Essential The Official Football (Soccer) Thread - We are SO back, the Premier League returns!

[Liu Kang]

What's up with Rooney ? Why didn't he started with RVP instead of Wellbeck ?

 

[Roid Jones]

What's up with Rooney ? Why didn't he started with RVP instead of Wellbeck ?

Larry Rooney

 

[Gilver]

Rooney aint never get love in Europe, SAF knows hes shyt to put it in simpler term. Early sub in CL Final against Chelsea, late second half appearence in crucial 2nd leg match at home against Real.

This is simultaneously true and also the biggest myth going.

He led us to the CL final and scored in it when he played as an out and out striker. He was brilliant. As a #10 type playing behind the striker he's never truly performed in the BIGGEST moments.

The simple fact we could not pass up on RvP has hurt Rooney immeasurably in terms of his chances in the biggest games.

Without RvP, Rooney's playing as the main striker with Kagawa behind him IMO(still would have been Welbeck, but behind Rooney v Madrid, though). And we would be no worse a team for it.

But if you asked me, sell Rooney, buy a top quality CM, would we be a worse team? No, we'd be better, probably.

People/the media in England get far too caught up on Rooney's passing and his creative abilities, but they're not good enough against the very top teams, people think he's this tempo controlling #10 type and he's not. Well not unless it's against bottom half premier league teams. I mean you see people advocating playing him in central midfield, it's lunacy.

His best position is as the main striker, i have always, and will always maintain this.

 

[Scottie Drippin]

This is simultaneously true and also the biggest myth going.

He led us to the CL final and scored in it when he played as an out and out striker. He was brilliant. As a #10 type playing behind the striker he's never truly performed in the BIGGEST moments.

The simple fact we could not pass up on RvP has hurt Rooney immeasurably in terms of his chances in the biggest games.

Without RvP, Rooney's playing as the main striker with Kagawa behind him IMO(still would have been Welbeck, but behind Rooney v Madrid, though). And we would be no worse a team for it.

But if you asked me, sell Rooney, buy a top quality CM, would we be a worse team? No, we'd be better, probably.

People/the media in England get far too caught up on Rooney's passing and his creative abilities, but they're not good enough against the very top teams, people think he's this tempo controlling #10 type and he's not. Well not unless it's against bottom half premier league teams. I mean you see people advocating playing him in central midfield, it's lunacy.

His best position is as the main striker, i have always, and will always maintain this.

I came to believe this the year after Ron Ron and Tevez left. With how deep Berbz likes to drop Rooney was often the most advanced player on the field for prolonged instances and he absolutely bossed games from the position. Including in Europe where Berba didn't see a lot of playing time.

This was highlighted in the World Cup. Has the best individual season of his career playing his most advanced role, then gets hit with the CREATOR stamp for England and has a shytty World Cup with a team that just stood around and waited for him to do something.

And now he and Kagawa tend to be running within five yards of each other every time we're on a break because as predicted they both love occupying the same areas

Of course, all this said, if he hasn't been sold yet with all the fukkery he's been a part of, he's never getting sold. Ferg treats Rooney like a dimwitted stepson he can't bear the thought of leaving alone in the world. And I may finally be at the point where I love the breh more than I hate him.

Wazza4Lyfe

 

[Ukbrotha]

Wouldn't like to see him sold, I've never been convinced the number 10 position was his best.

 

[Mickey Kane]

TBH, when Rooney was wearing the #8 jersey, he was OUTSTANDING playing the hole behind the striker.

 

[yoyoyo1]

With City selling Dzeko, Rooney to City is the perfect move

 

[gho3st]

What's up with Rooney ? Why didn't he started with RVP instead of Wellbeck ?

tactics were spot on until Nani got sent off.

TBH, when Rooney was wearing the #8 jersey, he was OUTSTANDING playing the hole behind the striker.

That was when Rooney was a few pounds less heavy and earning a few 100 thousand pounds less

With City selling Dzeko, Rooney to City is the perfect move

PSG or Madrid...


or Maybe Arsenal?

 

[Kunty McPhuck]

Avram Grant 10/1 to be Chelsea manager for next season

 

[KingHurst]

The Argentine and Uruguayan will share the field at the Bombonera as their sides fight for Libertadores glory, in a match that showcases two of football's most complex geniuses
COMMENT
By Daniel Edwards

Even Eduardo Galeano, the great Latin American author and chronicler of the fate of his continent across countless articles and texts, is no exception to the fanatical support football enjoys across the region. In his seminal tome on the beautiful game, Football in Sun and Shadow, Galeano brings his own literary slant to the sport; and some of his most impacting words are saved for the role of the game's superstars.

"The ball seeks him, recognises him, it needs him. In the bosom of his foot, it rests and makes its bed. He inspires brilliance in the ball, he makes it talk, and in that dialogue millions of mutes converse. The nobodies, those condemned to be nobodies forever, can feel like somebodies for a moment, thanks to those passes given back to them in an instant," the Uruguayan explains on describing his idols, summarising in a matter of paragraphs the rush any fan or player receives when witnessing somebody with a special talent on the ball.

Galeano, however, errs in one argument. This brilliance is described as lasting just a fleeting moment; but as his compatriot Alvaro Recoba, and 'El Chino's' Argentine adversary Juan Roman Riquelme, will prove on Thursday evening, some stars last an eternity before beginning to wane.

