slips through the fingers of the reaper or not (which would make them really get on, I guess, everybody's nerves, mine included)
On Tuchel and the international level: he could have had it, the Euro League with Mainz, since it had a starter place, but he decided to flirt with Schalke and Leverkusen behind the scenes and then was not willing to complete his contract. I mean, he made his choice and I can understand him, but he could have done it perhaps in a different way (if the press did tell us the whole story).Well, I know the chances of Mainz advancing in the Euro League were probably low, but would have been interesting to watch.
One word on players, when I saw Johannes Geiss shoot the free kick for Schalke, recently, I had to immediately think of him doing this in Mainz several times.
I didn't want to say it, but I rather dislike Bayern as a club (not all the players), they fit very well to the state of Bavaria and its political "elite" and their arrogance and something were you always get the feeling there is something fishy about finances and bribes (sorry, I may project my dislike of the Bavarian government to much in it
But Bavarians are special folks. Who do I tell this, when you were born in Hamburg ). I very much dislike Matthias Sammer. Klopp's commentary "he can wake up and thank god every day that someone at Bayern took him and gave him a job" fits as well. Guardiola may fit to Bayern as a big name, but I think not so much to the club identity, but this identity is shifting and is being reorganised I have the feeling. I would also not be surprised, if he left sooner. Sorry, really no offense meant to be in there.Apart from Tuchel I'm looking forward to see how Darmstadt will make it in the 1st league (though actually somewhat a local rival of Mainz together with Frankfurt). Also if Wiesbaden and Mainz (the two cities that are only cut by a river) will meet in the DFB cup; and if how Freiburg will make it back from league 2 to 1st.
Oh, I think Schalke with Paderborn's former coach will also be interesting to follow; and of course it will be interesting to see, if Hamburg yet another time slips through the fingers of the reaper or not (which would make them really get on, I guess, everybody's nerves, mine included) international football news:
the costa rica coach had a fight with a fan in panama during a game and later that day he resigned. costa rica will never be the same and wont recover especially what they did to pinto. one less team to worry about in russia/world cup 2018
the costa rica coach had a fight with a fan in panama during a game and later that day he resigned. costa rica will never be the same and wont recover especially what they did to pinto. one less team to worry about in russia/world cup 2018
Yes, he could have had it. At the time though, I had a feeling he was exhausted and simply needed a break above else. In fact, I hold him in even higher regards because he decided to get out of the business even though he could probably have had a much better paying job had he wanted to. But money didn't seem to be his primary concern, a very nice and rare trait. Of course that's just mere speculation on my part. From the image I have of him, I wouldn't be surprised if that was his main reason for temporarily signing off though.
Cox Orange said:I didn't want to say it, but I rather dislike Bayern as a club (not all the players), they fit very well to the state of Bavaria and its political "elite" and their arrogance and something were you always get the feeling there is something fishy about finances and bribes (sorry, I may project my dislike of the Bavarian government to much in it
No offence taken! I get that almost always, so it's nothing I'm not accustomed to.
FC Bayern is a polarizing club. I'm not keen on conservatism either. Though in all honesty, I think some people are exaggerating the elitism part. They're not as arrogant as they're often made out to be, in my opinion. Much of it seems projected and it's become almost a sport of its own to hate on that club. I do agree however, humbleness isn't exactly their forte. On the other hand, I find the opposite behaviour (cough, Watzke, cough) quite unnerving too, always downplaying one's abilities gets tiresome after a while.
As for Rummenigge and Sammer, well, they're not exactly likeable, but I don't really pay much attention to them as they don't matter to me.
I just care about the team and I do love the team minus two or three of the popular faces I'd rather do without. If we look at the sport itself only though, then some of my favourite players are:
Arjen Robben (!)
This guy isn't a footballer. He's an artist! He's my all-time favourite player. Who needs Messi, Ronaldo, and Neymar when you have Robben?
Seriously though, Robben is ace and thankfully he's cut down on the drama recently too. If he's in top shape, he isn't far behind the top 3. I absolutely love his style. He works hard and gives the impression that a victory is absolutely essential, a final every single time. I love that about him. His drive is crazy. Every team would do well with someone like him.Ribery
When in top shape (like Robben) he's fantastic to watch. Unfortunately, I think his time is up...
Thomas Müller
He is a mystery to me. His style resembles that of a student clown who went astray and found himself on the field by mere accident. But he can be so good, often highly effective and fun to watch. What annoys me with him is that he is mostly good at the big-point matches and somewhat disappears in the background when a match is of lesser significance. That's something I really don't like in anyone and borders on arrogance.
Jerome Boateng
Probably the best defender we currently have in Germany, and definitely in the top 5 worldwide, if not top 3. Not sure if I like him, but what he does on the field is just wow.
Manuel Neuer
One word; magic.
David Alaba!
He's such a great guy overall, an amazing player and still has lots of potential to grow as a player. He has everything to become the best LWB and he already is one of the very best.
Thiago
Another player that is fun to watch with majestic abilities if he is able to put them on display (and is fit)
Lahm
An institution and very underrated. He is hardly visible, neither here nor in our National team. How exceptionally good he is as a RWB becomes painfully apparent when he's absent.
Lewandowski
He has so much going for him. There aren't many CF's with his abilities and flexibility. Great fun to watch when he has a good day.
Then we have the two new major additions: Douglas Costa and Arturo Vidal. Especially Costa seems to be a raw diamond. What he's shown so far in the past three matches is simply mind-blowing. Very excited and looking forward to seeing
The others don't stand out to me.
Cox Orange said:Apart from Tuchel I'm looking forward to see how Darmstadt will make it in the 1st league (though actually somewhat a local rival of Mainz together with Frankfurt). Also if Wiesbaden and Mainz (the two cities that are only cut by a river) will meet in the DFB cup; and if how Freiburg will make it back from league 2 to 1st.
Yes, that'll be interesting to watch. I don't care for rivalries much though I can see its appeal (though just a tiny wee bit) in the dynamics that ensue whenever Dortmund plays against Schalke, for example. Perhaps it's because I'm severely lacking in the testosterone department or because I don't much care for patriotism.
I'm almost convinced that Freiburg will be back next season. Streich is very capable, imo. I admit, though, I don't follow the second league avidly. I do watch occasionally when St.Pauli plays, but other than that I don't care all that much, even though the quality level has improved immensely.
But yeah, this will be a very interesting season overall.