soccer

[c172]

Seattle Sounders FC win 3-0 over Liga MX's Pumas UNAM in the CONCACAF Champions League final (5-2 aggregate). Liga MX had won something like the last 16. The FIFA Club World Cup has not yet been organized. It is to be expanded from 7 to 24 teams, apparently, but COVID has kind of pushed it aside.

[Phaedrus]

Never watched the sport, though it does appear to be one I'd probably enjoy watching above most others.

Male soccer players are yummy.

[c172]

UEFA Champions League final on now. LIV 0-0 RMA 10'. I don't have a horse in this race.

[Deesse23]

What a fucking boring game that was, at least the first half. Couldnt be arsed to watch the second.

[c172]

Yeah, I was kind of busy on social media with non-soccer things, though I had it on in the background. I'm more of a Man City fan. And I have never been to Europe proper---just some Dutch crown dependencies in the Caribbean, but they all have their own soccer going on down there, which, like MLS here in the USA, is in the CONCACAF zone. Seattle Sounders (my favorite team) just won the CONCACAF Champions League. So, like Real Madrid now, it is qualified for the next FIFA Club World Cup, which I hear is finally going to happen next February, though not in the expanded format they've been working towards. I do think the FIFA CWC could be more popular if it does expand to 24 teams (7 now). Or perhaps if it rebrands as a Champions League itself, just under FIFA, not a confederation.

[Phaedrus]

Decided to just do a random search, came up with this link.

Who are the top 10 most handsome footballers in the world in 2022?
sportsbrief.com

[c172]

LAFC wins the MLS Cup final (which is not really a cup in the FA Cup sense. It is our country's Premier League [with three bonus Canadian teams, because we act like Canada's our 51st state]). The score was 3-3, (3-0 in penalty kicks) LAFC winning. Pretty exciting match until the PKs, which were awful for Philly. Good for Los Angeles for its first MLS championship. The LA Galaxy's been around for years and has a history to it, but they are deep in suburbia; LAFC is the city's team (near USC).

For now, primarily watching Manchester City for the rest of the season, and following any news of actually having a Club World Cup (basically the world's Champions League, but it's been run irregularly since it started, I think in 2000). Also, there is another push for San Diego to have an MLS team, playing, at least initially, at the new Snapdragon Stadium, which is part of SDSU's new West Campus. Some Egyptian billionaire is partially behind it, and he wants Sycuan Casino, a tribal gaming place here, to underwrite it. Better than all these MLM schemes.

[c172]

Pelé is no longer responding to chemo for colon cancer.

https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/esporte/20...ivos.shtml (translate)

[c172]

From the women's game, Alex Morgan, (USWNT/San Diego Wave) is retiring. Came on kind of suddenly. Last match, in the NWSL, is San Diego Wave vs. NC Courage, at Snapdragon Stadium here in town.

https://www.nwslsoccer.com/news/alex-mor...retirement

She is 35, pregnant with a second kid, and has had a bummer of a year. I'm sure she'll start commenting matches soon, though.

[SYZ]

The 1998 World Cup—the year Iran and the US faced off in a
match—was what some then called the most politically charged
game in World Cup history.

It was the first time Iran had qualified since the Islamic Revolution
and the brutal war with Iraq that followed. The team was stacked
with talent, and became a symbol of a nation rebuilding. In a major
upset, Iran won, and the US was eliminated. Millions of Iranians
flooded the streets, even openly and illegally drinking alcohol.

Fast forward to today.  A similar victory would not unify all Iranians.
The current tournament is not only unfolding amid a war—it's also
happening just months after one of the deadliest Iranian government
crackdowns since the formation of the Islamic republic, when thousands
were killed with many more arrested. And during the last few months,
executions have surged.

Many Iranians will be wrestling with whether to root for their team,
knowing that the state will be watching, and cheering alongside them.
The national team has reached seven World Cups, including the last
four.  In 1998, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei addressed the players on state
television, saying that “the strong and arrogant opponent (the US) felt
the bitter taste of defeat at your hands.”

Trump yes-man Andrew Giuliani (yes... that Giuliani) says, "This is a
great moment, I think, for freedom-loving Iranians and freedom-loving
Iranian Americans to be able to celebrate their soccer team coming to
the US and enjoy that, and look for the freedoms that can exist in
Iran, right?"

"Freedoms" in Iran?  In a state that's been cracking down on the 2022
'Woman, Life, Freedom' protests?     Dream on.         

[c172]

I have personal NZ connections, so go Kiwis.

[Minimalist]

"Freedoms" in Iran?  In a state that's been cracking down on the 2022 'Woman, Life, Freedom' protests? 