Recoba turns 37 in 10 days, but as a player who even at his peak never excelled in the physical side of the
RECOBA'S GREATEST MOMENTS
16/6/12 - Nacional vs. Defensor Sporting
With the clubs' play-off deadlocked at 0-0, 'El Chino' ghosted past his marker and chipped home to bring the title to Parque Central.
6/5/98 - Inter vs. Lazio
The Uruguayan did not make it off the bench, but marked one of the biggest successes of his career as Lazio were blown away 3-0 in the Uefa Cup final.
9/1/05 - Inter vs. Sampdoria
A virtuoso performance off the bench was capped by a stunning volley, helping Inter score three goals in six minutes and down the Genoese side 3-2.
game, the advancing years do not seem to be taking their toll. The veteran ex-Inter legend was a key part of the Nacional side that stormed to the Uruguayan Championship in 2011-12, scoring the goal which sealed victory in the play-off over Defensor Sporting.

The strike was vintage 'Chino'; picking the ball up on the edge of the area from Vicente Sanchez, the daintiest of touches sent the No.10 streaking away from his marker, before the Defensor keeper was left palming at thin air as Recoba's delicate chip nestled into the corner. A 1-0 win earned the Bolso their 44th title, and proved that even at 36 their playmaker could still wow fans as he did for so many years in Italy.

His rival in blue and gold, on the other hand, completes a remarkable turnaround as he prepares to reunite with coach Carlos Bianchi in the Copa Libertadores competition the pair all but made their own at the start of this millennium.

Riquelme returned to professional football at the weekend after quitting Boca following last year's final defeat at the hands of Corinthians, eight long months of tears, recriminations and transfer rumours ending with a return to the Bombonera. His first game back, a shock 3-1 defeat at home to relegation strugglers Union, could not have gone worse for the Xeneize, but there were signs that Roman still had the magic which makes him such a favourite with supporters across Argentina.


The Prodigal Son | Riquelme salutes the Bombonera in his latest comeback

The question now, at 34 years old, is whether Riquelme can make a success of his latest sensational comeback to Argentine football. The man himself has dismissed concerns, stating that the same issues were raised when he cut his European career short in 2007 to return to the Bombonera.
RIQUELME'S GREATEST MOMENTS
16/6/06 - Argentina vs. Serbia
An imperious display from the No.10 as he starred in one of the Albiceleste's greatest-ever performances, destroying Serbia in the 2006 World Cup.
2004/05 - Villarreal
Discarded on loan by Barcelona, Roman responded by putting in one of the greatest seasons of his career with the Yellow Submarine, scoring 15 in 35 games as his new side finished third in La Liga.
20/6/07 - Gremio vs. Boca Jrs.
Riquelme had been in stunning form throughout Boca's charge to the Libertadores final, and his two goals in Porto Alegre ensured the Xeneize's sixth South American crown as Boca romped the tie 5-0 on aggregate.

But that was six years ago, and after several not-insignificant injury battles during the intervening period, not to mention such a prolonged period of inactivity, eyes will be on the enigmatic genius to prove that the incredible talent he possesses with the ball at his feet will still be enough to compensate for growing physical deficiencies.

Thursday's clash with Recoba, no stranger to doubts over his fitness himself, and Nacional, will go a long way in telling us whether Riquelme and Boca have the fortitude to go one step further than 2012 and lift the Libertadores after a lukewarm start to 2013.

With Boca leaking goals domestically under a coach who, after so much success on the club's bench, is struggling to find a consistent winning formula, and Nacional having started well in the Copa but coachless after sacking Gustavo Diaz following a winless start to the Clausura, both teams will be under pressure to perform in the Bombonera as they strive to take one of two qualification places out of Group 1.

Galeano believes that when a side can call upon a true idol, they are in fact playing with 12 players, not 11; what should be clear to any football fan is that both Recoba and Riquelme are capable of once more taking on the role of talisman, becoming the 12th man and leading their teams to great things. If the two find form on Thursday evening, it promises to be a game no fan of the beautiful game can afford to miss.

Riquelme and Recoba the last of a dying breed, its a shame but underachieved and never fulfilled their potential

 

[KOTK]

Fat face strike does the business from the spot.

 

[Kunty McPhuck]

Riquelme and Recoba the last of a dying breed, its a shame but underachieved and never fulfilled their potential

Recoba's problem was that he was soft, couldnt stay fit for any lengthy period of time. Riquelme quit and became an obsolete type of player as the game evolved/moved with the times.

 

[TTT]

Riquelme held it down for Argentina though, much was made out of his European club form but he was part of a very good Villareal team with Forlan. Argentina looked rudderless for a while without his presence in midfield, Banega,Pastore, and Gago did not provide what he did for the Argies in that 2005-2007 stretch. I think there was always something about Boca that brought the best out of him like when he went up against the Galacticos in that Inter-continental cup.

 

[KingHurst]

Recoba's problem was that he was soft, couldnt stay fit for any lengthy period of time. Riquelme quit and became an obsolete type of player as the game evolved/moved with the times.

his injurie problems back in the days were all his fault according to him..he said he wasnt taking care of himself properly, missing practices,out partying and he was also soft as you mentioned...he was not liked in Uruguay till like the last year or 2 once he started playing for my team and he has matured and stopped being all uppity and snobby( which he was before even tho he never won anything,was always injured and threw all his talent away when he could have been one of the greatest players of the late 90's,2000's and one of the greatest Uruguayan players ever)


Riquelme just didnt like the European scene and wasnt giving a fukk at all except one year or 2 when he played for Villareal..he was loved and revered in argentina so he felt more "safe" at home and confortable and gave a fukk about football cuz Boca was his team since he was a kid

 

[yoyoyo1]

Jimmy showing Wondo to act like an MVP