Pretty much what Fuckface has been doing for the last 2 years here.

[SYZ]

This is gonna sound like I'm a poor loser, or even grossly
unpatriotic, or just a miserable arsehole or grumpy old man.

But...  I'm fucking glad we lost to Egypt yesterday in the World Cup!

There, I said it.      
At least now our local Aussie news reports and media can
defocus on this bloody game and get back to reporting some
actual newsworthy stuff.  The only Aussies who're interested
in the World Cup are Italian and Greek migrants plus the few
from the eastern European countries.

The ONLY game Downunder is the mighty Australian Football League!   

[emjay]

This is gonna sound like I'm a poor loser, or even grossly
unpatriotic, or just a miserable arsehole or grumpy old man.

Or all of them lol   (Sorry I'm a bit late to this thread )

But...  I'm fucking glad we lost to Egypt yesterday in the World Cup!

There, I said it.      
At least now our local Aussie news reports and media can
defocus on this bloody game and get back to reporting some
actual newsworthy stuff.  The only Aussies who're interested
in the World Cup are Italian and Greek migrants plus the few
from the eastern European countries.

So you don't like football (soccer) then? and are you saying you're completely out of it with that loss to Egypt? I have to say I'm not too interested in it either, and frankly given how America is these days, I'm surprised they let anyone into the country to play it lol    But out of loyalty to you I did think I would support Australia whenever they played... at least until they came up against England.... but I guess that's not necessary any more?

The ONLY game Downunder is the mighty Australian Football League!   

So if you don't like football (soccer), what's this then? Have you pulled an America and used the word 'football' wrong again too in Australia? lol... ie is it some kind of rugby or something?  

[SYZ]

^    ^    ^     


              

[1Sam15]

So what do you know? Anchor babies that are good at kicking a ball are now welcome with open arms by trump


Folarin Balogun said he was born in Brooklyn while his parents were visiting the U.S. His Nigerian parents were traveling through New York when his mother, who was heavily pregnant, was prevented from boarding a flight back to England.

https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local...n/3911338/

[c172]

That's actually a pretty intersting tidbit.

As much as I do love to watch soccer, my facts and stats about sports in general are pretty nil. Even with Messi and Ronaldo, who are very popular even amongst people who only watch the World Cup and not other soccer comps.

[Minimalist]

Belgium is just having way too much fun with this whole thing!

https://www.rawstory.com/belgium/

Not long after Belgium’s fourth goal in the match, its national team – the Belgian Red Devils – issued a brutal two-word message directed squarely at Trump.

“Overturn this,” reads a social media post from the Belgian Red Devils’ X account, a post that was seen more than 5.5 million times as of 7 a.m. ET.

[pattylt]

Belgium is just having way too much fun with this whole thing!

https://www.rawstory.com/belgium/

Not long after Belgium’s fourth goal in the match, its national team – the Belgian Red Devils – issued a brutal two-word message directed squarely at Trump.

“Overturn this,” reads a social media post from the Belgian Red Devils’ X account, a post that was seen more than 5.5 million times as of 7 a.m. ET.

Never give the opposition something to rally behind.

[Minimalist]

[SYZ]

While the final figure won't be confirmed until after the tournament,
FIFA is projecting revenue of US$8.9 billion (AU$12.7 billion) for the
year 2026, the bulk of which will come from the World Cup.

This year's World Cup is the first to feature two billionaire players with
the 41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo captaining Portugal and 38-year-old
Lionel Messi leading Argentina in its title defense.

Which national sides at the World Cup are among the most valuable?

France—boasting players like Mbappé, Bayern Munich winger Michael Olise
and Paris Saint-Germain forward Ousmane Dembélé, Transfermarkt estimates
that the combined market value of Les Bleus is €1.52 billion (AU$2.5 billion).

England (AU$2.2 billion) and Spain ($AU2 billion) are not far
behind, while Portugal (AU$1.7 billion) and Germany (AU$1.6
billion) round out the top five.

With an estimated market value of "only"A$128 million, the
Australian Socceroos squad will be the 35th most valuable
squad at the World Cup.  And absolutely least likely to win!

These figures are not only eye-watering, but also disgusting in
a world that millions of its poorest don't even have access to
clean drinking water, electricity or the simplest of medical care.   

[c172]

I find the sports world intersting overall, but in /r/worldbuilding, I imagine a country where soccer and the big four American sports are played, and followed, but in semi-pro or high level amateur leagues only. And maybe just regionally (state/province/whatever you have in your own country). 

DEFUND THE MLB/NBA/NFL/NHL/MLS!!!! No more "public/private partnerships" as is apparently required in baseball.